Basking Ridge -- Borman Garden

Object Details

General: This was the garden of Madeline P. Borman, a member of the Somerset Hills Garden Club and a friend of Molly Adams. Borman began creating this woodland garden around 1960 out of a jungle-like mass of locust and ash trees, dense thickets of shrubs, and nets of poison ivy, honeysuckle, and Virginia creeper. After clearing away the undesirable plants and relocating some shrubs, such as spice bush, privet, and blackthorn, Borman marked out a path and began planting native woodland plants such as ferns, Jack-in-the-pulpit, bloodroot, and hepatica. Primroses, daffodils, azaleas, and other spring flowers complemented the natives. In addition to the woodland garden the site included a stone terrace and seating area with adjacent lily pond, a lawn with garden borders, and a rustic gazebo. Documentation received with the Adams collection clearly assigns a 1965 date to some of the images; this date has been assigned to all of the individual images, although a ca. 1965 date has been given to the series as a whole.; Persons associated with the garden include Madeline P. Borman (former owner, ca. 1960-1988).

Place: Borman Garden (Basking Ridge, New Jersey); United States of America -- New Jersey -- Somerset County -- Basking Ridge

See more items in: Maida Babson Adams American garden collection.; Maida Babson Adams American garden collection. / Series 1: Garden Images / New Jersey

Collection Citation: Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Gardens, Maida Babson Adams American garden collection.

Collection Rights: Archives of American Gardens encourages the use of its archival materials for non-commercial, educational and personal use under the fair use provision of U.S. copyright law. Use or copyright restrictions may exist. It is incumbent upon the researcher to ascertain copyright status and assume responsibility for usage. All requests for duplication and use must be submitted in writing and approved by Archives of American Gardens. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.

Bibliography: Garden has been featured in Madeline P. Borman, "My Garden in the Woods," [Home Garden, ca. 1965?].

Scope and Contents: The folder includes worksheets, a copy of a magazine article about the garden, a page from a magazine article that may have been written by Borman, and other information.

Collection Restrictions: Access to original archival materials by appointment only. Researcher must submit request for appointment in writing. Certain items may be restricted and not available to researchers. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.

Related Materials: Borman Garden related holdings consist of 1 folder (4 photographic prints; 38 safety film negatives; 1 film transparency)