Object Details
- General
- The Savage Garden as it exists today is a large (1.7 acres), densely planted garden located in Fountain City, Tennessee, a suburb of north of Knoxville. The historic garden was established in 1917 by Arthur Savage, who emigrated from Leamington Spa, England to Knoxville in 1886. In 1895, Savage married Hortense Garrett and moved into a bungalow style house in Fountain City in July 1917. Soon after, Hortense planted a garden behind the house. In 1920, Savage hired Charles Davis, a master stone mason and gardener to construct a sandstone perimeter wall. By 1921, two 18-foot stone water towers and a series of pools and ponds were constructed, to be joined later by streams connecting 3 additional ponds. By 1926, a sandstone Asian pagoda was built to house a 30-foot cistern and electric water pump. Pergolas and arbors led to the pagoda, followed soon after with a circular seating area, a stone tool shed, and a free standing sandstone arch overlooking the pagoda and pools. In the botanical garden, Savage collected a variety of plants, notably a Chinese pistache, a pond cypress, a fern-leaf beech, a Chinese parasol tree, and a Chinese fir. Savage's company produced machinery to cut stone, and this may explain why all of the garden's benches, steps, walls, water towers, outbuildings, and follies were made of stone. In 1986, Bill Dohm and Patty Cooper purchased the property with the intention to restore and preserve the garden. Dohm ad Cooper restored the stone walls and borders, the Asian Pagoda, and other outbuildings. Architect Bill Barth used photos of original structures to redesign the arbors and entrance gate. Dan Duncan replicated the structures, which were fully installed by 1993. In 2018, gardeners at Savage Garden planted 12 pickup truck loads of trillium, Twin Sister daffodils, and 20,000 snowdrops. The garden rooms are connected by pathways lined by stone with each room layered with wildflowers, bulbs, and perennials, depending on the season. Persons associated with the garden include: Arthur and Hortense Savage (former owners, 1917-1946); Hortense Savage (former owner, 1946-1953); Pearl Savage Laughtery (former owner, 1953-1986); Bill Dohm and Patty Cooper (owners, 1986-present); Charles Davis (Stonemason and gardener, 1920-1937); Bill Barth (Architect, 1990-1995); Dan Duncan (Master woodworker, 1990-1995); Eric Fortenberry (gardener and designer, 2007-present); Terumi Watson (gardener and designer, 2008-present).
- Provenance
- Knoxville Garden Club
- Former owner
- Savage, Arthur
- Savage, Hortense
- Savage Laughtery, Pearl
- Present owner
- Dohm, Bill
- Cooper, Patty
- Mason
- Davis, Charles
- Architect
- Barth, Bill
- Woodwork designer
- Duncan, Dan
- Garden designer
- Fortenberry, Eric
- Watson, Terumi
- Collection Creator
- Garden Club of America
- Place
- Savage Garden (Knoxville, Tennessee)
- United States of America -- Tennessee -- Knox -- Knoxville
- Topic
- Gardens -- Tennessee -- Knoxville
- Provenance
- Knoxville Garden Club
- Former owner
- Savage, Arthur
- Savage, Hortense
- Savage Laughtery, Pearl
- Present owner
- Dohm, Bill
- Cooper, Patty
- Mason
- Davis, Charles
- Architect
- Barth, Bill
- Woodwork designer
- Duncan, Dan
- Garden designer
- Fortenberry, Eric
- Watson, Terumi
- See more items in
- The Garden Club of America collection
- The Garden Club of America collection / Series 1: United States Gardens / Tennessee
- Sponsor
- A project to describe images in this finding aid received Federal support from the Smithsonian Collections Care Initiative, administered by the National Collections Program.
- Extent
- 17 Digital images (color, JPEG files. )
- Custodial History
- The Knoxville Garden Club facilitated the submission of this garden's documentation.
- Archival Repository
- Archives of American Gardens
- Identifier
- AAG.GCA, File TN121
- Type
- Archival materials
- Digital images
- Collection Citation
- Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Gardens, The Garden Club of America 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
- This property is featured in "Preserving a fragile beauty," by Lynn Hutton in Halls Shopper News, Knoxville, August 3, 2009; Fountain City: People that Made a Difference, by J.C. Tumblin, Knoxville, 2006; "Coming back to life," by Ed Marcum in Knoxville News-Sentinel, May 9, 1990, pg. N1 and N2.
- Scope and Contents
- 17 digital images and 1 folder.
- 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.
- Record ID
- ebl-1643208220039-1643210186976-0
Related Content
View Slideshow
