Tyler Formal Gardens is a stunning, four-terraced public garden that operates as an accessible living classroom, preserving the beauty of early 20th-century gardens while adapting to modern needs.
Tyler Formal Garden. Photo credit: Hannah Jones
Address: Bucks County Community College, 275 Swamp Road, Newtown, PA 18940
Hours: Always open to the public
Established: Restoration began in 1999. The Master Gardeners of Bucks County partnership to help support these ongoing efforts began in 2025.
Type of garden: Formal, historic
Volunteers maintaining the garden: Many public volunteers, seven+ Master Gardeners. Group workdays are Fridays from 10:00-12:00, beginning in April, weather permitting.
Description of the garden: Tyler Formal Gardens is a four-terraced garden and beautiful living classroom accessible to the public year-round for self-guided tours, with supporting signage and informational pamphlets available.
Originally built in the 1930s by George and Stella Tyler, the outdoor parlor was inspired by the gardening trends of the era, as well as the couple's European travels and Stella's formative education at a French finishing school.
In addition to hosting and personal pleasure, the gardens were, as one visiting guest put it, intended to serve as "a stage on which [Stella's] sculpture was presented–much like a painting needs a frame."
Rather than attempt an entirely accurate recreation, the formal gardens today abide by a mission of "restoring the garden’s early twentieth-century beauty within twenty-first-century reality."
| Scientific Name | Common Name | Annual/Perennial | Sun/Shade | Size | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aquilegia 'Mrs. Scott Elliot’ | Columbines | perennial | partial shade | 24"-30" tall | Old-fashioned favorite popular in 1930s gardens and mentioned in letters as being an original planting in the Tyler Garden. |
| Lavandula 'Province' | Lavender | perennial | Full sun | 30"-36" | Drought tolerant, deer resistant, purple/cool color to keep consistent with French formal theme. |
| Iris sibirica 'Caesar's Brother' | Siberian irises | perennial | Full sun to part shade | 3'-4' tall | |
| Pyrus 'Bartlett' | Pear trees | tree | Full sun | 7' tall | Pruned annually to maintain espalier. |
| Buxus | Boxwood | Evergreen shrub | Full sun | 36" tall | Blueprints illustrate these as an original feature in the Tyler Garden. Annual trimming required. |
| Taxus baccata | Common yew | Evergreen tree | Full sun | 36" | Annual trimming required. |
