The Garden Conservancy will feature two South Dartmouth gardens on July 24 as part of this year’s Open Days program, along with a Digging Deeper session with Nan Sinton from 10:30 – 12:30. The Digging Deeper sessions sell out quickly so we are publicizing this early. Learn more and sign up at https://www.gardenconservancy.org/open-days/open-days-schedule/bristol-county-ma-open-day-2
The first garden, Stoney Ground, is a former goat pasture. A ground cover of poison ivy and a path through oak woods to a winding stream intrigued garden designer Nan Sinton and her Midwest-based colleague David Michener. In 2015 Nan built a new farmhouse and barn in historic Russells Mills Village and the new garden began. The goats were the clue: this was not rich farmland but it was endowed with layers of stones that the glaciers left for New England farmers.
Now restored stone walls and a long border planted for pollinators connect a private courtyard of Mediterranean-inspired planting to the woods. A raised-bed vegetable and cutting garden, a dry-soils shrub collection, a young magnolia glade, and experiments with matrix planting using natives and complementary non-invasive plants create an intriguing mix of intentional plant combinations that are all connected along a path interweaving sun and shade. The walks through the native oak, beech, and holly woods to the rock bluff overlooking the Paskamansett River are being developed.
The second property is the Gulf Road Homestead. In 1987 a historic New Bedford house, once slated for demolition, was moved and reconstructed with great attention to historical detail in open meadows bordered by woods near Apponagansett Bay. Fast forward 25 years and the much-traveled owner, inspired by trips to the Orient, sought to infuse the adventurous spirit of the house’s early whaling inhabitants into the landscape. She invited Sinton & Michener Associates to propose new ideas to enliven the open spaces, integrating play, exploration and discovery, and enhancing a growing collection of contemporary sculpture. High on the priority list was the concept of “oasis,” a place to relax and separate from the everyday world.
Sinton & Michener devised a “ramble,” planting trees to blend the backdrop of the woods with and around the existing lawns so that the sculptures are rediscovered from new prospects. Hidden in plain sight, they designed a modern labyrinth of hornbeam that were installed as two-foot tall saplings (be certain to discover what’s in the middle!) An old tree house was re-imagined as a place for contemplation and moon viewing, complemented by the Asian-themed handrails designed by the owner. Another re-purposing is “the Holloway” on the very sandy site of the former drainage field. As the plants mature and create shade, garden visitors will traverse the way of giant stepping stones while strolling through a flowery dell that is its own space apart from all others. Recently the pastoral setting has seen the owner and her family welcome cows to graze in a newly fenced meadow as the experiments in separating from the world and discovering the realms of whimsy and art continues.
The Gulf Road Homestead is the venue for the Digging Deeper session ($30 for Garden Conservancy members, $40 general admission). Join garden designer Nan Sinton to explore how she and her client work with this evolving landscape to celebrate both worldly adventure and peaceful retreat. Beginning with a flat, open site, Nan’s ideas for the present-day garden, her concept of “shaping space,” emerged when she saw it from an existing tree house. Her built and planted forms shape space as well as light and shadow, time and mood, scale and pattern. Inspired by the owner’s extensive travel, the adventurous spirit of the region’s early seafaring residents, and the importance of home in such peripatetic existences, the result is a carefully shaped sequence of experiences, spaces of surprise and active discovery as well as spaces to relax and separate from the everyday world. For more information, please contact the Garden Conservancy by telephone 845.424.6500, M-F, 9-5 Eastern, or email events@gardenconservancy.org.
