Feature article published
in Block Island Magazine
‘No More A Secret
Garden’
Blithewold Mansion, Gardens & Arboretum, Bristol
~~~
A
33-acre botanical garden, arboretum and 45-room mansion
on the Narragansett Bay is not easy to hide, yet somehow
Rhode Island has managed to do it. Blithewold Mansion, Gardens
& Arboretum has the rare distinction of being one of
only two other arboreta situated on salt water and of being
home to one of the largest Giant Sequoia east of the Rocky
Mountains. Yet even Rhode Islanders will admit to having
never visited Blithewold, even if they have heard of it.
But then if you’re from the West Bay the East Bay
is a long way away?
Rhode Islanders take rather eccentric pride
in being hidden from the world, and from never leaving the
State. It is part of the resoundingly irresistible charm
of this part of the world. But, this ‘secret garden’
thing can’t go on. Blithewold is far too beautiful
to remain hidden - it must be shared.
| “Blithewold is
one of only two arboreta in the country situated
on salt water.” |
|
Blithewold was built over 100 years ago as
a summer retreat for a wealthy Pennsylvania businessman
and his family. But, in an area replete with mansions what
makes this mansion a little different from those nearby
is its family-oriented and utter down-to-earth flavor.
Augustus Van Wickle graduated from Brown University in 1876
and so was already somewhat familiar with, and liked, Rhode
Island. An impulsive purchase of a 72-foot steam yacht,
‘The Marjorie’, in 1895 created a need for a
mooring. The property on the Narragansett Bay seemed to
offer the Van Wickles and their one young daughter Marjorie,
the yacht’s namesake, all they could possibly want
in a summer home. Van Wickle’s wife Bessie, a very
accomplished horticulturist, had longed for a place to put
down roots, literally. Her fondest desire was to establish
a garden and arboretum. And so Blithewold came into being
- Blithewold meaning “happy woodland.”
| “But this 'secret
garden' thing can’t go on.” |
|
The Van Wickles first house, built in 1896,
was a large shingled Queen Anne style house. Tragedy struck
the family, however, in 1898 when Augustus Van Wickle was
killed in a skeet shooting accident leaving Bessie expecting
their second child. Their daughter Augustine who was born
just five months after her father’s death. As Blithewold
held so much of the family Bessie had no desire to leave.
She and the girls continued to summer at Blithewold and
when, in 1901 Bessie married William McKee, an old friend
of Augustus and a Boston businessman, they continued to
make Blithewold their summer retreat. For the McKees summer
at Blithewold was a long and wonderful time. Bessie began
her “summer” stay in early spring, and remained
well into the fall to be close to her garden.
Tragedy struck again when, in 1906,
the house burned to the ground not quite ten years after
it was built. The family was in residence but unable to
do anything to extinguish the fire. It burned slowly and
inexorably for there was not enough water pressure to douse
the flames. The fire was a devastatingly painful blow for
the family, but with the help of many people from Bristol
they were at least able to rescue most of the furnishings.
Within two years a second and grander house was built in
the same location and it is the 45-room mansion that stands
today. This second mansion was crafted along the lines of
an English manor house but most of the furnishings are those
saved from the first house. The long, narrow design of the
mansion, from the Boston architectural firm of Kilham and
Hopkins, provides each room with a full view of the Narragansett
Bay, and of the grounds.
| “The house burned
slowly and inexorably for there was not enough
water pressure to douse the flames.” |
|
Good gardening had been going on at Blithewold
for many years before the Van Wickles purchased the property.
The former owner, John Gardner, had planted many exotic
trees and designed what is now known as the Enclosed Garden:
a large lawn area surrounded today by several different
kinds of chamaecyparis, cryptomeria, rhododendron, spruce
and hemlock. Weeping sophora, thujopsis and taxus species
are planted near the edges of this garden, but the centerpiece
is the 100-foot-tall giant sequoia, Sequoiadendron giganteum.
The sum of the mansion, gardens and arboretum
is greater than the parts, and yet the gardens and arboretum
stand alone in their beauty - a wonderful horticultural
resource set beside the Narragansett Bay it is to be visited
in all the seasons. A staggering number of daffodils appear
to herald the early spring each year, and when the leaves
fall from the more than 1,500 exotic and native trees the
grounds blaze with color. The towering bamboo grove becomes
a magnet for children and adults alike, and the huge display
gardens overwhelm visitors with a lavish array of flowers,
many of which are cut for use in the house. An elegantly
designed rock garden nestles beside the water’s edge
flanked by an oriental water garden and a sweeping 10-acre
lawn, one of two on the property. The enclosed rose garden
both welcomes and bids farewell to visitors who enter through
the vine-clad Moon Gate.
Blithewold’s contributions to historic
preservation and public education have been significant
on both national and regional levels. It is listed on the
National Register of Historic Places and is individually
listed with the Bristol Historic District Commission. The
estate has been the recipient of many awards and citations
for its commitment to garden preservation and public outreach.
The history of Blithewold as a public garden
began in 1976 when the Van Wickle’s daughter Marjorie
Van Wickle Lyon bequeathed the property to the Heritage
Trust of Rhode Island upon her death. The property came
to the Heritage Trust along with most of the furnishings,
some of which had been saved from the first fire, and an
endowment of $1.2 million.
Blithewold’s success, however, came
at a price. Over the decade prior to 1998 the Heritage Trust
had turned to this endowment to meet the estate’s
growing operating expenses. Consequently annual deficits
virtually depleted the original $1.2 million leaving the
Trust with no choice but to contemplate closing Blithewold,
or to entertain alternative options that would have rendered
the estate inaccessible to the public.
| “...a wonderful
horticultural resource...” |
|
Within weeks of threatened closure,
working together with The Garden Conservancy of Cold Spring,
NY, a group of passionately dedicated members of Blithewold
formed as Save Blithewold, Inc. (SBI) to raise the money
necessary to prevent the loss of Blithewold. In less than
one month SBI was able to raise more than $600,000 which
enabled them to approach the Heritage Trust Board and make
them an offer they simply could not ignore. In the face
of such an outpouring of support for Blithewold the Board
of the Trust graciously stepped down as managers of the
property and agreed to negotiate a handover lease agreement
with Save Blithewold, Inc. This agreement took effect on
March 1, 1999.
Save Blithwold, Inc. is a dynamic group of
gardening and preservation enthusiasts who are determined
to make Blithewold the nationally known destination it should
always have been. The vision for the future is stellar,
and all concerned are eager to bring Blithewold into the
fold of outstanding American gardens and landscapes. Over
the past year Blithewold has received a huge infusion of
creative energy from those already involved with SBI, and
from newcomers who see Blithewold’s preservation as
a mission worth embracing. Fund raising is, of course, very
high on the current agenda and many activities are planned
for 2000 to accomplish this. One such event is GARDENS OPEN
FOR BLITHEWOLD, two special tours of private notable gardens,
the first in June in Watch Hill & Weekapaug, RI, and
the second in August in Westport, MA. (See attached article.)
For more information about Blithewold Mansion,
Gardens & Arboretum call 253-2707 or visit the website
at www.blithewold.org.
