Women Who Shaped Garden History
Lenox, Massachusetts. The estate of Edith Wharton, where she put her garden design philosophy into practice. The gardens, designed by Wharton herself, reflect the principles of Italian Renaissance garden design that she championed in her writing.
Wharton designed and built The Mount between 1901 and 1902 as a practical demonstration of the ideas in her books The Decoration of Houses and Italian Villas and Their Gardens. The property includes a formal flower garden enclosed by a wall, a sunken Italian garden, a rock garden, a lime walk, and a kitchen garden. The gardens are organized along clear axes, with strong architectural structure and carefully framed views of the surrounding Berkshire landscape.
Wharton believed that the success of Italian gardens lay in their spatial organization — the relationship between house and garden, the use of enclosure and vista, the interplay of light and shade — rather than in any particular plant palette. At The Mount, she applied these principles to a New England setting, creating a garden that feels both classical and locally rooted.
The Mount is now a museum and cultural center. The house and gardens have been restored and are open to the public from spring through fall. The property also hosts literary and cultural events, continuing Wharton's legacy as both a writer and a designer.