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Fairfax Station -- Tranquility Acres

Smithsonian Gardens

Object Details

General
Located in the suburbs of the Washington, D.C. metro area in Virginia, Tranquility Acres began as a 5.34 acre heavily wooded property purchased in 1978. An area was cleared for a fruit orchard which was planted in the fall of 1978 but it soon succumbed to deer and cicadas. The following spring azaleas which had been propagated in 1974 were introduced to the property. Upon approval of building plans, the owners broke ground in 1979 and began construction of their home. From clearing the land to building the house, the owners constructed their home themselves, completing the project in 1983.
Today the property contains 42 distinct gardens nestled amongst the native trees, including over 300 perennial species, over 500 named hybrid azaleas, over 30 tree species and numerous additional plantings including bulb, shrubs, hybrid camellias and hybrid rhododendrons. Of the plants included on the property, many were rescued from development projects, perennials are largely started from seeds which are saved and shared, and a great number of the azaleas were started from cuttings.
To accommodate such extensive plantings, the gardens were planned to be low-maintenance. Each garden was designed independently; much of the planting was completed in sections so that one area would be completed before the next was begun. The gardens are informal and naturalistic, with garden paths being the leading element in each design, followed by color and texture of the plantings.
Place
Tranquility Acres (Fairfax Station, Virginia)
United States of America -- Virginia -- Fairfax County -- Fairfax Station
Topic
Gardens -- Virginia -- Fairfax Station
See more items in
American Gardens Collection
American Gardens Collection / Series 1: Garden Images / United States of America / Virginia
Archival Repository
Archives of American Gardens
Identifier
AAG.AGC, File VA398
Type
Archival materials
Collection Citation
Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Gardens, American gardens collection.
Collection Rights
Archives of American Gardens encourages the use of its archival materials for non-commercial, educational and personal use under the fair use provision of U.S. copyright law. Use or copyright restrictions may exist. It is incumbent upon the researcher to ascertain copyright status and assume responsibility for usage. All requests for duplication and use must be submitted in writing and approved by Archives of American Gardens. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.
Scope and Contents
The folder includes worksheets, a detailed history of the development of the gardens, and extensive plant lists.
Related Materials
Tranquility Acres related holdings consist of 1 folder
Related link
Record ID
ebl-1530042680240-1530042680357-1
Metadata Usage
CC0
GUID
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/kb643f75574-0ddc-4237-94a8-df16f31799fa

Related Content

  • American Gardens Collection

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