Chimes Tower District

The Chimes Tower District provides guests with a thrilling and varied garden experience, including a stunning, four-season hillside of rare, expertly edited plants; a historic bell tower anchored on a 50-foot waterfall; sweeping lawns carpeted in early spring bulbs, and a celebrated collection of award-winning trees—all within view of our majestic Main Fountain Garden.

About This District

Originally designed as an arresting backdrop for the Main Fountain Garden, the Chimes Tower District is now a series of standout gardens and water features that warrant more than just a passing glance. The Hillside Garden features an enviable roster of rare and unique plants, thriving harmoniously throughout the sun-dappled slopes. At the crest of the hill, Oak and Conifer Knoll boasts an array of celebrated tree specimens, with some planted during founder Pierre S. du Pont’s time. The Eye of Water, Pear-Shaped Basin, and Waterfall—all originally part of the gravity-fed pump and reservoir system that once serviced the Main Fountain Garden—are three unique, and interconnected destinations for your exploration.

Gardens in this District

Hillside Garden

Hillside Garden

Dappled sun flirts with open vistas and shady, intimate perspectives as you wander the paths past beds brimming with a who’s who of rare and unique plants from around the world, set to the occasional tones of the historic Chimes Tower.
Oak and Conifer Knoll

Oak and Conifer Knoll

Towering, century-old trees and sun-dappled vistas await in this living gallery of champion specimens with four seasons of stunning highlights. In the early spring, sweeps of colorful geophytes bloom to create a stunning tapestry.

District Highlights

A large stone Chimes Tower covered in green vines pops up amid green trees behind a small pond

Small yellow flower bloom up in green grass in front of small purple flowers

Water flows out of the middle of a circular blue ledge in a pool of water

Looking straight up at a blooming, flowering, pink tree

Flowering pink and white trees are seen among green grass

What’s in Bloom

Prairie-coneflower

Ratibida pinnata
Rattlesnake-master

Eryngium yuccifolium
Cardoon

Cynara cardunculus
- Hillside Garden
- Idea Garden
Blazing-star

Liatris spicata ′Kobold′
Bear's-breeches

Acanthus mollis

Acanthus mollis, commonly known as bear’s breeches, is a bold, architectural perennial native to the Mediterranean region. It’s known for its large, glossy, deeply lobed leaves and tall flower spikes adorned with white and purple bracts that bloom in late spring to summer. The plant’s dramatic form has inspired design for centuries — it even served as the model for the leaf motifs on Corinthian columns in classical architecture. Acanthus mollis thrives in part shade with well-drained soil and is valued for adding a lush, sculptural quality to gardens.
Blackberry-lily

Iris domestica

Blackberry-lily is not a lily but an iris that is native to large parts of eastern and southern Asia. It can grow to four feet tall with iris-like fanned foliage, topped by orange flowers with red spots in summer. In the fall, the seed pods open to reveal shiny black seeds, giving the plant its common name.