The Alice Recknagel Ireys papers consist of biographical material, correspondence, financial records, notes, plant lists, sketches, renderings, plans, photographs, drafts and typescripts of writings, and handouts prepared for teaching. The materials are primarily related to her professional life. The main subject of the Ireys papers is the approximately 800 gardens she designed over her sixty-five year career, a period of transition in the field of landscape architecture from the large private estates and grand public works projects of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries to the smaller scale ventures of the post-World War II world. The extensive Client Files reveal how designs evolved over time and also show her impressive knowledge of plants and careful selection for the site and situation. Other materials provide ample evidence of Ireys' dedication to clear and accessible instruction on the principles of landscape design and the "joys of creating and caring for a garden". In addition, these materials demonstrate the interrelationships between landscape architects and garden club members who were likely to be involved in hiring landscape architects, for their own properties or public work for the towns where they lived and institutions they supported.
