Meadow brook IN BLOOM

Petal Power

Flowers and gardens made a huge impact on the Meadow Brook estate, but not just outdoors

A biography of Matilda Wilson could not be properly told without including stories about her lifelong passion for flowers. Historically, for women, gardening was a fulfilling endeavor that provided them an opportunity to make their own decisions, experiment with new information and be creative. They learned from books and magazines and through garden clubs.

As a young woman with significant wealth, Matilda was afforded the opportunity to fully develop her interest in both horticulture and floriculture. She personally developed all of the gardens at her properties and directed the operation of her greenhouses – first in her Detroit homes and ultimately at her country retreat, Meadow Brook Farms – and passed on her passion to her daughters Frances and Barbara and granddaughter Judy. She joined both the Bloomfield Hills and Rochester branches of the Women’s National Farm and Garden Association in 1930, and served as national president from 1964 to 1966.

But the impact of flowers and floral themes did not stop at her front or back doors. For centuries, whether painted on canvas, illustrated in books, woven in rugs, painted on glass or carved in stone, the flower – with all its symbolism, beauty and allure – has been popular subject matter inside homes as well. Flowers, the meaning they evoke, the universal language they speak, and the thousands of species they represent, have made this timeless icon an inexhaustible source of inspiration for artistic expression.

Matilda’s decorating and furnishing of Meadow Brook Hall was no exception. Some of the most opulent and whimsical examples of floral inspiration can be seen throughout The Hall. We offer readers a brief look at some of them on these pages and invite you to get the full visual story by taking this year’s summer tour, fittingly titled “Meadow Brook in Bloom.”