Object Details
- General
- Tallwood refers to the yews (planted circa 1746), great oaks, holly and tulip poplars that were on the portion of the Enniscorthy tract given circa 1800 to Tucker Coles and his wife Helen Skipwith Coles. The original purchaser of 4,960 acres of land, circa 1730 to 1747, was John Coles, who divided his property among his four sons. Helen Coles designed the garden at Tallwood in the English style, circa 1804, with the assistance of an English gardener. The garden included hedges of box, crepe myrtle, lilac, and mock orange to the south and west, with yews to the north. The Federal-style house is approached through a winding avenue of tulip poplars. Fronted by lawn, the east side of the house was planted in flower beds and borders divided by grass walks, with more vegetable (kitchen garden) beds behind.
- The garden was rejuvenated in the 1930s by Louis Chauvenet, Jr., and Caroline E. Chauvenet, who then owned the property.
- Other plantings include a Japanese lemon hedge, a hydrangea of great size and age, famous roses, and fences covered in trumpet vine, clematis, and honeysuckle vines that separate the flower and vegetable gardens.
- Persons associated with the garden include Tucker Coles and Helen Skipwith Coles (former owners and garden designer, 1804) and Louis Chauvenet, Jr., and Caroline E. Chauvenet (former owners, 1930s).
- Former owner
- Chauvenet, Louis, Jr., 1895
- Coles, Helen Skipwith
- Garden designer
- Coles, Helen Skipwith
- Former owner
- Coles, Tucker
- Chauvenet, Caroline E.
- Collection Creator
- Garden Club of America
- Place
- Gardens -- Virginia -- Keene
- United States of America -- Virginia -- Albemarle County -- Keene
- Tallwood (Keene, Virginia)
- Topic
- Gardens, English
- Former owner
- Chauvenet, Louis, Jr., 1895
- Coles, Helen Skipwith
- Garden designer
- Coles, Helen Skipwith
- Former owner
- Coles, Tucker
- Chauvenet, Caroline E.
- See more items in
- The Garden Club of America collection
- The Garden Club of America collection / Series 1: United States Gardens / Virginia
- 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.
- Archival Repository
- Archives of American Gardens
- Identifier
- AAG.GCA, File VA007
- Type
- Archival materials
- Collection Citation
- Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Gardens, The Garden Club of America collection.
- 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
- The garden is featured in the Gardens of Colony and State (1934) published by the Garden Club of America, p. 106-109.
- Scope and Contents
- The folder includes worksheets and photocopies of articles.
- 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-1643208220039-1643210187696-0
