Gardens from a Golden AgeThe Tyler Formal Gardens that adorn theTyler Mansion on the campus of BucksCounty Community College are a splendidslice of history that hearken back to a goldenage of gardening

By Barbara Long

In the Tyler Formal Gardens the first terrace

cascades to the second, which originally

accommodated the 75-foot-long swimming

pool. Inset, Stella Elkins Tyler and George F.

Tyler

stand in front of their Indian Council Rock

106 B U C K S C O U N T Y M A G . C O M

To stroll through the former Tylermansion and its formal gardensis to step back in time to earlytwentieth-century estate livingand to the Golden Age ofAmerican gardening. The stun-

ning property, situated on a hilltop overlookingNeshaminy Creek, was once owned by George F. andStella Elkins Tyler, and is now home to Bucks CountyCommunity College’s Newtown campus, currently cele-brating its 50th Anniversary. The estate was the only truetwentieth-century manor in Bucks County and isbelieved to have been the last of its kind built in theUnited States.

Tyler Hall, as the 300-foot long mansion is currentlyknown, is tucked in the far southwest corner of the col-lege campus; and the four-tiered Tyler Formal Gardens,adjacent to and behind the house, cascade down morethan 30 feet in elevation toward the woods of Tyler StatePark. Their concealed locale, rather than any intent,prompts these significant historic landmarks to be a well-kept secret.

Yet much of the mansion and all of the gardens areaccessible whenever the campus is open, and both publicand private guided tours are scheduled throughout theyear. Indeed, visitors are encouraged to experience thissplendid slice of history, which had no equal to its sheerwealth in the county.

The estate began to take form in 1919 when Georgeand Stella purchased the first of 15 connecting farms inthe Newtown-Richboro area. By the time the French-Norman mansion’s construction began in 1930, the

The estate began to takeform in 1919 when Georgeand Stella purchased thefirst of 15 connecting farmsin the Newtown-Richboroarea. By the time theFrench-Norman mansion’sconstruction began in1930, the estate totalednearly 2,000 acres.

The first terraced level of the gardens reflects

many features of upscale early-twentieth-cen-

tury horticulture: formal hedges, grass panels,

gravel pathways, stone walls, water features,

statuary,

and nearby naturalized landscape.

108 B U C K S C O U N T Y M A G . C O M

estate totaled nearly 2,000 acres. Its buildings and landscaping were destined to beexceptional given the socioeconomic status of its owners, and the history of theTylers is fundamental to appreciating the history of the estate. Both George andStella were born to well-known and well-heeled families with impressive lineages,and both grew up in a privileged world toward the start of the twentieth century.

George, whose descendants sailed on the Mayflower, was bornin Newport, Rhode Island, in 1883. He graduated fromHarvard, and was a partner in the family brokerage andunderwriting firm Montgomery, Clothier & Tyler. He wasalso a sportsman and philanthropist who, among other posi-tions, served as a director of the Philadelphia National Bank

and the Newtown Title and Trust Company, President of the Board of Trusteesat Abington Memorial Hospital, and member of the Board of Trustees atWestminster Choir College. In 1935, he and Stella donated their nine-acre, $1million estate, Georgian Terrace in Elkins Park, to Temple University for itsSchool of Fine Arts.

Born in 1884, Stella was raised between Philadelphia and Elkins Park, whichtakes its name from her paternal grandfather, William Lukens Elkins. Accordingto his 1903 obituary in the New York Times, he had risen from a grocer’s clerk toa multimillionaire as a founding partner of Standard Oil and the PhiladelphiaRapid Transit Company, among other financial operations. He was also a pas-sionate patron of the arts. Stella, at age 17, opted to skip the debutante conven-

S P R I N G 2 0 1 5 109

Opposite top, the broad flagstone walkway

on the courtyard terrace of the formal

gardens connects the orangery to the

300-foot-long mansion. Opposite bottom

left, daffodils fill the foreground of the

view looking up toward the orangery from

the second terrace. Cherry laurel shrubs

are planted against the retaining wall.

Opposite bottom right, one of two 35-

inch-high “Cats” titled Family Crest (1932)

that were sculpted by Stella Elkins Tyler in

her early years as an artist. They were

inspired by the demi-cat on the Tyler fami-

ly crest. Above, colorful irises and tulips

underscore the pear tree espalier on the

courtyard level during the spring months.

106 B U C K S C O U N T Y M A G . C O M

tions of her day and instead travel abroad to study at a private school outside of Paris,becoming well versed in French language and culture. After two years, she returnedto the States, and four years later in April 1905, married George. The two moved intotheir new 50-room home, Georgian Terrace in Elkins Park, which was a wedding giftfrom Stella’s parents. They resided there for 27 years, raising their three children:Sidney, Molly, and George.

