Philadelphia -- Jenks Garden (Jenks-Carrie Garden)
- General
- This 2.56 acre garden, established in 1912, was designed by the Olmsted Brothers for John Storey Jenks Jr. Jenks hired a leading Philadelphia firm of Zantzinger, Borie, and Medary, Architects, to design and build the Colonial Revival house during the years of 1908 and 1912. The overall property design is open, naturalistic, and blends into the edge of the Wissahickon Park and the watershed of the Wissahickon Creek. The garden is bordered on three sides by streets. One of the long borders is a monumental historic stone wall made of Wissahickon schist, a natural stone from the Wissahickon Valley.
- The house is partially screened from the street by a large bed of rhododendrons, azaleas, evergreens, magnolias, mountain laurels, etc. As you enter the property, one sees a possibly 100 year old Cercidiphyllum japonica tree. The driveway curves into a circular approach to the house with the interior of the circle heavily planted with rhododendrons, mountain laurels, and two cedar trees. There is a diagonal grass path through the circle. To the west of the driveway is a grassy open space that gradually slopes to a flatter section which has a historic staircase with an ornamental cast iron gate serving as street entrance. This open space has deep borders of rhododendrons, azaleas, dogwoods, red buds, magnolias including a cucumber magnolia and a young Chesnut tree. There is a historic 1913 Olmsted designed rock garden positioned in the north corner of the garden. At the northeast corner of the property, there is another historic flight of steps from the street into the garden with an ornate historic ornamental iron gate. There is an exterior planted bed adjacent to this staircase entrance. In the northern section of the garden, a new open space serves as a bee apiary.
- The property features a classical long formal garden with 10' foot perennial beds, framed by Arborvitae 'Emerald Green' on both sides of a grass parterre. The focal point of the main garden axis from the bluestone terrace is a grouping of free standing, historic walls. Adjacent to the formal garden, a covered outdoor swimming pool was built in the 1970's. On the east side of the formal garden are two enclosed vegetable gardens. The gardens are outlined in concrete walls covered with espaliered apple and pear trees. As one walks from the vegetable gardens, one enters the service area. Zantzinger, Borie, and Medary designed a series of connected out buildings in 1912. A dovecote sits on top of a potting shed and holds up a delightful hexagonal plan cupola with a weathervane. During the 1970's, the northwest part of the house was extended to add a one story garden room. A shallow terrace is located at the front of this garden room and has a staircase down into the garden. The recent owner added a new crescent shaped dwarf evergreen bed with two levels just below the formal garden. There is a small flight of stone steps to the flat grass area on top of the evergreen bed.
- Persons associated with the garden include: Mr. And Mrs. John S. Jenks Jr. (former owners, 1908-1947); Mr. And Mrs. Morton Jenks (former owners, 1947-1956/1966-1984); Mr. And Mrs. Fitz Eugene Dixon, Jr. (former owners, 1956-1966); John Story Jenks and Charon H. Jenks (former owners, 1984-1996); Olmsted Brothers (landscape architects, 1908-1912); Zantzinger, Borie, Medary (architects, 1908-1912); Martin Smith (landscape designer, 1996); Sharon Marzocco (landscape designer 1996).
- Varying form: Jenks-Carrie Garden
- Provenance
- Wissahickon Garden Club
- Former owner
- Jenks, John Story, Mrs., Jr.
- Jenks, John Story, Jr.
- Landscape architect
- Olmsted Brothers
- Architect
- Zantzinger, Borie & Medary
- Zantzinger, C. C.
- Landscape designer
- Marzocco, Sharon
- Smith, Martin
- Collection Creator
- Garden Club of America
- Place
- Jenks-Carrie Garden (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
- United States of America -- Pennsylvania -- Allegheny -- Pittsburgh
- Topic
- Gardens -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
- Provenance
- Wissahickon Garden Club
- Former owner
- Jenks, John Story, Mrs., Jr.
- Jenks, John Story, Jr.
- Landscape architect
- Olmsted Brothers
- Architect
- Zantzinger, Borie & Medary
- Zantzinger, C. C.
- Landscape designer
- Marzocco, Sharon
- Smith, Martin
- See more items in
- The Garden Club of America collection
- The Garden Club of America collection / Series 1: United States Gardens / Pennsylvania
- Sponsor
- A project to describe images in this finding aid received Federal support from the Smithsonian Collections Care Initiative, administered by the National Collections Program.
- Custodial History
- The Wissahickon Garden Club facilitated the submission of this garden in 2020.
- Archival Repository
- Archives of American Gardens
- Identifier
- AAG.GCA, File PA020
- Type
- Archival materials
- Collection Citation
- Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Gardens, The Garden Club of America collection.
- Collection Rights
- Archives of American Gardens encourages the use of its archival materials for non-commercial, educational and personal use under the fair use provision of U.S. copyright law. Use or copyright restrictions may exist. It is incumbent upon the researcher to ascertain copyright status and assume responsibility for usage. All requests for duplication and use must be submitted in writing and approved by Archives of American Gardens. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.
- Scope and Contents
- This file contains 1 35mm slide (reproduction), 61 digital images and 2 folders.
- Collection Restrictions
- Access to original archival materials by appointment only. Researcher must submit request for appointment in writing. Certain items may be restricted and not available to researchers. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.
