A master plan for the Delaware Botanic Gardens in Sussex County has been prepared by Robinson Anderson Summers, Inc., landscape architects, Wilmington.
The plan represents the contributions of RAS and the garden’s other team members: Piet Oudolf, meadow designer; Lake/Flato, an award-winning architecture firm that promotes sustainable buildings; Pennoni Associates, a multidisciplinary engineering firm serving clients worldwide; and Bancroft Construction Company, whose clients in the Mid- Atlantic region include Longwood Gardens.
“The purpose of a master plan,” noted Robinson, “is to provide a vital roadmap to guide the future development of the Delaware Botanic Gardens so that it will become one of the premier public gardens in the Mid-Atlantic region.” He added that the 37- acre garden near Dagsboro “will be unique among American public gardens in that it will represent a true grass-roots effort to create a place of horticultural splendor from what was formerly raw agricultural land.”
The master plan opens with a survey of the waterfront site, located on Pepper Creek, and presents background on the 2016 professional workshops in which goals for the garden were determined. Design recommendations called for the garden to express a connectedness among local agricultural traditions, coastal plain habitats, and an ecological design approach; make visitors feel like they are in a special place, and use a design aesthetic inspired by the region’s agricultural heritage.
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Three areas to be featured when the garden opens in 2019 are (1) the twelve-acre existing woodlands sloping down to the waterline, including two unique freshwater wetlands and a collection of shade-loving plants; (2) a two-acre naturalistic meadow to be planted in Piet Oudolf’s acclaimed perennial style; and (3) an Outdoor Living Classroom, funded by the Dogfish Head Companies, that will provide hands-on learning in a constructed wetland for naturalists of all ages.
The remaining 23 acres will be completed in succeeding years, including uplands with a wide variety of individual gardens and water features that are as beautiful as they are educational. Features will express the elements that make an enriching public garden experience: beauty, imagination and uniqueness, mystery and discovery, intimacy and immersion, creative and impeccable horticulture, and demonstration and education.
