Welcome Back to America - No Passport Required!

The American Museum & Gardens will once again be able to open its gardens later this month, allowing visitors to enjoy American planting and a view over a British Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty – not forgetting a reproduction of George Washington’s Mount Vernon garden.

Following advice from the UK Government the Museum’s New American Garden, Mount Vernon Garden, and Garden Café (takeaway only) will be open from 24 June, 10am to 5pm, Tuesdays to Sundays.

Richard Wendorf, Director of the American Museum & Gardens, is looking forward to welcoming members and visitors back to Claverton: “It is such a joy to be able to share our gardens with the public once again. After a winter of preparation to ready the Museum and gardens for our 2020 season we, like the rest of the world, had to put our plans on hold because of the Covid-19 pandemic. As part of this first phase of re-opening we’re offering free entry to NHS key workers and their families as a thankyou from everyone at the Museum for the work they have, and continue to do to keep us safe. We hope, in these unprecedented times, that our gardens will provide a moment of calm, away from the hustle and bustle of the city and the challenges we all now face.”

Native American shrubs, perennials, and bulbs feature heavily in the gardens, which are designed to work with the steep terrain and enhance the view over the Limpley Stoke Valley, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

The Winding Way, a wheelchair-accessible path, encircles the lawn, threads through the American Rose Collection, and skirts the natural amphitheatre, which hosts concerts and outdoor events. While you wander, keep an eye out for six sculptures of key figures in American history. They are the work of the internationally renowned sculptor Angela Connor.

The Museum’s gardens also feature a reproduction of George Washington’s upper garden as it would have appeared on his Mount Vernon estate in Virginia in 1799, featuring ornamental planting, fruit and vegetables, and boxwood hedges in the shape of four fleur de lis which symbolize the friendship between America’s first president and the Marquis de Lafayette.

For more information about planning a visit to the American Museum & Gardens visit www.americanmuseum.org

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