The Isabella Stewart Gardener Museum has two unique gardens within it’s boundaries. Though created many years apart, they are both brilliantly executed adaptations of a walled, enclosed space.
The contrast between the two gardens offers a narrative about the priorities and concepts of spacemaking from two different two eras.
Established in 1903, the museum's exquisite courtyard is surrounded by an engaging collection of priceless art and Venetian-inspired architecture. The garden is the heart of the museum and can be seen from nearly every corner of the main house. There is a rotating seasonal display and other highlights include a display of hydrangeas, tall palms, Martha Washington geraniums, azaleas, cape primrose and tree ferns in May; and a holiday-inspired installation of poinsettias, cyclamen, winter berries and heather trees in December and January. The lush plant life is a spectacle to be seen throughout all seasons as it is bathed in light by the courtyard's high glass ceiling.
Courtyard garden, Isabella Stewart Gardener Museum
Courtyard garden photo: ©ToddHaiman2015
Garden skylight photo: ©ToddHaiman2015
Just east of this palace, the original high brick wall of Fenway Court surrounds the Monk’s garden, and the design aims to soften this enclosure through the creation of a small-scale, dreamlike woodland. This composition was executed in 2013 (110 years later) by Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates. There are approximately 60 trees including stewartia, paper bark maple, and gray birch, the groves establish a detail-rich palette of colors and textures suitable for intimate appreciation. Winding paths, paved in a striking combination of black brick and reflective mica schist, meander through the trees. Rather than intersecting, the paths playfully meet and diverge, while also gently widening in places to create nooks for garden chairs.
Monk's garden, Isabella Stewart Gardener Museum. photo: missionhillgazette.com/MVVAinc
Serpentine path ©ToddHaiman2015
