Mt. Cuba Center | |
Location | 3120 Barley Mill Rd. |
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Nearest city | Hockessin, Delaware |
Coordinates | 39°47′18″N75°38′54″W / 39.78841°N 75.64828°W |
Area | 7.4 acres (3.0 ha) |
Built | 1937 |
Built by | J. S. Cornell & Son |
Architect | Victorine & Samuel Homsey (house) Thomas Warren Sears (landscape) |
Architectural style | Colonial Revival |
NRHP reference No. | 03000172 [1] |
Added to NRHP | April 2, 2003 |
Mt. Cuba Center is a non-profit botanical garden located in Hockessin, Delaware, near Wilmington, in the gently rolling hills of the Delaware Piedmont. Its woodland gardens produce some of the most spectacular displays of wildflowers in the mid-Atlantic region. Mt. Cuba is open to the public from April through November for general admission, guided tours and special programs. Education courses, including a Certificate in Ecological Gardening, are offered year-round.
Mt. Cuba's well-documented plant collection is focused on the study of eastern North American flora, with emphasis on the Appalachian Piedmont. The collections hold over 6,500 accessions. Horticultural research focuses on Coreopsis, Heuchera, Baptisia, and Trillium . Mt. Cuba Center is a "national collection" holder for Hexastylis and Trillium. [2] [3] Several of its introductions are widely popular, including Aster laevis 'Bluebird', Aster novae-angliae 'Purple Dome' and Solidago sphacelata 'Golden Fleece'.
The Center encompasses a diverse set of grounds, ranging from a Lilac Alleé, Formal Garden, and South Terrace to more natural gardens including the Dogwood Path, Meadow, Pond Garden, West Slope Path, Woods Path and Rock Wall.
The 6,500 accessions of plants in the collection represent more than 2,200 taxa on a diverse set of grounds, ranging from formal to naturalistic gardens. Garden areas include native plant meadows, woodland and pond gardens and historic non-native plantings such as a lilac alleé. A prominent trial garden has focused Horticultural research on the genera Coreopsis, Heuchera, Baptisia,Monarda and Trillium and several of its introductions are widely popular, including Aster laevis 'Bluebird', Aster novae-angliae 'Purple Dome' and Solidago sphacelata 'Golden Fleece'. Mt. Cuba Center is an American Public Gardens Association Plant Collections Network holder for Hexastylis and Trillium.
Mt. Cuba Center's over 500 acres of Natural Lands surround the gardens and managed landscapes and consist of steeply rolling hills, stream valleys, rock outcrops, and deciduous forests. Mt. Cuba Center focuses on restoration and conservation in its Natural Lands, which are available to the public through educational programs and through science-based research projects and collaborations.
A 2020 reader's choice poll voted the Mt. Cuba Center the best botanical garden in the United States. [4]
Mt. Cuba Center offers continuing education classes in horticulture, conservation, art and wellness. Participants have the option of following educational tracks leading towards a certificate in ecological gardening, which emphasizes the importance of gardening in the context of a greater ecosystem. Mt. Cuba also offers a 12-week summer internship program and a fellowship supporting field research.
Mt. Cuba Center is the former home and family estate of Lammot du Pont Copeland and his wife, Pamela Cunningham Copeland. In 1935, the Copelands built a stately Colonial Revival manor house near the village of Mt. Cuba, outside of Wilmington, Delaware. The Copelands were prominent members of the community. Mr. Copeland served as President and Chairman of the DuPont Company, while Mrs. Copeland was a leader in many community and cultural organizations. During the late 1930s, formal areas were designed first by the prominent Philadelphia landscape architect Thomas W. Sears and later, in the 1950s, by noted landscape designer Marian Cruger Coffin.[2]
In the 1960s, the Copelands were becoming acutely aware of a changing land ethic and they became more interested in ecology and the need for conservation. Mrs. Copeland, in particular, was increasingly concerned about wildflowers and the impact on them by development and unscrupulous practices. In response, landscape architect Seth Kelsey was hired to develop the woodland wildflower gardens with native plants, design their ponds, and plan many woodland garden paths.
In 1983, Dr. Richard Lighty was hired by the Copelands as their first Director of Horticulture. The Copelands expanded their horticultural endeavors to study native plants of the Appalachian Piedmont, the beginnings of a botanic garden on a private estate. That same year, Mr. Copeland passed away. In the late 1980s, Mt. Cuba Center began hosting visitors by offering docent-led tours during the spring. Mt. Cuba Center horticulturists also began documenting their increasingly diverse native plant collections.
In 2001, Mrs. Copeland died. Mt. Cuba Center was no longer a botanic garden on a private estate but a public garden for all to be inspired about native plants. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2003.
Continuing education classes started in 2006. In 2013, Mt. Cuba Center launched general admission during the spring, summer, and fall seasons.
