New to the Archives of American Gardens

photos by Audrey Abrams

As an intern with the Archives of American Gardens (AAG) this summer, one of my projects will be to process a portion of a new collection consisting of thousands of garden images taken by Corliss Engle, a passionate horticulturist, self-taught photographer and active member of the Garden Club of America.   

Corliss Engle served on the board of trustees for both the Massachusetts Horticulture Society and the New England Wild Flower Society. Her commitment to the field of horticulture led her to receive a Garden Club of America Achievement Medal and have the Begonia Society name the Begonia “Corliss Engle” in her honor. 

The Corliss Knapp Engle Collection documents scores of private gardens throughout the United States, including her own, captured in over 400 35mm slides, which she maintained for over thirty years in Brookline, Massachusetts.  The addition of these slides nicely complements Engle’s garden photography already included in the Garden Club of America Collection at AAG.

Audrey Abrams, Summer Intern 2013
Archives of American Gardens