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The beauty of our surrounding landscape can be a source of inspiration for artists, writers, scientists and plant people alike. Bigger landscape elements like mountains, rivers, or the topography of the Bull Run and Blue Ridge mountains which border Oak Spring can even be incorporated into garden design. Read our latest blog post written by our Horticulture Apprentice, Claire, to learn about the history of a design philosophy which first originated in 17th century China and encourages us to draw inspiration from the surrounding landscape.
The students at Foxcroft School had the opportunity to visit and learn about the curative power of plants. They dove right in with an informative lecture led by Educational Outreach Director, Ginger Anderson. Several of the students also came in the fall to harvest and process the herbal materials that were used for this class.
After the lecture, the students rolled up their sleeves and crafted their own remedies from scratch. Read the blog for recipes you can make at home.
Summer is a time that’s bursting with activity. The landscape is full of soaring butterflies, buzzing bees, and a host of birds and other critters. In this guest blog post, written by our Biodiversity Conservation Manager, learn about the creation of the Rokeby Wildlife Garden, which supports Oak Spring’s flora and fauna, and get a few tips on how to start your own wildlife garden.
Bunny Mellon once said “every rock has its purpose” and “every plant has its purpose.” Inspired by French styled parterres, the terraced gardens of Oak Spring are the perfect marriage of the two sentiments. The rock in this case is local fieldstone which was hand laid by Oak Spring’s stonemasons, and the plants are a smattering of herbs and other perennials which were first sprinkled out as seeds by Bunny during the garden's construction. Today, the cracks of the fieldstone spill out with plants that thrive under the beating summer sun. Learn more about the history of the terrace garden and some of the plants that thrive there in this blog.
Last month two of our Garden Team members entered the local Upperville Daffodil Show. It was a winding process to get there but each came away with multiple ribbons! In our newest blog post, read about the steps they took in preparation for the showing, the long history of daffodils in the US and get a few tips about how to put your best foot (or flower) forward.
Spring is the time when we take to the outdoors for some warm weather activities— for the Mellon’s one of those activities included croquet. In this guest blog post, written by our newest Horticultural Apprentice Bennett Meeks, learn all about the steps necessary to create your own croquet lawn and some general tips for heathy lawn care.
Through gardens we can observe the cycles of nature, produce food and medicines that sustain us, commune with wildlife, and so much more. At various times throughout history, people have had different ideas of what their garden should be made up of or what it should be utilized for. In our latest blog post, read about a few of the varying approaches to gardens through some of the oldest botanic gardens in the world and see some of the related objects from the Oak Spring Garden Library collections.
The gardens we know today are inspiring– the designers who created them took many approaches, influenced by their upbringing, travels, or their inner circles. Many of our modern notable gardens have inspirational roots in gardens from the, some of which were historically designed by women. While many did not receive formal training, it didn’t stop them from convening in their own ways to radically change the way we view gardens today. It’s no easy task to pair this list down to just four, but to usher in National Garden Month, learn about the lives and legacies of several plantswomen.
Happy first day of Spring! As winter’s grip fades, we turn to the forest floor to marvel at the spring ephemerals that are beginning to emerge. These native plants pack a lot of beauty into a small timeframe and have historically been used in traditional medicine. Celebrate the vernal equinox and read about four short-lived wonders.
The world of plants is a vast one. There are an array of no-so-linear characters, some might be obvious, some subtle. Learn about the bendy, curvy, snaking and twisting nature of plants in our latest blog.
It’s hard to believe but our Horticulture Apprentice, Thomas Bardoff has been with us for a full year! At the beginning of Thomas’s time, he shared his insights on our blog into the process of pruning one of the most recognizable pieces of Mrs. Mellon’s garden, the stepover cordons. Cordons, espaliers, and the ‘Mary Potter’ crabapple arbor were the embodiment of Bunny Mellon’s strong fascination with pruning techniques. Our Garden Team works diligently year-round to maintain these fixtures and in our newest blog post, Thomas shares his thoughts on a year at Oak Spring.
January 22nd is the date of the Lunar New Year for 2023. Read on to learn more about the plants of the Lunar New Year and how they play an integral role in the celebrations.
Cyclamen have existed since around the time of the philosopher Theophrastus. Read about how we are growing one of Mrs. Mellon’s favorite flowers to keep our garden and greenhouse lively during the colder months.
Vanity Fair once described Bunny Mellon as the “high priestess of pruning and pleaching” for her devotion to gardening and personal love for pruning. While Bunny had an affinity for picking wildflowers and celebrated vegetable gardens, she loved pretty weeds as well.
European honey bees may be the most recognizable pollinators in the world. But the busiest workers in American gardens are often overlooked: these are the bats, birds, flies, wasps, solitary bees, and other animals that make up the native pollinator population. In the midst of the summer pollinator frenzy, we want to celebrate and protect the species that have pollinated native plants for hundreds of years.
Ecologist Michael Gaige is currently undertaking a comprehensive site survey of Oak Spring to document the flora and fauna of the 263-acre estate through all four seasons. He visited Oak Spring this week and shot these photographs of wildflowers and trees that have been blooming around the landscape outside of the garden.
The leaves have fallen and the ground has frozen, but there is still plenty of life and beauty to be found in Bunny Mellon's garden. Click through the slideshow below to explore Oak Spring during the winter months.
Thanks to our dedicated team of gardeners, Oak Spring enjoys four seasons of beauty, color and blooms throughout its grounds. Take a look at the slideshow below to see how our gardens have transformed over the past few autumn months!
