Chimes Tower District

Aerial view of large grassy area with a small pond and stone tower surrounded by a forest

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
    a walkway lined with green trees and shrubs

    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
    A path winds through a walkway of green trees and bushes

    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.

What’s in Bloom

  • Dwarf Fothergilla

    Fothergilla gardenii

    Fothergilla gardenii, dwarf fothergilla

     

  • Six green and maroon alternating petals that come to points against large green foliage.

    Purple Trillium

    Trillium erectum

    Trilliums are fascinating spring wildflowers that rely on ants for seed dispersal through a process called myrmecochory, or “ant farming.” Their seeds come with tasty oily attachments called elaiosomes, which ants carry to their nests, eat, and leave the seeds behind to sprout. Trillium flowers give off a strong, sometimes unpleasant odor, especially Trillium erectum, to attract flies and beetles for pollination. True to their name, trilliums feature a pattern of threes in their leaves, petals, and sepals, and although they can grow from seed, they often take years to bloom.

  • Evergreen shrub with vibrant, tubular orange-salmon flowers.

    Hybrid Azalea

    Rhododendron ′Orange Wonder′
  • A Plant with green and white leaves

    Rock's Tree Peony

    Paeonia rockii 'Mei Ren Mian’