August 2018 - Andrea Whitely Garden Consultant

Have you ever been to a place that you know for sure you have not been to before and yet as soon as you pull up in the driveway you have an overwhelming sense that you have walked that pathway, entered through that gate?

This happened to me quite a few times when I was in Philadelphia visiting with my friend, Eva Monheim last August. Eva and I would smile at each other in a funny kind of knowing way, without any need for words and later on I would say to her, “I’m sure I have been there before” which seemed kind of silly really because I know for sure that I have not been to Philadelphia in the past 54 years of this lifetime.

Which leads me to a garden in Philadelphia called Wyck. Eva and I pulled up in her car and there was not another soul there, it was all very quiet, we walked through the gate and suddenly, not like a bolt of lightning, more like a warm blanket enveloping my whole body, I felt it, a sense that I had surely been there before. How funny that no-one else was there on the day that Eva and I were visiting, as if everyone had left just so that I could be there alone.

Wyck is a US National Historic Landmark house and was home to one Philadelphian family, the Wistar and Haines generations from 1690-1973. It is a 2.5-acre property and working small farm, right in the heart of Germantown on the outskirts of Philadelphia. The house itself is in the Quaker style, something that we don’t see in my hometown of Perth, Western Australia.

Architecture in Germantown, Philadelphia

As well as the goodly-sized, white, historical home there are also outbuildings, sheds, and a large chook pen, this is where I had another “funny” feeling. The feeling was not at all unnerving, rather kind of comforting, in an odd way.

I walked over towards the chook pen to say hello to the girls when a pretty marmalade cat came running up to me as if to say ” Hey, Andrea, haven’t seen you in a while, where have you been?” That cat stayed close by me as I wandered around the rest of the farm garden. I must say that when it comes down to it, cats don’t usually have much regard for me, nor I for them. I always say that I’m a dog person more than a cat person but this one was incredibly curious and very endearing.

The rose gardens at Wyck are some of the oldest in the USA and on this rather damp, drizzly day had reached the end of their blooming and were just about ready for a prune, I honestly was not at all sad that I had missed the blooms, the bones of this small but interesting rose garden offered heaps of interest for me.

The production garden grows fruit and vegetables for a Farmers Market and an outdoor classroom for regularly held events. Throughout the growing season, produce is offered for sale which helps support the upkeep of the property.

I am not sure if it was my German ancestry or quite what really but for some strange and unexplainable reasons, Wyck will always stay with me or maybe it was always there.

Have you ever had an experience like this?

If you are in the Philadelphia area, why not, take a walk through Wyck.

Last August, I visited Fallingwater, with my friend, Pitssburgher, Denise Schreiber, it is quite a drive through the beautiful mountains from Pittsburgh where Denise lives but oh, my what an incredible place to visit.

What is Fallingwater you ask?

Fallingwater is the architectural masterpiece created by Frank Lloyd Wright, probably THE most influential architect of our time. Frank Lloyd Wright was way, way ahead of his time when it came to creating homes of significance and many architects and designers are still inspired by his work today.

Earlier in August, Denise and I visited another one of Lloyd Wrights’ homes in Buffalo, New York, The Darwin Martin home which was amazingly built between 1903 and 1905 looks incredibly like a very modern building, even today. This home has been completely restored and is a must see if you are in Buffalo NY for a visit. Check out the gold wallpaper in the living room!

and now back to Fallingwater…

The walk down to the home leads you down a wide windy path through a forest, it is lush and green and one has a sense of being immersed within nature and then before your eyes lies the home, Fallingwater which incredibly was built over a natural creek and into the crevice of the rocky outcrop.

This home, designed in 1935, is one of the most extraordinary buildings I have ever seen and was built as a holiday home on Bear Run which is a tributary of the Youghiogheny River in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, for a prominent Pittsburgh family, The Kaufmanns. This area is near the summer holiday resort town of Ohiopyle where affluent Pittsburgh families would come and breathe fresh mountain air. Edgar and his wife Liliane married in 1909 and had one son. Edgar Kaufmann ran the family business, Kaufmanns department store. After studying in Europe he returned home to successfully run the family business. “1920, he had reportedly tripled the store’s net sales from $10 million in 1913 to $30 million.” according to our guide on the tour, who went on to add “A philanthropist and patron of the arts, he also loved the outdoors and especially enjoyed horseback riding, fishing, and hiking.

Edgar’s death on April 15, 1955, was headline news in Pittsburgh. The city mourned the loss of its “merchant prince,” and Frank Lloyd Wright mourned him as a patron and friend of more than twenty years.”

According to the Fallingwaters website, “The legacy of Fallingwater will also forever link the Kaufmann name to that of Frank Lloyd Wright and indeed, the history of modern architecture.”

Fallingwater is set up for visitors as any modern family home would be, people could easily imagine living in it today, sofas with plumped up cushions and there’s even bunches of fresh flowers! I could not take photos from inside the house but there are lots that you can view on the Fallingwater website. I was super happy taking photos outside the house-I was in awe of the way in which it fitted so snuggly empathetically into the landscape. Inhaling that fresh mountain air was exhilarating. I could close my eyes and imagine the fabulous parties and wonderful conversations which took place in this place. Albert Einstein and well as Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera stayed there with The Kaufmann family, now that must have been quite some dinner party!

Here’s me…Thanks Denise Schreiber for the pic!

Fallingwater, literally built over a waterfall was passed down to the couple’s only son, who in 1934 visited Frank Lloyd Wright at his home in Wisconsin and then went on to become a successful architect in his own right. Edgar Kaufmann Jr died in New York where he lived in 1989 but he still visited the home until his passing and word is that he even acted as a guide from time to time, taking visitors through his family holiday home, leaving visitors completely unaware of who he was.

During Rhododendron season, the walkway down to the home is lined with these colourful blooms, there were a few here and there just for Denise and I to enjoy.

This home and the architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright will continue to influence architects all over the world for evermore-it’s a stroke of pure genius.

To learn more about Fallingwater head to https://www.fallingwater.org

If you wish to visit you will probably need to book ahead of time.

Month: August 2018

Walking Through Wyck

Frank, How Did You Do It?