A Genius for Gardens: Edith Wharton’s The Mount

“Decidedly, I’m a better landscape gardener than novelist, and this place, every line of which is my own work, far surpasses The House of Mirth…” American author Edith Wharton (1862-1937) wrote these lines about the gardens she created at her country home in Lenox, Massachusetts, The Mount. Writing over forty books in forty years, Wharton is best known today as a novelist. She received the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for her novel The Age of Innocence in 1921, but she was also an accomplished writer of short stories, poetry, as well as authoritative works on travel, architecture, and interior and garden design. Wharton believed that gardens should be architectural compositions like houses, containing an elegant series of outdoor rooms in harmony with the house and surrounding natural environment. Wharton curated many gardens during her life, but only at The Mount was she able to bring an entirely new landscape vision to life from the ground up. Today, The Mount is a historic house museum, public park, and cultural center inspired by Wharton’s life, world, and works. This program dives into Wharton’s relationship with gardens and landscape design – her influences, genius, and passion. We will also explore the restoration of The Mount’s gardens in the early 2000s and their role today as a centerpiece of the visitor experience of The Mount, highlighting innovative ways to showcase Wharton’s gardens and love of the natural world, including an annual, outdoor sculpture exhibition and winter sound and light experience. Presented by Anne Schuyler, Director of Visitor Services & Interpretation and Jackie Christensen, Assistant Director of Programs, The Mount, Edith Wharton’s Home Join us in-person or online! If you plan to attend in person at the Museums, tickets are available on the day of the lecture in the Welcome Center. Members: FREE Springfield residents: $4 Nonmembers: $4 To attend via ZOOM, please register in advance. Online Registration