Friends of Goodstay Gardens

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Wilmington, DE
Friends of Goodstay Gardens

Goodstay is a historic Tudor-style garden located on the grounds of the University of Delaware's Goodstay Center at 2600 Pennsylvania Avenue in Wilmington.

Come visit! Friends of Goodstay Gardens was founded in 1993 to help restore, maintain, and celebrate historic Goodstay Gardens in Wilmington, Delaware. The Friends are an all-volunteer group proud to fund and administer the long and short-term care of this six-acre garden treasure on behalf of the University so the community can enjoy it free of charge. Goodstay Gardens is located on the grounds o

f the University of Delaware’s Wilmington Campus at 2700 Pennsylvania Avenue within easy walking distance of city neighborhoods. It is situated adjacent to the Goodstay mansion (now closed). The unassuming entry through an arched opening in the tall stone wall belies the pleasure garden that lies beyond, earning Goodstay the nickname, "Wilmington's Secret Garden". Historic Goodstay Gardens is one of the oldest gardens in the state and traces its legacy to the du Pont family like several other prominent gardens in the area: Gibraltar, Hagley, Nemours, Winterthur, Mt Cuba, & Longwood. Planted in the early 19th Century in the American Tudor style, the garden is partitioned into "rooms" with boxwood hedges bordering gravel paths. The property's most recent private owners were Ellen du Pont and her landscape architect husband, Robert Wheelwright. They restored and enhanced the gardens starting in the early 1920s, converting it from a kitchen garden to a pleasure garden with iris, rose, and peony "rooms". Friends of Goodsaty Gardens references this time period and the meticulous records kept by the Wheelwrights to guide design and planting decisions today. Upon her passing in 1968, Mrs. Wheelwright's family left the property to the University of Delaware. Friends of Goodstay Gardens is proud to fully fund and administer the care Goodstay Gardens and it's outbuildings with the support of our loyal donors and volunteers.

06/12/2026

Our volunteers gather at Goodstay Gardens every Wednesday bringing energy, enthusiasm, and a love of gardening. Stop by to enjoy the sights and scents, the product of their work.

05/29/2026

A Sea of Yellow

Spuria Irises are blooming in every corner of Goodstay Gardens, like a peaceful sea of yellow. Wander and witness, this is their season!

05/23/2026

New Annuals for the Season at Goodstay Gardens. Freshly planted by our volunteers and, already beginning to bloom.

05/15/2026

Featuring Joshua Taylor’s photography. A regular visitor to Goodstay Gardens.

05/13/2026

Breaking News …

The peonies at Goodstay Gardens await your viewing pleasure. But hurry, their beauty is far too short.

05/09/2026

Irises are Blooming in Goodstay Gardens

According to the oracle (Google), the iris stands for faith, wisdom, hope, courage, and admiration. Go visit while they’re in bloom and take a little of that home.

05/03/2026

Rooms with a View

The Brandywine Valley is known for its grand mansions: cultured palaces with hundreds of rooms. Goodstay Gardens offers a different kind of grandeur: a series of “rooms” shaped not by walls, but by nature. Wander as your mood takes you through these rooms: Iris, Knot, Magnolia Walk, Peony, Rose, Turkey Rock. Include Park if you’d like another room to wander.

04/24/2026

Your Private Park

Beyond the stone wall that borders the southeast edge of the garden lies a secluded area known as the Park. It contains a mixture of exotic and native flowering trees and plants like the rest of Goodstay Gardens. Such as the red buckeye. Take a private stroll along its meandering paths and experience a small woodland retreat.

04/17/2026

A fox guarding the henhouse? This guy isn’t on security duty, he’s on spring break at Goodstay Gardens. No hens in sight, maybe he’ll bring his new family here for an outing.

04/14/2026

Beauty in bloom preparing for Earth Day

Address

2700 Pennsylvania Avenue
Wilmington, DE
19806

Website

https://www.goodstaygardens.org/

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