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hickory2077zone5

Planning Gardens for 1862 Italianate House

Hickory2077zone5
20 years ago

Thanks, Ginger for the information.

I am trying to formulate a plan for my Italianate house. Outbuildings include a red barn (Southeast) white carriage house (SW of house) and gravel driveway. There is a nuttery with about 8 or more walnut and hickory trees (Northwest), two is in need of cutting down, foundations of drying shed (tobacco and herbs) and milk house

My interest is plants, shrub and trees of the era. I also want it to be colorful with todays foilage mixed in. I like a neat look but not tight and fussy. I won't have time to snip and prune much as we are starting to restore the interior and exterior of house, I want to have the good bones in place.

This plan is not a restoration but generating new beds, I want to keep the beds about 12 or so feet from the foundation of house. I have 3 large 15' pink rhodies in front of an l-shaped open white porch (facing North) with a 6 foot wide flagstone walk about 18 feet long, a mounting rock(horseback and carriage) which deadends into grassy area. Our present driveway is in the back (South), at carriage house which put everyone coming through my kitchen. So I want to make new entry, perhaps thru the sunroom or install walkway around to front of house but don't want to confuse people with 3 entry points.

We have 10 acres for gardens, presently mowing,to much waste, and 20 in mostly woodland with trillium, jack in pulpit,spring beauty,and such. The typical skunk cabbage near the feeder creek and much larger stream that dumps into river which makes my stream back up and flood when it rain a lot.

I have a block and cannot think of how to get a plan together for spring and rest of seasons for the next few years, gardening keeps me centered while I strip, sand prime and paint my house.

I know this is long in detail but thought it was useful information. Any help finding websites, links or information of any sort would be greatly appreciated. I have tried Google but only get the architechure not gardens.

Comments (7)

  • nandina
    20 years ago

    Hickory,
    Let me tackle two parts of your question which may help you find a beginning point.
    1. That 20 acre wetland has always been there. It is part of the ecosystem and part of a much larger watershed. Lucky you! From your description of the plants growing there it would be my guess that the water is fairly unpolluted. Acreage such as this is becoming harder to find. It would be best to leave these 20 acres alone and turn their care over to Mother Nature. This leaves you 10 acres to play with and develop around what sounds like a lovely home.

    2. Hopefully you will seek some professional design help on this project. As you are now renovating the house, perhaps the place to start your garden design is with the path leading from parking area to house entrance that does not bring people into the kitchen. This will be a key point in your garden design. Solve that problem first. This was a working farm at one time so it is possible that there was a large porch or woodshed kitchen entrance attached to the rear of the house.

  • ginger_nh
    20 years ago

    What does an Italianate home built in Ohio in 1862 look like. You mention that it has a slate roof, outbuildings, white porch, flagstone walk, gravel drive, and . . .

    I second Nandina's thoughts on preserving the wetland areas of your property. Might be good to have the county extension agent or conservation officer come out and take a look at it. You may garner some valuable information about how your land is linked to the larger ecosystem.

    Ginger

  • ginny12
    20 years ago

    You need to get a reprint of Andrew Jackson Downing's "Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening", one of the most influential American garden books ever published. First edition was in 1850s. Italianate was high style in that era--see architect with similar name from same period, Alexander Jackson Davis. Just looking at the drawings (this was pre-photography) will tell you what your garden should look like. This is a must-have in anyone's collection of American garden history books.

  • Hickory2077zone5
    Original Author
    20 years ago

    Ginny12 Thanks for the book title and author. Is that book easily obtained?
    Our home has some of the old glass(makes distortions when one looks through)two over two windows usually in pairs. Wide eaves with curved brackets.Three set of french doors on first level,one set to parlor, one set to dining room and one into sunroom. Wood work is painted so I haven't even begin to see what is underneath. Floor in dining room and parlor is chestnut wood. Wood floor in sunroom is painted and I have seen square cut nails in the wood planking. I think is may be cedar I scuffed up a small piece but not for certain. I have an old china cabinet in kitchen that may have been original to house. It is large maybe eight or ten inch carved trim around it. The glass doors is tinted a slight blue green. Drawing room has a huge stone fireplace, eight an' half or nine feet wide Ceilings ten feet on first floor, eight feet on second and wall to four feet then rafters angle up to make attic room ceilings seven feet.
    We have boiler for heat and no air conditioner. I think there might have been a cupola on top of house because there is a flat area about eight by eight in the roof area that has tar paper on it(which would have been their form of air conditioning)This has a small door in it so I can use a step ladder to see all around the neighborhood which is woods and farmland.
    The bedrooms facing west will have the best view of the future gardens, now covered by lots of snow and seven degree temps. My retreat is upstairs (sun porch, that has been built in)has windows facing east, south and west, I want a view of the gardens from there but probably only get a small one as the barn is due south, with driveway and carriage house taking their piece out of area, also.
    Any help on perennials and shrubs that other people have found successful that growing almost by themselves. I have pussywillow in another location that I can take cutting from. I would like to graft some apple trees but have to wait to get some root stocks first. Any help or suggestions are appreciated.

  • Hickory2077zone5
    Original Author
    20 years ago

    Thank you to everyone responding to my request for help. I have been reading a lot of this Forum and it seems to be exactly what I am in need of information about common mistakes and other areas that need to be addressed.
    My wetlands(?) is of great value to me so I plan on just making pathways so I may enjoy the woodland flora and fauna. The waters may stand an hour or up to two days but the soil is well drained and healthy.
    I plan on using organic methods with the execption of Roundup on Poison Ivy, which is climbing my trees, some of the vines an big as a gallon milk jug. I have already started to cut them with a hatchet, placing a heavy board between them and the tree, which is a task in and of itself, they have hairy root that hold onto the tree. Then in the spring I will use a paint brush with Roundup to kill newly emerging leaves.
    I have lost two otherwise healthy trees from blow down as the ivy act a a sail to catch the wind so am getting quite nasty with PI. Anyone with other methods of extermination of PI which would be useful. I have a few weeks to get the job done but must be careful as I have reaction to the oil that is in the vine and or leaves.

  • ginny12
    20 years ago

    Hickory2077, and anyone else who is interested--If you go to Amazon's site and type in Andrew Jackson Downing, you will find a number of useful books about Downing and the landscape in the 1820-Civil War era. He is one of the most important influences in the history of the American garden/landscape. Also reprints of his book--it has been reprinted several times in recent years. If you have a house--Italianate or whatever--of that era, this is the go-to book. Remember, you can get titles from Amazon and request them from your local public library. Ask for an ILL search (interlibrary loan). If not found, request an OCLC search. That will go thru the entire country, universities and all. It is all free--I mean you already paid for it with your taxes!

    The exact title of his most important book is TREATISE ON THE THEORY AND PRACTICE OF LANDSCAPE GARDENING ADAPTED TO NORTH AMERICA. (Most such books available were British or French at the time.)

  • Hickory2077zone5
    Original Author
    20 years ago

    I will be making a library run on Monday. I am starting to feel like I might be able to get some kind of plan together with all the great help from this forum. I recieved a letter from older person that a relative lived here, She is saying house was built in 1843 so yet another puzzle to unravel.(I'll check a desk to see historical records that they may have)

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