Some of the follies are newly built structures based on classic and contemporary examples at estates elsewhere. Others are historic structures currently in the garden that visitors have enjoyed for years. Together they form a delightful, entertaining, and fresh way for visitors to discover and experience the Winterthur Garden.
A folly is a structure placed in a garden or landscape, built primarily for decoration, but suggesting through its appearance some other purpose. Follies are often placed to create a destination for visitors as they explore a garden or estate. Our founder Henry Francis du Pont was well traveled, and university educated in horticulture, and knew about follies, and their history. Working closely on the garden design with this childhood friend, noted architect Marian Coffin, he relocated a number of historic structures to Winterthur and placed them to draw attention to particular views and provide a sense of place.
We hope our visitors will absorb that as they walk through the garden and are delighted by this imaginative architecture. The acre Winterthur Garden is surrounded by nearly 1, acres of meadows, farmland, and waterways. The views in every direction are important to the whole. The paths are an integral part of to the overall design, curving rather than straight, following the contours of the land, passing around trees, drawing walkers into the garden. The garden itself is a perfect setting for follies.
Neoclassical Folly โThis structure is modeled after the portico, or entrance, to a Greek temple or public building and is a common design in garden architecture. Ottoman Tent โThis folly is an interpretation of a Turkish tent, reflecting the fashion for tents and other decorative arts inspired by the Ottoman Empire.
Similar examples of 18th-century exotic tents can be seen in England, France, and Northern Europe, preserved in museums and gardens.
