7. One surviving example of architect Alexander Jackson Davis’s landscape design
Alexander Jackson Davis is a legendary architect known for his design, rather than structure or theory. Designing more than a 100 homes in the Gothic Revival and Italianate styles, much of Davis’ work still exists today. His skills with watercolors allowed him to create the designs himself.
In terms of landscape design, Davis strove to use it to enhance the picturesque style of his architecture. He collaborated with Andrew Jackson Downing to create The Architecture of Country Houses and The Horticulturist. These texts, along with his landscape work, popularized his style.
At Lyndhurst, Davis worked with Ferdinand Mangold, a German immigrant, to create a private arboretum and gentleman’s farm on the property. Weeping beeches, copper beech trees, and larch trees greet guests as they traverse into the property.
The rose garden, commissioned during the Helen Gould Shepard era of Lyndhurst, originally housed pink roses. Now, the rose garden holds 500 different types of roses. Although the roses are currently not in bloom, visitors can explore the garden and stand in the gazebo structure surrounded by the circular rose garden.
