The Walter Gray Family Gardens at The Solitude

The Walter Gray Family Gardens at The Solitude. . , When John Penn built The Solitude, he commissioned a landscape plan for his 15-acre property, now at the heart of the Zoo. Beyond the necessities of an eighteenth-century estate, the plan for The Solitude had many fashionable components: open views of the Schuylkill River from the house; footpaths offering carefully framed vistas and strategically placed stands of trees; a "ha-ha," a recent innovation to prevent livestock from entering the gardens; a picturesque flower garden; a bowling green; and a "wilderness" with carefully laid out trails., In May 2008, master gardener Robin M. Potter was invited to develop a new design fro the gardens that surround The Solitude. Thanks to the generosity of the family of the late Walter Gray, the Zoo has been able to use Robin's design to create The Walter Gray Family Gardens. This project was completed in the spring of 2010., The Gray Family has extended a generous challenge , they are matching non-family contributions towards this project, dollar for dollar, up to a total of $125,000. The Grays' intent is to create the necessary endowment that will allow these gardens to be maintained in perpetuity.