When purchased in 1689 this property contained about 50 acres. Over the generations it changed from farmland, to a gentleman's summer retreat, to a home where Reuben Haines III could pursue scientific agriculture.

The family sold parcels of land in the 1850s when Germantown was becoming the most desirable of Philadelphia's Victorian-era suburbs.

Today, Wyck's 2 acres include: Jane's rose garden which grows in its original plan from the 1820s; the park-like lawn with flower borders and spring bulbs; the herb and vegetable gardens; and the original outbuildings from the late 18th and early 19th-century -- the coach house, ice house and smoke house.

The gardens have always been a primary focus of the family, who has lovingly cared for them, preserving their historic plantings and layout.