Today, October 31, is Halloween and in popular culture, it has become associated with horror and the supernatural. So, as gardeners, what better way to celebrate it than to explore the Winchester Mystery House Victorian gardens in San Jose?
The Winchester Mystery House is a 160-room Victorian mansion built by Sarah Winchester, wife of rifle manufacturer William Winchester. Upset at the tragic deaths of both her husband and month-old daughter, Sarah consulted a spiritualist who told her that the victims killed by the Winchester rifles that her family manufactured were seeking revenge by taking the lives of her family. To appease their spirits, the medium advised her to build a house night and day without ceasing. Construction of the house and surrounding 6-acre gardens began in 1884 and concluded at Sarah’s death in 1922.
While the house has many spooky, unique and perhaps misunderstood elements, Sarah designed the gardens to be tranquil areas that include the following features typical of Victorian landscapes:
• More than 10,000 meticulously trimmed box hedges and hundreds of rare tree and plant varieties that are planted in geometric and symmetrical beds.
• Cherry laurels, large leafed tropical plants, cannas, camelias, roses (especially climbers), perennials and seasonal flowers such as peonies, foxgloves, dahlias, chrysanthemums and delphiniums in dense multi-layered plantings for year-round color.
• Classical/mythological statues such as Mother Nature, Cupid, a cherub, a Native American hunter and animal figures like deer, egrets and frogs.
• Ornate glass greenhouse used to cultivate tropical exotics, ferns and tender greenhouse plants.
• Trellises, fountains and ornamental plantings that provide both beauty and a calming buffer before entering the mansion.
Sarah’s gardens embody the era’s love of formal landscaping, symbolic statuary and the integration of nature with architecture. They offer a tangible link to Sarah’s personal life and the cultural ideals of the Gilded Age while also providing a peaceful counterpoint to the mansion’s mysterious and supernatural reputation. The Winchester Mystery House Victorian gardens are a living historical landscape, preserved to reflect the beauty and craftsmanship of the late 1800s.
For help in designing your own garden refer to: https://ucanr.edu/site/uc-mster-gardeners-placer-county/article/garden-design-where-do-i-start.
Plant sales and Garden Talks on the first Tuesday of each month: starting this Tuesday, each month, from 9 a.m.-noon, the Madera County Master Gardeners are excited to offer seasonal plants for sale along with a FREE one hour hands on GARDEN TALK (10-11 a.m.) by a Master Gardener — Propagating Plants from Cuttings. Learn how to multiply your plants for free and bring your gardening questions! Sale and talk will be held at the Three Sisters Garden, located behind Madera Community College, 30277 Ave. 12, in Madera.
Happy fall gardening!