It is such a wonderful surprise to see flowers blooming in winter and H.F. du Pont planned his garden to maximize that pleasure. Here are notes that he wrote over his lifetime about the Winterthur garden in January. – - -Maggie Lidz, Estate Historian.
The photo was taken at Winterthur January 31, 1913 of blooming crocus. Courtesy of the Winterthur Archives
Jan. 1, 1940, Garden Diary: Picked bunch violets and Johnnies terrace. Xmas Roses, Jasmine, Hamamelis mollis lovely. Winter snowdrops 2/3 out. Adonis amurensis.
Jan. 2, 1955, Garden Diary of H F du Pont: First Galanthus path to Bend.
Jan. 4, 1931: 1 tiny snowdrop woods path.
Jan. 7, 1930, to his sister Louise: It is simply perfect here. It has been so for the past week, and I picked a large bunch of snowdrops the day before New Year’s.
Jan 8, 1949, to Louise: I am frantic not to be home playing golf and finding the first snowdrops.
Jan. 9, 1931 to his sister Louise: I have Marian and Mrs. Nevius on the train with me now and we are still having wonderful weather with no sign of snow, so we expect to do and lay out a great deal of planting today.
Jan. 10, 1928 to his brother-in-law Frank Crowninshield: We have just been having two spring like days and tell Louise that the Snowdrops, Adonis, Witch hazel and other shrubs are in bloom.
Jan. 14, 1950 to Nell Montgomery (Mrs. Robt.): We have had a perfect winter with the Hamamelis Mollis and Jasmine Nudiflora absolutely in full bloom for the last ten days and very beautiful.
Jan. 16, 1921, Garden Diary: Snowdrop Rhodo [bed] near house and path to bend.
Jan 17, 1934, to his friend, landscape designer Marian Coffin: The weather has been quite perfect for the last two weeks; all the snow is gone and we have no more of that terrible cold. In fact, there are quite a lot of spring Snow Drops in the woods, and some of the early yellow Japanese perennial the name of which I cannot remember at this writing.
Jan. 20, 1949, to his friend, architect Bert Ives: Except for two weeks of snow before Christmas we have had a wonderful winter and I have many big branches of blooming shrubs, some blooming out of doors and some were forced a little. Also I have picked several bunches of snowdrops.
Jan. 23, 1933 to his sister Louise: It is simply divine here with the temperature above 60. The golf course has been perfect and the terrace has been abloom with two large Hamamelis Mollis, numerous snowdrops, big patches of Adonis Amurensis, some yellow crocus and the sweet scented Lonicera Fragmentissima.
Jan. 26, 1945, HF to his sister Louise: I have never seen the woods more beautiful, every tree like silver for several days.
Jan. 29, 1919, Garden Diary: Adonis am. Full bloom bank to Bend. Snowdrops in profusion for two weeks.
—Do you keep a garden diary? What’s happening in your garden on this January day?—kls
