Preservation in Action At the Garden Conservancy: The Tools of Preservation

Preserving a garden begins with recognizing that landscapes are works of art, nature, and history that are constantly evolving. Rather than attempting to freeze a garden in time, our preservation work centers around capturing a garden’s story in a way that will be meaningful for generations to come. We do this by partnering with nonprofits and community-based organizations to restore historic gardens, document the spirit of gardens, establish conservation easements, advocate for gardens at risk, develop educational programming, and foster organizational development to help our partners thrive as independent entities.

Following are a few examples of of different ways we approach our preservation work.

Reviving Gilded Age Beauty

In partnership with Bard College, we are working to rehabilitate Blithewood Garden, a beautiful, Italianate garden designed by Francis Hoppin, circa 1903. Together we are raising visibility for the project, conducting research, and establishing a rehabilitation plan so that future generations can enjoy this Beaux Arts gem in Annandale-on-Hudson, NY.

Speaking Out for Gardens

As an advocate for garden preservation, the Garden Conservancy takes a public stand to protect at-risk gardens. Recent examples of our advocacy include letters of support for the preservation of the Russell Page garden at the Frick Collection in New York City; Powell Gardens, in Kingsville, MO; the McGinley Garden, in Milton, MA; and the sculpture garden at the entry plaza of the National Geographic Headquarters, Washington, DC.

Celebrating the Leagacy of American Designers

Lord & Schryver, the first all-female landscape architecture firm in the Pacific Northwest, designed more than 250 landscapes throughout the region in the first half of the twentieth century, adapting European and East Coast landscape styles to the region. The Garden Conservancy helped establish the Lord & Schryver Conservancy. We assisted with its organizational development and advised on a multiyear restoration plan, a cultural landscape report, and a marketing plan to preserve Gaiety Hollow, the historic home and office of Elizabeth Lord and Edith Schryver, in Salem, OR.

Preserving the Stories Gardens Tell

The Garden Conservancy’s documentation program seeks to capture the essence of something that is largely experiential: the beauty of a garden and the many stories it embodies. To do so, our garden documentation program uses photos and letters, drawings and plant lists, along with the stories and experiences that have inspired each garden’s creators. The goal is to bring gardens to life through film and an online educational tool that will continue to provide important insights for years to come.

Building Organizational Strength and Protecting Gardens for Future Generations

In Hempstead, TX, the John Fairey Garden has a unique collection of more than 3,000 species of rare plants native to the southern United States, Mexico, and Asia. The Garden Conservancy helped form the John Fairey Garden Conservation Foundation and guided strategic planning and collections management initiatives. We also hold a conservation easement that preserves the garden’s unique value for future generations. A conservation easement is a legally binding agreement that identifies the significant attributes of a property, and restricts or prohibits activities that might endanger or degrade them.