This is the second program in the Great Homes and Gardens lecture series.

Fourteen members of the du Pont family arrived in America from France in January 1800. Led by E.I. du Pont, founder of the DuPont Company, they settled in the Brandywine Valley, a beautiful rolling landscape nestled between Philadelphia and Wilmington, Delaware. There, over multiple generations, the du Ponts created magnificent landscapes and gardens that complement the verdant lands of the Brandywine. Five of their estates—Hagley Museum and Library, Nemours Estate, Mt. Cuba Center, Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library, and Longwood Gardens—are open to the public, each a showplace of formal plantings juxtaposed with carefully nurtured natural woodland. 

This lecture, presented by Marta McDowell and Larry Lederman, will highlight Lederman’s vivid photographs that exquisitely capture the beauty and spirit of each place, moving through the seasons and the day from dawn to dusk, and focus on McDowell’s insightful and interesting stories of the history of the gardens.

Collected in one beautiful new book, Du Pont Gardens of the Brandywine Valley commemorates the landscape legacy of the du Pont family, renowned as innovative industrialists, generous philanthropists, pioneering preservationists and collectors of American decorative arts, and—central to this story—heralded as “the first family of American horticulture.” 

Du Pont Gardens of the Brandywine Valley is available for purchase from the museum store before and after the lecture.

Photos are courtesy of the authors.

HYBRID PROGRAM 

This lecture will be presented in the theater in the Ellen MacNeille Charles Visitor Center and will be livestreamed via Zoom. Visitors can submit questions for the speaker from any location. 

IN-PERSON TIMELINE

5:30–6:30 p.m. | Explore Hillwood

• Enjoy Hillwood’s mansion, gardens, and greenhouse.
• Find the perfect memento from your visit at the museum shop. 
• Members receive an extra 10% off regularly priced merchandise when they attend in person on the day of the event. This offer does not extend to online or telephone purchases.

6:00–6:30 p.m. | Members-only wine and cheese reception. Join today!

6:30–7:30 p.m. | Lecture 

7:30 p.m. | Book signing. Du Pont Gardens of the Brandywine Valley is available in the museum shop. Click here to purchase the book online!

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

Following a successful career in corporate law, Larry Lederman turned to photography as an avocation. From an initial focus on the forms and foliage of trees, Lederman now captures the beauty of gardens and landscapes through the seasons. He is the author of many books, including Magnificent Trees of the New York Botanical Garden, The Rockefeller Family Gardens: An American Legacy, and Garden Portraits: Experiencing Natural Beauty, all published by Monacelli, and the principal photographer for the 125th anniversary edition of The New York Botanical Garden (Abrams). 

Marta McDowell is a garden historian and writer whose books include Emily Dickinson’s Gardening Life, Unearthing the Secret Garden, and Beatrix Potter’s Gardening Life. She teaches landscape history and horticulture at the New York Botanical Garden and is a featured speaker at garden clubs and horticultural organizations.

ABOUT THE GREAT HOMES AND GARDENS LECTURE SERIES 

Escape February’s dreariness and immerse yourself in the stories of extraordinary homes, lush gardens, and the people who brought them to life in this four-part lecture series.

Visitors can attend and ask questions whether they choose to come in person or join the livestream from the comfort of home; questions will be taken from all locations.