Videos of Landscape Giants Darrel Morrison and Fletcher Steele
The Library of American Landscape History made two videos available online at http://lalh.org/films/fletcher-steele-and-naumkeag-a-playground-of-the-imagination/ " Fletcher Steele and Naumkeag: A Playground of the Imagination " Between 1926 and 1955, landscape architect Fletcher Steele and his client Mabel Choate created many new gardens for Naumkeag, the Choate family summer estate in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. The new designs respected the layout of earlier gardens created c. 1885 by Nathan Barrett for the original Stanford White “cottage.” A vibrant relationship developed between Steele and Choate, whose work began with Naumkeag’s Afternoon Garden and soon progressed to other features in the landscape: the South Lawn, Chinese Temple Garden, Blue Steps, and Rose Garden. Each of these designs reflected the tempo of its time and also connected visitors to the beauty of the Berkshire Mountains, visible from any part of the landscape. It is a magical site, truly a playg...