This romantic garden, surrounding an old carriage barn, is divided into rooms to resemble the English gardens loved by the owner/gardener/garden writer/English professor. The tour begins with a sunken, walled garden that leads to a formal pool with an island waterfall, water lilies, and goldfish. A rustic pergola connects the water garden to a trellised, ornamental kitchen garden. A white garden, surrounding clumps of native birch, pays homage to Sissinghurst. A folly, with broken stones and a dripping column, evokes ancient ruins, while an aged cedar window on an old marble base frames the folly, the long hot border, and the landscape beyond. Lushly planted pots, secluded seats, and carefully positioned ornamental trees and shrubs provide focal points that draw the eye from one garden room to the next. The large number of climbing structures covered with flowering vines and the wide variety of perennials and annuals, arranged in surprising combinations of color and texture, will make this densely planted garden equally interesting to plant lovers and aesthetes. Pictures and additional information can be found online by searching Ilona’s Garden at Smithsonian Archives.
The Garden Conservancy Open Days 2023 in Massachusetts kicks off with gardens in Williamstown, in the Berkshires, on July 15 from 10 – 4. Tickets for this event became available starting May 1, and we suggest planning now due to limited availability. NEW THIS YEAR: all tickets must be purchased in advance and online. No day of tour tickets will be sold. Complete details on the website, https://www.gardenconservancy.org/open-days/ $5 Garden Conservancy members, $10 nonmembers.
