At the recent annual New Jersey History and Historic Preservation conference held in Paterson, Hunter Research and Historic Morven (aka Morven Museum & Garden) received a project award for the exhibit “A Gentleman’s Pursuit: The Commodore’s Greenhouse.”
This exhibit, which will remain open until October 21, 2018, blends recent archaeological discoveries on the Morven grounds with the practice and philosophy of Victorian gardening in the Middle Atlantic region. Artifacts and archaeological documentation, paintings and drawings, books and treatises, plants and tools are all appealingly interwoven to tell the story of the Stockton family’s gardening habits. The culmination of the exhibit is an impressive indoor reconstruction of a portion of the Stockton greenhouse based on historical documentation and archaeological evidence.
Morven’s horticultural history is brought vividly to light in this innovative display which conveys two decidedly outdoor activities, gardening and archaeology, both centered on digging, into the confines of a series of indoor galleries.