In 1906, Mr. and Mrs. (Martha) Clement S. Houghton, built their Spanish-American home on Suffolk Road in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. They began developing the 26-acre site with the guidance of Warren M. Manning, a noted landscape architect. The gardens included a pond, brook, and woodland stream surrounded by evergreen and deciduous trees, flowering trees and shrubs, perennials, and bulbs. The planet palettes were chosen to feature each of the four seasons.