1 minute read
GARDEN DOCUMENTATION
In March of 2014, renowned interior designer and a Director Emerita of the Conservancy, Suzanne Rheinstein created The Suzanne and Frederic Rheinstein Garden Documentation Program to honor her late husband and support the preservation work of The Garden Conservancy From Suzanne’s vision grew the Conservancy’s Documentation Program, creating new documentary film footage and organizing a wealth of historical archival materials. Film documentation offers a new way for us to expand access and preserve these fragile gardens, remarkable works of art, and the stories behind their creation for future generations.
Through this initiative, the Conservancy has begun to elegantly capture not only a garden at the height of its beauty but also significant voices within the gardening world. Our goal is to bring gardens to life through an online resource that will educate and inspire for years to come.
Advertisement
Since the inception of the program, the Conservancy has completed the documentation of the John P. Humes Japanese Stroll Garden the Mill Neck, NY, garden that first inspired Suzanne’s concept for this visionary program Henriette Suhr’s woodland garden, Rocky Hills, in Mt. Kisco, NY, and Blithewood Garden in Annandaleon-Hudson, NY.
We are currently in the process of documenting two additional gardens. The first is the Anne Spencer House and Garden Museum in Lynchburg, VA; Anne Spencer was the first Virginian and first African American to have her poetry included in the Norton Anthology of American Poetry, and she was a committed advocate for equal rights. Her house and garden served as a political center of the community, as well as inspiration for her poetry, and it is also the only remaining intact and preserved garden by an African American. The Conservancy is also in the process of documenting the spectacular woodland garden of Louise Agee Wrinkle in Birmingham, AL. Louise (Director Emerita) has tended her garden oasis for 30 years with care and creativity, according to her philosophy of allowing the land to speak for itself.
