“… AS PROMPTLY AND CONTINUOUSLY AS OTHER WORK PERMITS”
As construction on Vizcaya’s Main House gets underway, Deering requests prompt attention to the landscape as well.
Letter: October 1st, 1913
From: James Deering, Vizcaya’s Owner
To: Paul Chalfin, Vizcaya’s Artistic Director
Reveal Transcript
Dear Mr. Chalfin:–
We were speaking of the landscape gardening work that we wish to do in Florida and which we agreed should be taken up as soon as it does not interfere with other work and continued as promptly and continuously as other more important work permits. You stated that all you feel the need of is an office or draftsman’s organization. I am wondering how much of this organization would be required and whether we could find some office or person in Miami who would do the work or even if we could not wisely hire some experienced person to do this part of the work.
Yours truly, [signed] James Deering
“I MIGHT HOPE TO LIVE TO SEE SOME OF THE BEAUTY OF MATURE GROWTH…”
Letter: October 27th, 1914
From: James Deering, Vizcaya’s Owner
To: Paul Chalfin, Vizcaya’s Artistic Director
Reveal Transcript
Dear Mr. Chalfin:–
In our discussions of the sewage problems and the title fields in New York you brought up a number of times that I have said to you in the past that the formal garden was something that we could put into the future. I have actually in the past said this thing two or three times. I had two reasons for doing so. First, I thought that we might put off spending the money involved in this and, consequently, ease up on my pocketbook. Second, I thought that it might be amusing to me in the coming years to supervise this work and see it going on. Since I attained these ideas the situation has very much changed. I thought then that the general development of the place could be done gradually in the same way that I thought of doing the formal garden. We did actually some time ago hit upon quite another idea, which was that we wished to get all our planting done at the earliest possible moment, so that I might hope to live to see some of the beauty of mature growth. To this end we have swallowed whole, so to speak, the large expenditure involved in all of these plantations. The matter of large cost in the house and outside of the house we have also swallowed. The economy of putting off the formal garden would be but little, and I think we ought to decide to go ahead with this just as early and just as fast as we can. I understood you to say that if the plans for this depend upon you they will have to wait some time. I do not know how much long they will have to wait, and should like to know what you have to say about the matter.
Yours sincerely, [signed] JD
