Contact Us

Use the form on the right to contact us.

You can edit the text in this area, and change where the contact form on the right submits to, by entering edit mode using the modes on the bottom right. 

         

123 Street Avenue, City Town, 99999

(123) 555-6789

email@address.com

 

You can set your address, phone number, email and site description in the settings tab.
Link to read me page with more information.

20170421_oakspring_073.jpg

Gardens

Oak Spring Garden

“A garden, hovering always in a state of becoming, sums its own past and its future.”
— Bunny Mellon

If “gardening is a way of thinking,” as Bunny Mellon once wrote, then her garden at Oak Spring was her journal writ in plantings and pathways. Of all the gardens she created in her lifetime, this half-acre space was her most personal. It grew as she did, and was a place where she experimented over the years of her long life with color, texture, and form.

OSGF actively manages the Oak Spring garden to sustain the principles and spirit of Bunny Mellon. Our garden team works closely with the Oak Spring Garden Library to research archival photographs that document Mrs. Mellon’s evolving garden style as they thoughtfully plant, prune, and pleach for the future. This includes the integration of forward-thinking practices that support sustainability; such as the inclusion of more native plant species, greatly reducing the use of pesticides and synthetic fertilizers, and adopting regular and repeated applications of chopped leaf mulch throughout the year to help develop the health of the soil over time.

A Place to Grow

Bunny Mellon’s garden is maintained not only for enjoyment, but also to serve as a place for learning and inspiration. This has included gardening internships, workshops, and conferences hosted within the garden.

Visiting scholars, artists, and writers utilize the garden as both a living library of floral specimens, as well as a place of respite and connection. We believe strongly in supporting the development of leaders in the world of plants and the environment.

Every year we continue to develop and refine programs that will offer opportunities to learn in and from the garden. Explore our current programs under the “What We Do” tab.

Garden & Horticulture Programs

Come learn in our garden! We offer a series of one-day events and multi-day short courses on many topics relating to our mission. Below is a list of programs currently available that relate to gardens & horticulture.

Featured
Mrs. Mellon's Spring Garden: A Special Evening Preview
Apr 24
Mrs. Mellon's Spring Garden: A Special Evening Preview

Please join us for an elegant evening preview of Mrs. Mellon's Spring Garden.

Tickets: $150

Historic Garden Week Tours
Apr 25
Historic Garden Week Tours

Oak Spring will be open for public tours on April 25th and 26th as part of Historic Garden Week in Virginia

Paint Out: In the Walled Garden - Independent Work Session for Artists
May 4
Paint Out: In the Walled Garden - Independent Work Session for Artists

Paint Out: In the Walled Garden - An Independent Work Session for Artists

Tickets: $10

Explore More

Gardens are full of stories, and we love to share them. Whether its news from the Oak Spring Garden, fascinating places and people from garden history, or practical horticulture tips, you can find our latest garden-related blog posts here.

Featured
Borrowed Scenery
Borrowed Scenery

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.

Ellen Biddle Shipman: A Style All Her Own
Ellen Biddle Shipman: A Style All Her Own

The gardens Bunny Mellon created during her life were influenced by a number of places, objects, people and literature. One woman who had a lasting impact on American gardens and served as an inspiration for Mrs. Mellon was Ellen Biddle Shipman. Ellen, born on this day in 1869, was a pioneering landscape architect who designed over 600 gardens in her lifetime. Read on to learn about Ellen’s life and how some of her trademark garden design staples made their way to the gardens of Mrs. Mellon.

Inviting in Nature: The Rokeby Habitat Garden
Inviting in Nature: The Rokeby Habitat Garden

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.

A Love of Plants That Transcends Time
A Love of Plants That Transcends Time

As a horticulturist, garden designer, and philanthropist, her passions and vision for the future left an enduring influence through the formation of the Oak Spring Garden Foundation. In celebration of her birthday, a newly discovered fossilized plant species has been named in Bunny’s honor. Our President Sir Peter Crane outlines this new discovery and another pioneering woman who helped to bring this fossil flower to light.

Growing Through the Cracks
Growing Through the Cracks

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.

Unsung Pollinators
Unsung Pollinators

When someone says the word pollinator, what first comes to mind? You may think of a European honeybee, butterfly or hummingbird. To kick off National Pollinator Week, learn about a few of the unsung pollinators of the world and hear from our Ecologist and Collections Specialist, Dr. Rea Manderino on their importance.

Banner Image by Roger Foley