Boris Timchenko
October 14, 1898 - December 24, 1975
Mr. Timchenko was the landscape architect and designer for the Watergate Complex. Working in Washington, D.C., he designed gardens for many of its prominent residents and landscaped public and commercial buildings in the city. His clients included Jacqueline Kennedy and the Auchincloss family, Mamie Eisenhower, and George Washington University. He was recognized with awards from the American Association of Nurserymen and the First Lady's Committee for a More Beautiful National Capital.
At Watergate, seven of the ten acres were set aside for open space. Mr. Timchenko used hedges, flowering trees and swaths of grass to create garden views for those walking the grounds as well as those looking down from the terraces and balconies. A newspaper clipping about the landscape design for the Watergate gardens is here.
Other personal papers and photographs are online here (these are very large files and may take a while to open).
Among other properties, Mr. Timchenko did work at Hammersmith Farm at the time the Auchincloss family owned it and also at Farmer's Delight Plantation.
Hammersmith Farm
Lying at the meeting of Narragansett Bay and the Atlantic, Hammersmith Farm was originally settled in the 17th century by surveyor William Brenton and named for his English residence. Eventually passing into the Auchincloss family, the property was landscaped by the Olmsted Brothers firm (records show that the firm was involved with the site from 1909 to 1946). Other designs for the property were developed by Nathan Franklin Barrett, Herbert Kellaway, and Boris V. Timchenko. An elaborate Italianate sunken garden was centered on a pool flanked by low mounds of flowers. Geometrically shaped flower beds lay to either side, while the space was decorated by urns and columns. A pergola enclosed three sides. The property was the site of the wedding reception of Mrs. Hugh D. Auchincloss, Jr.'s daughter, Jacqueline Bouvier, and John F. Kennedy.
Persons and firms associated with the garden include: William Brenton (former owner, after 1638); John W. Auchincloss (former owner, c. 1887); Mr. and Mrs. Hugh D. Auchincloss (former owners, early 20th century); Mr. and Mrs. Hugh D. Auchincloss (former owners, mid-20th century); Olmsted Brothers Landscape Architects (landscape architects, 1909-1946); Nathan Franklin Barrett (landscape designer, 1912); Herbert J. Kellaway (landscape designer); and Boris V. Timchenko (landscape designer, 1959).
Farmer's Delight Plantation
When he purchased the property in 1948, George C. McGhee undertook major renovations to the landscape surrounding the Manor House as well as to the house, including restoring the property's original name: Farmer's Delight Plantation. One of the largest changes was the addition of a three-tiered back garden section extending out from the wings of the Manor House. Washington landscape architect Boris Timchenko designed a series of brick-lined terraces leading successively down toward the small pond below the house. Originally the design called for a fourth terrace, but for unknown reasons only three were brought to fruition.
The top terrace, which is composed almost entirely of a brick patio area, is anchored by a water fountain in the center. A large brick fireplace complements the south corner. Brick steps lead down to the second and third terraces which feature rounded hedges. These began as small knot gardens planted in geometric patterns. The McGhee Foundation, current owner, is working to reinvigorate the terraces; these gardens may come to resemble their original designs.
The final feature of the back terraces is the wisteria arbor located on the south edge. The stone columns lining one side of the arbor, said to come from a 13th-century French abbey, were purchased by Ambassador McGhee1 from the estate of William Randolph Hearst. Hearst supposedly had intended the columns to be used on his estate in San Simeon, California.
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Burial site:
Rock Creek Cemetery
Washington
District Of Columbia, USA
1More on McGhee: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_C._McGhee
