Edith Wharton (1862-1937), the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for fiction and an authority on architecture, interior design and landscape gardening, designed and built The Mount and its gardens based on principles outlined in her book, "The Decoration of Houses." She believed gardens should be divided into rooms and harmonize with the house and the natural landscape. Among only five percent of National Historic Landmarks honoring women, the estate includes a 42-room mansion, a Georgian Revival stable, woodlands and three acres of formal gardens – including the Italian walled garden, formal flower garden, lime walk, and alpine rock garden with grass steps. The 3,000 flowering annuals and perennials in the flower beds have been described by a Wharton friend as “an oriental carpet floating in the sun.”Open daily, 10am - 5pm, May - October 31. Guided tours available.Photo: The Mount with lilies and foxglove by David_Dashiell
|