Informal Gardens

Mélisande's Allée

Mélisande's Allée

Farrand added another parallel line of silver maples to the west of the existing silver maples along the eastern edge of the property, creating a thirty-five-foot-wide allée, which extends down the hillside from Lovers' Lane Pool. The allée's width determined the width of its brick path, which was kept narrow to balance the height of the maples and the width of the allée.

The allée takes its name from a character in an opera by Debussy, and may refer to the path where the two star-crossed lovers meet. In the spring, the hillside is covered with Scilla siberica, Crocus tomasinianus, and various cultivars of Narcissus.