FranVAz7 is a garden historian who works at Hillwood in Washington, DC, also designed by Innocenti, I believe. She posts here often and may have something of interest to say.

What was Innocenti's "original vision of this garden," as you put it. Did he leave anything in writing: a word picture describing the feel, sense, atmosphere, style, etc. of the garden?

G.

Hi there, DixieRose. It seems to me that by changing out virtually all the plants, you are changing the design radically, even if you do leave the hardscape alone. The only way you can have a restoration of Innocenti's design is if you replant it with the same plants that he specified.

I tend to agree with FranVAz, however as essence of his work is based in principles (especially spatial principles) rather than plants, i dont see the harm if you understand why he did choose the original plants. I think that he was so strong n these principles that if you did change all the plants, even adapted some of the design to present day concerns, that nothing would be lost and much could be gained if what you do exposes (for us to learn from) his principles, ideas, and even methods. Since he, and members of the firm, left a large body of writing the challenge would be to operate as a great student of the work and make what he would have made now, were he alive. I can see where you might get into some controversy but wouldn't the discussion that your work engendered be what he would have most wanted.
What a great opportunity!
- Asha

Thank you all for your replies. You've given me much food for thought. Where can I find information about Innocenti's work and his ideas?

Apparently the records on this garden have been lost -- there's not much detail on the history of the place from 1930-90. The Doubleday, the publisher, hired Innocenti to design the garden. That's about all we know for sure. It was probably built with local labor.

As for the plant selection, azaleas and camellias were standard garden shrubs for a Southern plantation. We don't know whether that was what Innocenti intended or not.

Because the big trees are water hungry monsters, the soil in the garden tends to be dry. It's difficult to keep the area watered during dry times.

I'm wanting to use plants that will thrive and look good rather than limp along with varieties that struggle in the deep, dry shade. But I would like to use Innocenti's principles of space in creating the new garden.

DixieRose,
Interesting question. I can understand both viewpoints expressed above. Let's start at the beginning with a bit of "trying" to read Innocenti's mind when he first saw the property. His thoughts had to be centered on the five large oaks. Did he intend them to be the stars of his design beneath which he placed a hardscape surrounded by a basic green plant pallet which showed bursts of color seasonally? Did he further intend that the center core surrounded by Ligustrum be a garden bed with changing annual/perennial color? If so he was following the basics of southern plantation design. Yet, some of his plant choices have declined either through neglect or are not happy growing under oaks. This is a common problem in coastal plantations. Many have removed the gardens under live oaks and never replanted them.
If Innocenti saw the formal garden today I suspect he would would keep the footprint of his design and change the plants to suit the situation. Even he would probably admit that one of the most important aspects of landscape design is returning to your earlier work to study where you goofed.

Umberto is easy since he is associated with a whole school of thought.
To start with, a book by Hildebrand from 1997 - Making a Landscape of Continuity: the Practice of Innocenti & Webel. They are still a practicing firm "Innocenti & Webel, founded in 1931, currently maintains offices in Locust Valley, New York; Hobe Sound, Florida; Columbia, South Carolina, and Oakland, California. It provides complete Landscape Architectural, Architectural, Land Planning & Strategic Planning services." They may have copies of plans.
/www.innocenti-webel.com
Certainly some of the projects have watercolor paintings associated with them... far better than CAD immaging!!! yechhh!!! and documented with photographs as especially Innocenti was a hands on designer... i.e. he was out there everyday getting into it with the crews... they had a strong focus upon craftsmanship.
Nandina's intuition is almost certainly right, that he would have started with the trees. In fact he was famouis for starting a landscape with large trees, to create the sense of volumetric space. His space was very deffinetly that of the old world... i.e. nothing of the new ideas of space are seen... what are new ideas of space? well there is the whole 'nuther discussion.
From what i know, to recreate or restore Umberti means less to restore a two dimensional plan and more a four dimensional space (if the fouirth dimension is, so to speak, history)... so then you'd have to be conversant with the old world European landscape leading to the pictorial traditions of late 18th century. So starting with Claude Lorrain or his Teacher Agostino Tassi --- I don't know how Agostiono may have influenced Umberto directly or if this Itallian painter is traced back through Italian landscapes but he certainly is the beggining of the beggining of the pictoral/formal and pictoral/natural traditions of Europe.
- A

we are trying to restore a formal garden planted in the '20's with american boxwood.
we are in tidewater virginia, and i'm not sure if it is too late to fertilize for this year. maybe i should wait till spring.