Object Details
- General
- Beginning work in 1949 the gardens on this five acre property were a collaboration between landscape architect Fletcher Steele (1855-1971) and owner Helen Stoddard, and most of Steele's design and plantings were maintained for the next 50 years. The site slopes down behind the house and has outcroppings of rock. Steele envisioned a descending cornucopia shape inspired by the illusion of the downward spiral he had observed in Titian's painting "Bacchus and Ariadne", and had the shape he wanted carved into the earth by bulldozers. Descending levels of lawn, flower beds, and a pond were bordered by a ribbon of bluestone planted with tufts of blue fescue. Dry stone walls planted with maiden hair ferns were built from a porous fossilized rock dug out of a dried-up lake bed in Castalia, Ohio. Two sets of steps, one from the bluestone terrace behind the house and another below a bank of roses were covered with moss. White birches were planted to draw the eye to perennial borders, and spires of arborvitae were another focal point. The Art Deco style of the garden brought together the exotic and native by blending into surrounding woodlands that had plantings of juniper, mountain laurel, azaleas, dogwood, hemlock, birch, and elm.
- The current owners resolved to preserve Steele's innovative design and vision as much as possible while changing some deteriorating hardscape and plants. The dry Castalia stone wall and moss-covered steps were no longer safe and had to be replaced when the house was renovated. Bluestone was used to rebuild the terrace behind the house and for steps set on fieldstone risers, and a new low wall was built from cinder blocks with stone facing. A walkway of fieldstone set in the lawn recalled an original path. The blue fescue grass was dying off, possibly due to soggy feet, and is being replaced by Japanese hakone grass which is mostly yellow. The arborvitae had grown too tall and were out of scale, many were knocked over by a storm, and some are being replanted. However many of the perennials in the borders and beds, the white birches and the rose and azalea banks are still growing.
- Persons associated with the garden include: Robert and Helen Stoddard (former owners, 1941-1999); Fletcher Steele (1885-1971) (landscape architect, 1946-1949); Matt Mattus (gardener, 1975-1980); Isabel Wheat (horticulturist, 1999- ); Robert Karski (documentation, 2016).
- Landscape architect
- Steele, Fletcher, 1885-1971
- Former owner
- Stoddard, Robert, 1906-1984
- Stoddard, Helen, 1904-1998
- Horticulturist
- Wheat, Isabel
- Gardener
- Mattus, Matt
- Documentation
- Karski, Robert, 2016
- Provenance
- Worcester Garden Club
- Collection Creator
- Favretti, Rudy J., 1932-1923
- Place
- Steele-Stoddard-McDonough Garden (Worcester, Massachusetts).
- United States of America -- Massachusetts -- Worcester -- Worcester
- Topic
- Gardens -- Massachusetts -- Worcester
- Landscape architect
- Steele, Fletcher, 1885-1971
- Former owner
- Stoddard, Robert, 1906-1984
- Stoddard, Helen, 1904-1998
- Horticulturist
- Wheat, Isabel
- Gardener
- Mattus, Matt
- Documentation
- Karski, Robert, 2016
- Provenance
- Worcester Garden Club
- See more items in
- Rudy J. Favretti collection
- Rudy J. Favretti collection / Series 4: Visited Gardens / 4.2: Garden Images / Massachusetts
- Sponsor
- A project to describe images in this finding aid received Federal support from the Smithsonian Collections Care Initiative, administered by the National Collections Program.
- Custodial History
- The Worcester Garden Club facilitated the submission of this garden's documentation.
- Archival Repository
- Archives of American Gardens
- Identifier
- AAG.FAV, File MA244
- Type
- Archival materials
- Collection Citation
- Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Gardens, Rudy J. Favretti CollectionPapers.
- 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.
- Bibliography
- This property is featured in "In Worcester, a Fletcher Steele Creation Thrives as a Living Legacy" by Carol Stocker, published in The Boston Globe, June 22, 1995; Fletcher Steele, Landscape Architect: An Account of the Gardenmaker's Life, 1885-1971 by Robin Karson, published by Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1989, pp. 250-256; "The Gift of a Garden" by John Trexler, published in Garden Design, Spring 1985, pp. 32-39; "Enduring Steele" by Christopher Reed, published in Horticulture, January 1988, pp. 43-46; Treasury of American Gardens by James Marston Fitch and F.F. Rockwell, published by Harper & Brothers, 1956, pp. 72-75.
- Scope and Contents
- The folder includes worksheets, photocopies of articles, and other information.
- Collection Restrictions
- Access to original archival materials by appointment only. Researcher must submit request for appointment in writing. Certain items may be restricted and not available to researchers. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.
- Record ID
- ebl-1521747611750-1521747611945-8
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