Exterior view of the Andalusian Estate.
History of the Andalusian Estate
The house was originally built in the late 18th century by a Philadelphia merchant named John Craig. It was a summer vacation for his family. John’s daughter Jane and her husband Nicholas Biddle oversaw a major expansion of the site in the 1830s.
Since then, the enchanted garden has undergone a fascinating evolution. The property is owned by couple Jamie and Christine Biddle. They live there with his three children. Andalusia is both a cherished ancestral home and a haven for an amazing collection of plants and trees. Registered as a garden in April 2020. Arboretum situation Registered with the esteemed Morton Register.
About The Gardens
The Biddles own 50 acres of their sprawling 100-acre estate in Andalusia. Andalusian Foundation The public can experience the charm and soul of the quirky gardens. In the 1880s, Laetitia Glenn Biddle added elegance and an abundance of flowers. Inspired by this legacy, Jamie and Christine rejuvenated her garden in 2014, hiring renowned landscape designer Arabella Lennox her Boyd. Both Jamie and Christine drew inspiration from their vast book collections and archived magazine articles. Arabella approached her work with her rich imagination, visualizing a huge field of flowers bordering a lush road. Unique blooms include the blue Brunella macrophylla ‘Jack Frost’, the purplish-blue Phlox divaricata, the white silvery-gray hosta ‘Halcyon’, and the vibrant greens that grow beneath the trees. Arabella has meticulously planned plantings surrounding dogwood trees.
green walk
Photo: Ngoc Mingo/House & Garden
Various flowers and greenery overlap in the garden. In the photo above, it’s on top of a hedge of viburnum (a shrub with round clusters that look like snowballs) and ilex (holly). The 19th-century vineyards and rose gardens are surrounded by walls of river stones and bricks.
Corners Florida
Photo: Ngoc Mingo/House & Garden
Cornus Florida is also known as flowering dogwood tree. It is a collection of round flower bracts and rosehip-like fruits. Some trees are hybrids with Rutgersensis and produce beautiful pink flowers.
fairy rose
Photo taken: Andaluciapa
At the entrance of the garden, long-blooming pink “fairy roses” are lined up in a variety of colors. Located at the entrance to the fragrant rose garden nearby.
wall garden history
Walled gardens originated in Persia. They were designed to be places of worship and contemplation. It was not originally intended for growing plants. However, it soon became a popular technique for growing food. The south-facing wall was used for growing espalier fruit, and the development of greenhouses extended the growing period, making it even more convenient.
Historically, walled gardens were generally huge spaces, carefully tended by gardeners who worked closely with the home to meet their needs.according to house and garden, 1 acre can feed 12 people. Some properties had walled gardens of up to 30 acres. For example, in 1844, Queen Victoria’s royal kitchen garden in Windsor was one of her largest walled gardens.
Advantages of walled gardens
Having a walled garden has many benefits. Provides visual privacy and blocks sound. Another benefit is that cold-weather gardeners grow plants that thrive in climate zones higher than the normal local climate, which may increase productivity during peak summer months. A walled garden can be an investment and will take a long time to complete. However, if you use reclaimed materials and plan your design correctly, it can be a sustainable, green and long-lasting gardening option.
What do you think of walled gardens? I’m curious to know if anyone has attempted to create one themselves or inherited one.
Xu
Here