Like her grandfather, Stella was a strong supporter of the arts, and she alsobecame an artist in her own right when, nearing age 50, she started sculpting and soonbegan studying under Boris Blai. Her debut solo art exhibit, held in New York Cityin April 1935, was favorably reviewed, particularly when measured by the short timeshe had been developing her talent. Much of Stella’s artwork still exists and is on dis-play throughout the mansion, gardens, and college.

With their children grown and no longer living at Georgian Terrace, the Tylerscontinued to acquire land in Bucks County, and they began to focus on their countryretreat. Eventually, the estate became a full-time residence, at which George andStella began a new chapter in their lives. After George’s death in 1947, Stella contin-ued to reside in their Newtown home until 1962.

The original name for the estate, Indian Council Rock, was derived from the timewhen early Native American tribes gathered to counsel at cliffs on the property. TheTylers elected to build their home near this site, which overlooked Neshaminy Creekand a westerly vista of farmland.

Construction of the French-Norman mansion began in 1930 and continuedthrough 1932. The commission to build the home, service cottages, support build-ings, and formal gardens was the largest for Philadelphia’s reputable architectural firmWilling, Sims & Talbutt, and is one of the most important examples of its designs.The architecture, particularly the orangery, reveals Stella’s passion for all things

S P R I N G 2 0 1 5 111

Opposite, a corner flower bed on the first ter-

race that offers an exquisite display of purple

Siberian irises. Inset, Stella’s El Cucaracha (1936).

Top, a view of the French-Norman mansion,

now known as Tyler Hall, from inside the

orangery. Above, Death and Transfiguration

(1934) by Stella Elkins Tyler stands against the

11-foot retaining wall on the first terrace.

Continue on page 126

S P R I N G 2 0 1 5 0000 B U C K S C O U N T Y M A G . C O M

French.Charles Willing, a partner in the firm

and a well-respected landscape architect,designed the formal gardens, which servedas an “outdoor parlor” for entertainingguests, displaying artwork, cultivatingplantings, and relaxing outside. Work onthe gardens started in 1932 and was com-pleted a few years later.

On the estate, George Tyler enjoyedbeing a gentleman farmer, hunting fox andpheasant, stabling fine horses, and restart-ing an abandoned dairy, eventually holdinga prize Ayrshire herd. Stella had the formerCooper farmhouse located on the estaterenovated for use as a sculpting studio. Shewas also an avid gardener and frequentlyexperimented with exotic plantings pro-cured while traveling abroad.

A visit to the mansion and formalgardens is well worth the time, as theTylers spared no expense in building andfurnishing their home during the GreatDepression. And an impressive amountof the original mansion and gardens hasbeen preserved.

The house’s elegance is equallymatched by its setting and landscaping. AsCharles Willing was quoted in the pro-gram for the 25th annual meeting of theGarden Club of America, “The view fromthe upper terrace, looking over the riverand farmlands, is one never to be forgot-ten.”

The gardens were built during a timewhen ultra-wealthy families throughoutthe United States were hiring renownedlandscapers and nurseries to create horti-cultural showplaces. This time period fromthe 1890s to 1940s has been referred to asthe Golden Age of American Gardens.

Tyler Formal Gardens still displaymany of the features of these upscale early-twentieth-century gardens: espalieredplantings, sheared hedges, grass panels,gravel pathways, stone walls, water fea-tures, statuary, and nearby naturalizedlandscape. Several of the gardens of thistime also included a grass or clay tenniscourt, as did the Tyler estate.

No matter which level is accessed to

enter Tyler Formal Gardens, the scenegives pause—for the remarkable view, dra-matic succession of stone walls, “roomwithin room” design, vibrant flowers, andlife-sized bronze statuary.

The courtyard terrace, the most com-mon entryway, offers a birds-eye view ofthe next two levels and a magnificentpanorama of the one-acre landscaped set-ting. The courtyard’s flagstone walkwayconnects the dining room at the easternend of the mansion to the orangery, whereStella stored her citrus trees during coldweather. It is easy to imagine how, insummer months, Stella lined the walkwaywith these trees that were kept in largecedar planters.

The first terraced level, the most for-mal of the tiers, was also the most damagedby time and lack of upkeep. It also reflectsthe most restoration, including new box-wood and yew hedges; sodded grass panels;an array of colorful perennials; refurbishedgravel pathways delineated with steel edg-ing; and installed replicas of a white marblebench and two doorway gates, the originalof which were designed by Samuel Yellin,one of the twentieth century’s foremostmetalworkers.

On various levels of the gardens,Stella’s statues heighten the gardens’uniqueness and style as well as enhance thehorticultural display, which in early Junepresents four corner beds of exquisite pur-ple Siberian irises in full bloom.

The gazebo on the second terracedlevel is not original in structure or place-ment. The original creation was perchedon the hill outside the gardens, offering aspectacular view of Neshaminy Creek. Asattested by the two bathhouses, construct-ed in the same stone and style as the Tylermansion, this second level once accommo-dated the 75-foot-long swimming pool.

