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Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Visit to Stan Hywet in Akron, Ohio ~ The Waterlily Pool

Waterlily pool at Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens

My husband and I just returned from a wonderful weekend away in nearby Akron, Ohio. We visited Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens which is considered "one of the finest examples of Tudor Revival architecture in America" (ref). The Hall was patterned after Ockwell’s Manor in Berkshire, Compton Wynyates in Warwickshire and Haddon Hall in Derbyshire by architect Charles S. Schneider.


The grounds were designed by Boston landscape architect Warren H. Manning in 1915. He worked with the Hall architect to connect the house to the allées and overlooks of the valley. In the back, there is a generous terrace, expansive lawn with a waterlily pool, and a stone walk that extends over an embankment. According to one of the Hall guides, the house was positioned so that this stone walk, which extends a view that begins at the front door, looks through the trees to the setting sun for the summer solstice, June 21st.

Hope you enjoy a look around! I will be posting other Stan Hywet garden areas in the future, including their English Sunken Garden by American garden designer, Ellen Biddle Shipman.

Looking up the stone steps to the back of Stan Hywet Hall. The water fountain is in the waterlily pool.
The Waterlily Pool at Stan Hywet
Pink waterlily buds this August.

This railing is at the back of the lawn. Pool on the right. The steps by the pool lead down the hill...
...to the stone walkway, which is circular at its terminus. This view looks toward the setting sun for summer solstice each year. To the right is their small Japanese garden.
Potted begonia and ivy on the railing.
One of many lawns that the Seiberling family used for recreation in the 1920's, when exercise was having a surge in popularity among the wealthy.
Terrace pots were filled with the Purple Fountain Grass (Pennisetum setaceum 'Rubrum') and annuals.
The bay window in the second story on the right was the Seiberlings bedroom window; underneath is the Library.
Pennisetum setaceum 'Rubrum'
Pennisetum setaceum 'Rubrum', Coleus, Angelina and Dahilas on the terrace. 
Annuals around one of the circular stone seats that flank the back lawn and pool.
This brick area to the right of the house was for drying the house laundry in (relative) privacy.











Nicotiana, Alyssum, Ageratum, Angelina and Coleus create a vibrant planting for this (now) walled garden in August.

Hope you enjoyed your a look around Stan Hywet! More to come.

9 comments:

  1. Julie, If I hadn't read what you've written, I would have sworn that this house/garden was here in the UK. What a wonderful example of architecture and garden design.
    Attention to detail not only in the planting but your photography as well!

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    1. Mrs. Seiberling did a wonderful job with her Hall... she was obsessive about the details and bought hundreds of Tudor pieces to fill the house. (No photos were allowed inside, so I will not be able to show them :()
      Thanks for your complements!
      ~Julie

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  2. Wahouuuu, it's ... wahouuu (i don't find the words !!! lol)

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  3. I love seeing those old gardens. Very well done and so many nice features. The container plantings make really nice focal points. Thank you for sharing your photos!

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  4. Sigh. It's beautiful. It's one of the gardens that makes me dream of what could be ... if I had a little more sun, a little more energy, and a little more money. Love the Water Lilies. And the potted plants--wow!

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  5. I love Stan Hywet. That is the place that started my obsession with Ellen Biddle Shipman. What a fascinating time for gardening in the U.S. Your photos are wonderful! I love the sunken English garden. That and the birch allee were my favorite features of the property.

    There is another wonderfully restored Ellen Biddle Shipman garden in Toledo, OH that I know you would enjoy as well called Wildwood. It is part of a Metro park now and if you are a Shipman fan, definitely worth a visit.
    Susan

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    1. Thanks Susan! Sounds like a great visit.

      More on Stan Hywet coming soon!
      ~Julie

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