Solidago, commonly called goldenrods, is a genus of about 100 to 120 species of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. Most are herbaceous perennial species found in open areas such as meadows, prairies, and savannas. They are mostly native to North America, including Mexico; a few species are native to South America and Eurasia. Some American species have also been introduced into Europe and other parts of the world.
Trillium grandiflorum, the white trillium, large-flowered trillium, great white trillium, white wake-robin or French: trille blanc, is a species of flowering plant in the family Melanthiaceae. A monocotyledonous, herbaceous perennial, the plant is native to eastern North America, from northern Quebec to the southern parts of the United States through the Appalachian Mountains into northernmost Georgia and west to Minnesota. There are also several isolated populations in Nova Scotia, Maine, southern Illinois, and Iowa.
The Bartlett Arboretum and Gardens in Stamford, Connecticut, contains 93 acres of parkland, gardens, landscapes, and hiking trails that focus on the regional plants, ecology and character of Southwestern New England. The Arboretum is open and accessible to the public every day of the year and is located at 151 Brookdale Road.
The Cofrin Memorial Arboretum 290 acres surrounds the University of Wisconsin–Green Bay campus in Green Bay, Wisconsin, United States. Its six miles (10 km) of trails are open to the public.
Coreopsis lanceolata, commonly known as lanceleaf coreopsis, lanceleaf tickseed, lance-leaved coreopsis, or sand coreopsis, is a North American species of tickseed in the family Asteraceae.
Baptisia australis, commonly known as blue wild indigo or blue false indigo, is a flowering plant in the family Fabaceae (legumes). It is a perennial herb native to much of central and eastern North America and is particularly common in the Midwest, but it has also been introduced well beyond its natural range. Naturally it can be found growing wild at the borders of woods, along streams or in open meadows. It often has difficulty seeding itself in its native areas due to parasitic weevils that enter the seed pods, making the number of viable seeds very low. The plant has low toxicity levels for humans.
Heuchera is a genus of largely evergreen perennial plants in the family Saxifragaceae. All species are native to North America except for Heuchera sichotensis, native to the Russian Far East. Common names include alumroot and coral bells.
The University of Michigan Matthaei Botanical Gardens includes botanical gardens, natural areas with trails, and several research-quality habitats and is part of the organization Matthaei Botanical Gardens and Nichols Arboretum. It was established in 1907.
The Plant Collections Network (PCN) is a group of North American botanical gardens and arboreta that coordinates a continent-wide approach to plant germplasm preservation, and promotes excellence in plant collections management. The program is administered by the American Public Gardens Association from its headquarters in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, in collaboration with the USDA Agricultural Research Service.
Baptisia, commonly referred to as wild indigo or false indigo, represents a diverse genus within the legume family, Fabaceae. These flowering herbaceous perennials exhibit an array of characteristics, including pea-like flowers, blooming in the spring that eventually mature into pods, occasionally displaying an inflated form. Renowned for their enduring presence and a spectrum of colours ranging from yellow, blue and white, Baptisia's captivate gardeners with their colourful stems, unique foliage, and exquisite flowers.
Heuchera americana, or American alumroot, is a small evergreen perennial native to eastern and central North America while also ranging into Ontario, Canada. It is a part of the Saxifrage family.
Baptisia tinctoria is a herbaceous perennial plant in the family Fabaceae. It is native to eastern North America.
Coreopsis verticillata is a North American species of tickseed in the sunflower family. It is found primarily in the east-central United States, from Maryland south to Georgia, with isolated populations as far west as Oklahoma and as far north as Québec and Ontario. The common names are whorled tickseed, whorled coreopsis, thread-leaved tickseed, thread leaf coreopsis, and pot-of-gold.
Symphyotrichum lateriflorum is a species of flowering plant in the aster family (Asteraceae). Commonly known as calico aster, starved aster, and white woodland aster, it is native to eastern and central North America. It is a perennial and herbaceous plant that may reach heights up to 120 centimeters and widths up to 30 centimeters.
Solidago caesia, commonly named blue-stemmed goldenrod, wreath goldenrod, or woodland goldenrod, is a flowering plant native to North America.
Tony Avent is an American horticulturist and plantsman. He and wife and business partner, Anita Avent, own Plant Delights Nursery and Juniper Level Botanic Garden in Raleigh, North Carolina. In addition, he is a plant explorer, author and public speaker.
The Toronto Botanical Garden (TBG) is located at 777 Lawrence Avenue East at Leslie Street, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Termed "The little garden with big ideas", the TBG is nearly four acres and features 17 themed "city-sized gardens". Located in the north-east corner of Edwards Gardens, the TBG is a non-profit horticultural and educational organization with a mission to connect people, plants and the natural world through education, inspiration and leadership.
Pamela Cunningham Copeland was an American horticulturist and historic preservationist, known for her philanthropy. Her home and gardens became Mt. Cuba Center, a public garden and research center for Appalachian Piedmont flora that was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2003.
Trillium grandiflorum 'Pamela Copeland' is a cultivated double form of the large-flowered trillium, Trillium grandiflorum.