KIngwood Center, Mansfield, OH (5/2/2015)

Saturday, May 2, 2015
Today was Garden Discovery Day at Kingwood Center Gardens in Mansfield, OH. We paid $5 for parking, and that was it!

Cypress knees among the daffodils

The gardens are known for their display of 55,000 tulips.

Allée to the back of Kingwood Hall

Kingwood Hall was built in 1926 for Charles Kelley King and his wife, designed by the Cleveland architect Clarence Mack in French Provincial style. The grounds were designed by the Cleveland landscape architecture firm of Pitkin and Mott.

Charles King was President and Chairman of the Board at Ohio Brass, where he was hired as the company's first electrical engineer in 1893. Upon his death in 1952, a trust was established to turn the estate into a public garden and in 1953, the 47-acre estate was opened to the public. Per Kingwood's wishes, the mansion is used to house a horticulture library.
Kingwood Center was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.

George Livingston Draffan Fountain,
dedicated to the first Chairman of the Board of
the Kingwood Center Trust that runs the gardens

Daffodils in the Woodland

North Terrace and Allée looking back towards the fountain

Purple-stemmed tulips (KSS)

Anemone nemerosa/European Wood Anemone

Magnolia stellata 'Ann'/Star Magnolia

 Kingwood Hall was the setting for a Standard Flower Show.

Kingwood Hall foyer

Reading Room

Dining Room with hand-painted wallpaper from France

Ceramic mushroom sculptures (KSS)

A display of 200 types of mushrooms by Marie Maravina was donated by the wife, Frieda C, in memory of a former trustee, William Ackerman Springer.
One of the activities of the day was a children's maypole.

Children's maypole dance (KSS)

Iris bucharica

Kingwood Hall and South Lawn

Pan, a bronze sculpted by a Toledo artist

The marble Lady of Gaillardias is by the same unnamed sculptor

Part of the historic Formal Garden

Only three small gardens remain as designed in 1926.

Pool reflection (KSS)

A stab at another pool reflection

Another historic garden (KSS)

Terrace Garden was built in the 1990s,
through a gift from the Ohio Brass Foundation

Striking tulips

Wild tulips with mushroom sculptures

The conservatory had a tropical display house, a succulent display house, and an orangerie with displays of carnivorous plants.

Epiphyllum sp

Mammillaria sp

Close-up of typical Mammillaria flowers

Double tulip (KSS)

Multi-headed tulip (KSS)

Duck pond

Herb Garden, the former barn/stable
is in the background

Gazebo Garden

Next: Downtown Mansfield.