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Gardens & Grounds

Open from 7:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. daily and are FREE to visit.

NOTICE TO VISITORS: Leash laws are strictly enforced at Morven Park. We hope to see you and your furry friends often, but we ask that you clean up after them while on Park grounds. 

The Mansion and Museum schedule varies, please click on the button below for more information.

Morven Park encompasses 1,000 acres of lawns, fields, wooded ridge, and formal boxwood gardens.  Over half of the property has been placed in conservation easement to preserve the open space for future generations. The expansive mansion lawn and verdant rolling fields are remnants of Morven Park’s 19th century landscape.  Today the pastures are dotted by creatively designed equestrian cross-country jumps. 

Marguerite Davis, the last owner of Morven Park, installed the formal Colonial Revival boxwood gardens in 1930.  The gardens were created during a boxwood renaissance in America that was inspired, in part, by the restoration of Colonial Williamsburg. To complete such a large project, Marguerite and Westmoreland Davis purchased mature English boxwood from estates throughout Virginia. In the late 1960s, boxwood blight struck the Morven Park gardens, killing off much of the English boxwood. To retain the original look and feel, American boxwood was brought in to replace the lost plants. Be sure to venture off the main path to discover some of the hidden features such as the Reflecting Pool, the boxwood allées (or pathways), and the sundial surrounded by seasonal flower beds.  

Did you know that you can name a Morven Park flower bed or planter in honor or memory of a loved one? For more information, click HERE.  

 

 

Photo credit: Reza Mirzai Photography

The Boxwood Garden is also the site of the largest flower bed in Morven Park! This bed is one hundred feet long and the Park’s horticultural staff go to great lengths (get it?) to care for this bed and the many other plants and trees within the historic Boxwood Gardens. In the winter months, they put this bed to sleep by trimming back dead and dormant plants. In the spring, all-natural leaf and plant matter compost will be used to help add nutrients to the soil and enhance our beautiful blooms! The trees are also carefully monitored and trimmed to ensure healthy growth.


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