Mired In Tradition

Last Sunday, in Bucks County, PA, I went on my second Open Days garden crawl of the season. These visits recharge my creative juices and offer me a first hand opportunity to see what other landscape designers and talented amateurs have created. I look carefully, take photographs and experience the gardens in three dimensions. Being in a garden is so much different than looking at pictures of one especially for a designer as interested in creating spatial relationships as I am.

What I already knew, and what three of the gardens I visited confirmed, is that on the east coast, those with the means to build a landscape of substance opt to emulate traditional English gardens. The old stone houses and barns that give Buck's County its lure form the backdrop for the gardens. Although one garden had a beautifully enhanced woodland, there was not one meadow in the acres and acres of mixed borders and mowed turfgrass that I saw. Planting styles differed within these gardens but the traditional garden design paradigm did not.

A rustic twig bridge in the woodland at Hortulus Farm Garden & Nursery

There were some beautiful vignettes and ideas within these classic schemes. One, at Willow Farm, had a grey/blue and burgundy palette juxtaposed with honey hued native stone that I particularly liked.

Blue/grey and burgundy plants with native honey colored stone

Another, at Hortulus, had a bold yellow planting scheme punctuated by a large terra cotta urn that was dramatic and interesting.

Yellow and terra cotta in combination at Hortulus

A third really great idea was again, at Hortulus. The formal fountain at the far end of a double mixed border was actually a swimming pool. It read as a fountain until you noticed the steps. This idea could be adapted for many different situations both grand and intimate.

The swimming pool fountain

This contrast between classic and contemporary design was magnified by the last stop of the day, an interior designer's shop in Lambertville, NJ, Reinboth & Company. I try to check this small shop out each time I'm in the area since it is really well edited. The garden accessories in their courtyard were clean, crisp and modern. It seemed restful and welcome after a day of observing such traditional points of view.

Contemporary garden accessories at Reinboth & Co.

Garden Visits--Chester and Far Hills

Accompanied by a friend, who is also a landscape designer, a map and our cameras we set off to see three gardens in Morris and Somerset counties for an Open Days garden crawl. With my trusty point and shoot, I took many more photographs than I have here. Some are for inspiration, some are for reference and others will be shared here later illustrating other posts.

This area of New Jersey is known for its history and tradition. Homes dating from late 18th and 19th century sit side by side with those built in the last real estate bubble. The three gardens we visited were traditional, based in European traditions, and on properties with old homes. All three gardens were several acres, the result of years of vision, personal attention and financial commitment. Aliums were in bloom everywhere. Container plantings were significant players at both Hedgerows and Kennelston cottage forming their own small 'gardens' or creating focal points within larger plantings. I think I'd like to explore containers as a contributor and design element later.

A stone pier, containers and gate at Hedgerows

With the morning's fog still creating an atmospheric haze, down Old Chester Road we drove, our first stop was Dan and Jeanne Will's garden, Hedgerows. For me, the most interesting part of this garden was the woodland. Meandering paths wove in and out of plantings that were in places highly edited and in others self seeded. The combination of intent and abandon was charming.

Self seeded Primula japonica were abundant, as were Myosotis sylvatica

Gravel paths weaving in and out of plantings

A small rustic yet elegantly proportioned summerhouse

Our second stop, Hay Honey Farm, was one of two we planned in Far Hills. I first visited this garden 4 or 5 years ago. This time, the owner requested that photos not be published, so I won't share mine here. A series of gardens included hillside woodland with a beautiful Rhododendron walk, a hayfields with remarkable views across the valley and a Laburnum allee. This garden is well worth the visit.

A gravel path through a shady garden room at Kennelston Cottage in Far Hills

After a drive on dirt and gravel roads through some of the most beautiful country in New Jersey we arrived at our final stop--Kennelston Cottage. This was the most traditional garden of the three. Recently featured in New Jersey Life magazine, Kennelston's gardens are a series of interrelated rooms and vignettes.

The Potager with chimney pot planters

A lovely purple and white poolside planting scheme

The view to the house from the pool

Field Trip--Chester and Far Hills

I really do what I say I do.

Find Gardens to visit on Open Days

Even though I design gardens and landscapes every day for a living, I still love to discover other people's gardens. Today, despite the gloomy forecast, I'm going to take advantage of the Garden Conservancy's Open Days in Morris and Somerset counties. I never know what discovery I'll make or if I'll even like the gardens I visit...usually there's some tidbit that I find interesting or worthy of a quick sketch or photo, but sometimes the gardens are absolutely breathtaking.

The remnants of an Ellen Biddle Shipman garden in Lamington from a previous year's visit

My Garden State--Jockey Hollow

The footpath to the Cross Estate Gardens in Jockey Hollow

This lovely garden is about 20 minutes from my studio on the way here and there. It is on National Park Service land and is maintained by a staff of dedicated volunteers. I stop there often. There are other elements not shown here, a walled formal garden with two beautiful terra cotta urns and a view east over the foothills and a three story fieldstone water tower. Perhaps another time or visit for yourself...

Spring in the wildflower garden at the Cross Estate Gardens

Massed ferns at the base of a Metaseqoia glyptostroboides

The Mountain Laurel (Kalmia latifolia) allee before it blooms next month

Inspiration and Influence - Garden Visits

An old gate at Greenwood Gardens, Short Hills, NJ on its first Open Days day several years ago.
The gate is no longer there.

Today it's grey and rainy. I'm dreaming of gardens. Yesterday, my 2009 edition of the Garden Conservancy's Open Days Directory came in the mail. Its arrival made me think about how much I have been inspired by seeing gardens. Not only do I visit on Open Days, but the APLD annual design conference also incorporates amazing garden visits. There are some random photos of gardens which I've visited over the years included here. I appologize if some aren't credited to their sources and owners as I rarely write down what I'm photographing as I go along.

The Grotto under the pool at the White Garden in Lewisboro NY, designed by Patrick Chasse

Observing someone else's point of view, details, and planting styles have had a profound effect on my growth as a landscape designer.Over the years I've visited gardens large and small, good and not so good in many countries. All have had some type of impact on my design aesthetic--either as something to aspire to or something to avoid.

Michael Trapp's Garden in Connecticut

When I was first starting out, I focused on all of the amazing plants that I didn't know and dutifully wrote them all down. Now I walk with camera and sketchbook in hand--taking pictures and drawing small details as they strike me. Mostly I snap--sketching takes me too much time!

Robert Irwin's Garden at the Getty Center, Malibu, California

I actually try not to analyze it too much when I'm there--I try to experience the gardens while I'm in them. Sometimes I'll see something that I don't like and that's just as galvanizing as what I do.

Shape and texture on the California coast near Santa Barbara