Summer at Oak Spring
OSGF
Click to see the Oak Spring Garden in summer.
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Blog Posts
Opening the Broodmare Barn
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This year, a complete renovation of Paul Mellon's Broodmare Barn was completed, realizing his dream of creating a space to benefit visiting scholars.
Read MoreLectures and Learning
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OSGF President Sir Peter Crane has been hard at work in Inner Mongolia and Shenzhen, China. Read about his recent expedition and research, as well as his upcoming lecture at the XIX International Botanical Congress.
Read MoreProtecting Native Pollinators
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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.
Read MoreGinkgo: The Tree That Time Forgot
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Listen to OSGF President Sir Peter Crane tell the story of a tree that some consider mankind's oldest conservation effort.
Read MoreGrowing With Our Interns
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A critical part of the Oak Spring Garden Foundation's mission is to foster knowledge among young leaders in the fields of horticulture, plant science and garden research. This month, we are very excited to welcome our first gardening interns from the School of Professional Horticulture!
Read MoreAnna Maria Hussey
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As part of an initiative to increase recognition of the role that women have played in the development of plant science through botanical art, the Oak Spring Garden Foundation has been hosting interns to visit the Library and research our collections. One of the women researched was Anna Maria Hussey, an artist and mycologist.
Read MoreMellon and Schlumberger
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Bunny Mellon and renowned jewler-designer Jean Schlumberger shared interests at the intersection of style and the natural world. See how their friendship is being honored at VMFA and at OSGF.
Read MoreSpring at Oak Spring
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As the days grow longer and warmer, the color and aroma of spring have come flooding back into Bunny Mellon's garden, despite a late freeze!
Read MoreOak Spring Wildflowers and Trees
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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.
Read More#ColorOurCollections
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The New York Academy of Medicine launched a social media campaign called #ColorOurCollections, where cultural institutions around the world are invited to create downloadable coloring sheets and books using items in their collections. The Oak Spring Garden Foundation has a rich library of rare books and manuscript items that have played important roles in the history of botanical art and science. We think this campaign is a great way to share some of our collection, connect people to the art of botanical illustration and promote creativity!
Read MoreJane Loudon
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Jane Loudon (1807-1858) revolutionized both science fiction literature and the art of gardening by making it accessible to amateurs and women. The Oak Spring Garden Library has six second-edition volumes of her most successful work, The Ladies' Flower-Garden. We share her story.
Read MoreWinter at Oak Spring
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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.
Read MoreA flower bud blooms again after 100 million years.
OSGF
In paper published in this week in the Proceedings of the Royal Society (UK Academy of Science) Professors Friis, Pedersen and Crane describe the remarkably well preserved bud of an ancient flower recovered from fossil deposits from the the Chesapeake Bay region of Maryland, USA.
Read MoreElizabeth Blackwell
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The Oak Spring Garden Library houses the works of many great women artists in its collection -- most of whom were ahead of their time in one way or another. One of these women, Elizabeth Blackwell (1707-1758), is best remembered for A Curious Herbal, which was conceived and published under curious circumstances. The Oak Spring Garden Library has a copy of both volumes of A Curious Herbal, along with 73 of the original manuscript paintings she did for the book. Here is her story.
Read MoreAutumn at Oak Spring
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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!
Read MoreWelcome to OSGF’s First Horticultural Interns!
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Oak Spring’s upcoming horticultural interns from the New York Botanical Garden (NYBG) joined us this week for a brief orientation to our gardens and grounds. Carly Amarant and Ralph Portillano are currently students at NYBG's School of Professional Horticulture (SoPH), where they have been receiving both academic and hands-on training in the art and science of gardening.
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