New methodology for developing plant-selection lists in historic landscape rehabilitation: a case study at Gibraltar
Date
2022
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Publisher
University of Delaware
Abstract
The restoration of historic landscapes with an eye towards environmental and cultural sustainability occupies a minimal, somewhat controversial space within the field overall, requiring a careful blend of actions based on environmental conservation and historic preservation. These fields have historically been at odds. ☐ When historic landscapes are preserved, often the first course of action is stabilizing and restoring the built environment, like paths and statuary, with plantings swapped out for lower-maintenance species. However, for Arts and Crafts landscapes like the works of Marian Cruger Coffin, one of the country’s first professionally-trained female landscape architects, the plant palette plays a vital role in the character of the space. On the edge of downtown Wilmington, Delaware, Gibraltar, is one such landscape. ☐ Founded as a country estate - in the years since Gibraltar’s creation, the city around has changed fundamentally, as has the site itself. No longer a private estate, the garden is now a public park, open 24/7, with an occasional volunteer staff instead of the 12 full-time gardeners employed in the estate’s heyday. Over the past decades, the environmental consciousness has changed too. While Marian Coffin used fashionable exotic plants like Wisteria or Iris versicolor in her designs, new legislation in Delaware will soon make the sale and import of invasive species illegal. ☐ In Coffin’s planting plans, the beds overflow with perennials carefully arranged by color, and trees are placed carefully to obscure or develop viewsheds. These are crucial elements in understanding and interpreting Coffin landscapes. But what happens when the circumstances changing the world and the site mean the place has changed so drastically that what is left is a shell of a former grand scheme? This work presents a newly-developed method for retaining design intent in recreating historic planting plans while making adjustments for the long-term sustainability of the landscape given current social and environmental conditions. Using decision matrices and strategic thinking exercises, the researcher determined which plants to replace and the specific roles each plant substitution must fulfill. This methodology was created to maximize designer intent while minimizing the impact the change has on the restoration of historic landscapes.
Description
Keywords
Historic preservation, Landscape horticulture, Plant-selection lists