Once owned by Henry Francis du Pont, a famed horticulturist and decorative arts expert, Winterthur‘s (pronounced “winter-tour”) gardens are a great destination for horticultural enthusiasts and families

Interestingly, the garden was designed with the help of landscape architect Marion Coffin and it is one only a few surviving Wild Gardens.

From the Winterthur Website:   “William Robinson’s book The Wild Garden stimulated a new type of garden design at the turn of the twentieth century in Great Britain, Ireland and America. An idea with tremendous appeal to large landowners, The Wild Garden concept is built around the idea of gardening on a broad scale, “placing perfectly hardy exotic plants under condition where they will thrive.” Most early twentieth century Wild Gardens have not survived due to the post War land development and natural disasters such as the hurricanes that struck Great Britain in the late 1980s. Because Wild Gardens depend on plants rather than architecture, or hardscape, once a Wild Garden becomes neglected and goes literally wild, it is almost impossible to reclaim.”

In addition the Wild Garden there is the Enchanted Woodland, a three acre children’s garden.  From the old Saying “Faerie folks are in old oakes.” This garden is shaded by the canopy of oak trees and there are a whole variety of magical buildings and places to explore and play.

images: Garden Visit,