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Plans are afoot to restore plantings first set out
by the vivacious wife of an earlier president
Daisy's
Garden
By Elizabeth Anne Thomson '85
The smell of warm soil lingered on Daisy
Farrand's clothes as she got up and
walked toward the house. Almost to the
back door, she stopped, turning to admire
her handiwork. Before her spread a
vista of soft color, originating from
flowers in several garden beds. The subtle
blending of shades swept far back to
the end of the property, bordering the
carriage house to her left. She smiled,
pleased with the effect. Resuming her
walk, she entered the house.
Though such a scene could hardly be
familiar to Cornellians today, students
fifty years ago knew it well. Mrs Livingston
Farrand, affectionately known as
"Daisy," was a popular figure—and
wife of the fourth president of the university.
She was also an avid gardener,
and could often be found working in her
flowerbeds behind the A.D. White
House, the home of Cornell presidents
through the 1940s. These beds were impressive
and extensive, spreading back
past the carriage house, currently the Big
Red Barn.
Today, the landscape behind the President's
Mansion is dominated by a wide
green lawn. Little remains of the original
gardens. But the flowers may come to
life again, with the help of Susan Cipperly
'79, a graduate student in the De-
CORNELL ALUMNI NEWS
partment of Floriculture and Ornamental
Horticulture whose master's project
relates to garden restoration.
Over the past few years, Susan has researched
the gardens, their creator, and
the history behind the A.D. White
House grounds. This has been no easy
task. As Prof. Robert Mower '56, PhD
'61, Susan's project adviser, comments:
"Though the buildings at Cornell are
well-documented, records often aren't
kept about the grounds surrounding
them. You'd have to hunt to find details
on the various plantings around the university."
Daisy's gardens proved to be no exception.
But with help from the Cornell
Archives, several books, and Mrs. William
Almon Wood (one of the Farrand
children), Susan began to visualize what
the gardens must have looked like. The
original size and detailing of the beds
were determined from old photographs,
including an aerial view, and paintings.
Coupled with Mrs. Wood's recollections,
these also helped date the gardens
and identify plant varieties used.
But the gardens were more than just
borders of soil and plants; they were inextricably
tied to Daisy Farrand. Susan
describes her as a woman with "enormous
personality," as evidenced by
most everything she did. Founder and
first president of the Ithaca Garden
Club, Daisy was also "the first woman
to wear pants at Cornell," remarks Susan.
Mrs. Farrand was an avid horsewoman
and gardener, and one can understand
her reasons.
"Daisy was of English background,"
continues Susan, "and had a penchant
for formal gardens." When the Farrands
and their five children moved into
the President's Mansion in 1921, Daisy
developed that interest by designing the
first of her six gardens.
Dominated by the focal point of a
clump of trees in the center of the lawn,
three of her gardens occupied the backyard
of the President's Mansion. These
are the beds Susan is now working to restore.
Though each was unique, they
had two uniting themes. First, all the
flowers within their borders were of pastel
shades. Pinks, whites, pale yellows,
and the like blended together in soft profusion.
Second, the plants formed a succession
of bloom; as one finished flowering,
another would begin. The beds
Mrs. Livingston (Daisy) Farrand in her
garden behind the President's House,
in the mid-1950s. A slate wall, since
removed, is behind her.