Photography by Justine Hand.
Last weekend, while seeking a warm retreat from winter, the family and I chanced upon what turned out to be an historic and natural treasure in our own backyard.
The Lyman Estate, located in Waltham, MA, just seven miles from our house, includes an elegant home and a sweeping landscape that would impress any Downton fan—and one of the most charming working greenhouses in the United States.
In what is now the citrus house, trellises along the glass ceiling host vibrant bougainvillea.
Unlike the romanticized, filigreed conservatories of the later Victorian era, the Lyman greenhouses have a more earthy, utilitarian quality.
The greenhouses are around the back of a mansion built in 1793; landscape architect William Pell created a more intimate setting, enclosing the formal gardens with a 425-foot peach wall.
An avid horticulturalist, Lyman began construction of the first, lean-to style greenhouse along the peach wall in 1804.
Until the 1930s, Lyman, and later, his sons, continued to add structures along the wall to create a camellia, orchid, grape and finally, a nursery sales house, which today provides rare specimens for the visiting public.
Built to provide the Lyman family with rare tropical flowers and fruits—”pineapple, citrus, figs and bananas—”during the winter months, the greenhouses are still bearing fruit, like this lemon, today.
Lyman’s tradition of cultivating unusual blooms continues today with these Black Cat Petunia; (also available, three for $16.95, from Burpee).
Built in 1820, the Camellia House today hosts one of the oldest collections in the US, with some specimens dating back more than 100 years.
A delicate spray of Australian Tea Bush (Leptospermum), graces a seating area in the grape house.
To provide ample room for the grapevines’ roots, 3.5-foot raised beds were created.
Frolicking putti and a sunny oncidium cebolleta greet visitors to the orchid house.
Still growing today are Black Hamburg grapes which Lyman acquired directly from the Royal greenhouses at Hampton Court in England.
Canary Island Bellflowers (Canarina canariensis) climb the pipes in the grape house.
Potted plants now rest on a ledge over one of the 13 original arches that led behind the peach wall, where heaters kept the tropical plants warm at night.
Acid fronds of a feathery rabbit’s foot fern form a striking contrast against English Ivy.
A masterpiece of landscape architecture, Pell’s design considered the relationship between the house and grounds from every angle, so that from every vantage point they appear seamlessly integrated.