project description

In 1935, Mr. and Mrs. Lammot du Pont Copeland established a 570-acre estate and hired landscape architects Thomas Sears and Marian Coffin to design the formal gardens. In the 1960s, the Copelands developed artistic native plantings in the adjacent woodlands and meadows. Their estate is now Mt. Cuba Center, which inspires an appreciation for the beauty and value of native plants and a commitment to protect the habitats that sustain them. Renowned for its extensive native plant collections and research against the backdrop of the formal estate, Mt. Cuba required sensitive renovations as it transitioned from private to public garden.

RAS evaluated, planned, and directed the restoration of the landscape around the main house. The scope of work included plans for visitor circulation that retained the historic layout of the formal gardens, new plantings, selecting paving and lighting, creating a way-finding signage program and design of a new entrance sign using a slab of indigenous stone. Also included was the renovation and improved accessibility of the Round Garden, featuring a pool designed by Ms. Coffin in the 1950s and  a state-of-the-art Trial Garden complex on the site of the former cut flower garden with a custom shade canopy.

Photo Credit: Mt Cuba Center