Stan Hywet‘s Birch Tree Allée is one of ten gardens featured in the American Gardens Forever Stamps, celebrating the beauty of American gardens. These stamps were released on Wednesday, May 13 by the U.S. Postal Service. Each set of 20 stamps includes two stamps of the Birch Tree Allée.
American gardens capture the imagination, and the Birch Tree Allée at Stan Hywet is no exception. This 550-foot long “alleyway” of trees consists of more than 100 gray birches growing from the original rootstock. Over time, the birch trees have naturally formed a corridor in which a contrast between sunlight and shadows play in the overhead canopy of leaves. The resulting dappled effect of light and dark is echoed by the bark of the trees and by randomly spaced stepping-stones. Designed by premier landscape architect Warren Manning when Stan Hywet Hall was built (1912-1915), this garden is a key element of Manning’s overall landscape design for the estate.
Other gardens featured in this stamp collection are Biltmore Estate Gardens (North Carolina); Brooklyn Botanic Garden (New York); Chicago Botanic Garden (Illinois); Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens (Maine); Dumbarton Oaks Garden (District of Columbia); The Huntington Botanical Gardens (California); Alfred B. Maclay Gardens State Park (Florida); Norfolk Botanical Garden (Virginia); and Winterthur Garden (Delaware).
Stan Hywet is located at 714 North Portage Path in Akron, Ohio.
The American Gardens Forever Stamps may be purchased at USPS Postal Store, go.usa.gov/xvyq4.