Peering over the south stone wall ofthis terrace reveals the fourth level, previ-ously the site of a red clay tennis court.This rectangular area, now a grass lawn, isframed by a low stone wall in whichremains of the metal poles for the tenniscourt fencing are still visible.

When Stella died in 1963, TempleUniversity received, as she had willed, 200acres of the estate that included the man-sion and gardens. The remaining acreagewas sold to the Commonwealth ofPennsylvania to become Tyler State Park.In 1964, Temple sold its inherited tract tothe Bucks County Authority for the site ofa new community college, which opened inthe fall of 1965.

With the transformation of the estate’sfunction from private to public, the swim-ming pool was filled in and converted to alawn. And with the absence of Stella’s full-time gardening staff, the formal gardensbegan to slide into serious disrepair.

The wisteria that Stella had plantedto add color and playfully climb the stonewalls was now free to wildly proliferate,while the previously sheared hedgesmushroomed into strange shapes, andmany plantings were wiped out byweeds. By the 1970s, the formal gardenswere anything but.

Periodically, various volunteers orga-nized garden cleanups, particularly afterthe mansion and gardens became listed onthe National Register of Historic Places in1987. Yet the efforts, while earnest,seemed to be a dance of one step forwardand two steps back. Then in 1999, alongterm plan was advanced by LyleRosenberger and Kathi Knight, bothBucks professors, to restore the gardens asclosely as possible to their glorious past.

“When Lyle and I first met at a newstudent advising session in 1999, we talkedabout the mansion’s restoration and agreedthat the formal gardens needed attention aswell,” said Knight. “One of the first effortswas to design the Restoration of HistoricGardens course. And while that wasunderway, Lyle was able to procure somefunds from the [college’s] Foundation andthe project began.”

Due to the ephemerality of plantingsand a number of key changes since theearly days of the gardens, including fewergarden workers and public versus privateusage, some adaptations have beenrequired of the gardens’ restoration to their

heyday.Knight noted, “Since we had the orig-

inal landscape plan, we were able to plantthe boxwood and yew borders as depictedin that plan. However, the flower beds area less stringent interpretation of Stella’svision, as I believe that she had a good dealof rose plantings, but that was before theinflux of Japanese beetles.”

Year by year, formality and structurehave been reinstated in the gardens. Andthe Tyler Gardens Panel, a small but ded-icated group of volunteers, ensures thatrestoration efforts continue to progress.

Thanks to the Herculean efforts andgenerosity of many, the gardens once againexhibit their former splendor, giving visi-tors a taste of early twentieth-century hor-ticulture as practiced by the “rich andfamous” of that time. In the case of TylerFormal Gardens, it is not a cliché to calltheir restoration a labor of love, and anongoing labor at that.

“We have been very fortunate in thepast 15 years during which hundreds ofvolunteers have contributed more than8,000 hours to these gardens,” Rosenbergeroffered. “We appreciate each effort givenby this spirited ‘army,’ which with endlessdetermination, has restored and main-tained a garden gem from the 1930s.”

Education has always been the firstpriority of the college, and no tuition pay-ments are spent on restoring the mansionor its gardens. Yet the college’s administra-tors and constituents recognize their role ascaretakers of this distinguished and uniquehistoric property. To assist in preservingthis slice of history, the Bucks CountyCommunity College Foundation, alongwith its Preservation Committee andother volunteers, organize fundraisers,such as the annual Tasting Party and theTyler Formal Gardens & LandscapeLecture; solicit donations, including tothe Stella Elkins Tyler GardensEndowment; and seek grants to cover thecosts of restoration projects.

“Over the last 26 years, thousands ofpeople have supported our efforts to pre-serve this beautiful building by attending

our annual food and wine tasting event,enjoying a guided tour, or taking pho-tographs in the beautiful gardens,” saidTobi Bruhn, the Foundation’s ExecutiveDirector. “All of the investments madeinto this historic landmark, which totalover $1 million to date, are complementedby the students and faculty of our HistoricPreservation program, which provideexpert advice and skills for our many pro-jects that further enhance the building’scharm and ambiance.”

More frequently the gardens are beingenjoyed by college students and personnel,horticulturists, artists, naturalists, tourists,and local residents just stopping by.Understandably, the gardens are also pop-ular for taking photos. Wedding party andother professional photographers are askedto register with the college’s SecurityDepartment before setting up shoots.

The former Tyler estate is indeedsignificant on many accounts: historical,architectural, horticultural, and artistic.Yet the site is also, quite simply, a pic-turesque and tranquil setting in which tospend time.

Tyler Formal Gardens hark back to ahistorical era of exceptional private ele-gance; they also greet the future, continual-ly being preserved as a magnificent publicspace beckoning and educating generationsto come.

BARBARA LONG IS AWRITER AND EDITOR FROM

BUCKS COUNTY.