Boston Flora

Tag: Blithewold

  • Friday, April 29 – Sunday, May 1 – The 19th Annual Antique Garden Furniture Show and Sale

    More than thirty of the country’s leading dealers offer their finest pieces at America’s most celebrated venue for authentic garden antiques, the New York Botanical Garden’s 19th Annual Garden Furniture Show and Sale, on Friday, April 29 – Sunday, May 1.  Blithewold Home will be making its debut at the show. During the three-day event, fountains, statues, benches, urns, sundials, birdbaths, and botanical prints beckon novice collectors and garden designers alike. Throughout the weekend, antiques experts offer informative tours and talks.  For complete show details, log on to www.nybg.org.

  • Saturday, April 9 – Sunday, May 1, 10:00 am – 5:00 pm – Daffodil Days

    Come to Blithewold, 101 Ferry Road (Route 114) in Bristol, Rhode Island beginning April 9, continuing through May 1, for its annual celebration of the daffodil, Daffodil Days. Members free, Adults $10, senior and student discounts available.  For directions and more information, log on to www.blithewold.org.

  • Wednesday, October 20, 10:30 am – 12:00 noon – Bulb Forcing Workshop

    Don’t let cooler temperatures and shorter days outside stop you from growing fresh flowers indoors!  Join Blithewold Mansion’s Director of Horticulture Julie Morris on Wednesday, October 20 at 10:30 am for an interactive session that demonstrates how to force bulbs and create striking container arrangements. Each participant will design and plant three pots containing a variety of bulbs such as iris, tulips, and daffodils to enjoy at home or to give as a special gift.  Pre-registration is required. Price: $30 Blithewold Members, $35 Non-members. Location:  Blithewold Mansion, Gardens & Arboretum, 101 Ferry Road (Route 114), Bristol , Rhode Island.  For directions, and to register, call 401-253-2707, or log on to www.blithewold.org.

  • Sunday, September 5, 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm – An Intimate Garden Tour: A Summer Home in Narragansett

    Blithewold invites you beyond the garden gate to tour this charming local property on Sunday, September 5, from 2 – 4 pm. As part of a small and informal group, discover a Summer Home’s story and distinct collection of plants. See the landscape through the eyes of the designer and come away with new ideas and a fresh perspective.

    Each Intimate Garden Tour is unique, but all afford the opportunity to explore and ask questions.  This seaside project of Louis Raymond’s is a study in Summer interest. It’s all about what’s glorious from June through November.

    Spring (and Winter) are irrelevant, so there are no rhodies, daffodils, wisteria or azaleas. Instead, traditional high-summer perennials are joined by huge swathes of the full variety of Summer-interest shrubs and trees, many of which are hard-pruned to maximize their colorful foliage.

    The immense scale of the property called for immense plantings, too. The smaller double borders are 20 feet deep; the BIG double borders are twice as deep, and almost 200 feet wide. The cutting garden is one of the newer projects, with 1,200 square feet in raised beds.  Thrilling horticulture partners with a dramatic Bayside setting, for an intense landscape so unusual that it was on the cover of House & Garden magazine.

    Check out pictures of this garden here at www.renaissancegardening.com/garden.htm

    *In the case of heavy rain, participants will be notified of cancellations by phone. If you do not hear from us a few hours before the program start, the program will run as scheduled.

    Directions to the site will be mailed a few weeks prior to the tour. Light refreshments will be available.  Registration is limited and required in advance.$30 Blithewold members, $35 non-members. For more information, call 401-253-2707, or email jmurphyedu@blithewold.org.

    http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_g7OTD4nHkjk/Skac4nKhV3I/AAAAAAAACuM/0d0pNf-KWm8/s320/16+Leucosceptrum+japonicum+%27Golden+Angel%27.JPG

  • Sunday, August 8, 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm – An Intimate Garden Tour: The Garden of Louis Raymond

    Blithewold invites you beyond the garden gate to tour this charming local property on Sunday, August 8, from 2 – 4 pm. As part of a small and informal group, discover the Garden of Louis Raymond’s story and distinct collection of plants. See the landscape through the eyes of the owner and come away with new ideas and a fresh perspective. Each Intimate Garden Tour is unique, but all afford the opportunity to explore and ask questions.

    Garden designer Louis Raymond has been at work on his own gardens, in Hopkinton, RI for thirteen years. The property is only an acre and a half, but appears much larger because it is almost five hundred feet deep and comparatively narrow. The 18th Century house is right out at the road, typical for its era, which handily leaves the majority of the property free for the gardens. They are Louis’s wild experiment, where he is free of the need for the realistic levels of practicality, economy, and functionality that typify his projects for his clients.

    At home, untold hundreds of plants — tender and hardy, easy and challenging — fill the vast mixed borders and crowd around the dining terrace. Complex espaliers and hedges-to-be divide up the property, while bluestone and grass create a network of long pathways that bring it all somewhat closer to hand. It’s the project of a lifetime!

    Check out how his garden has been doing at www.renaissancegardening.com/gar_louis.html
    and at his blog, www.DirtOnTheKeys.blogspot.com.

    *In the case of heavy rain, participants will be notified of cancellations by phone. If you do not hear from us a few hours before the program start, the program will run as scheduled.

    Directions to the site will be mailed a few weeks prior to the tour. Light refreshments will be available. Registration is limited and required in advance.$30 Blithewold members, $35 non-members. For more information call 401-253-2707, or email jmurphyedu@blithewold.org.

    http://www.rgardening.com/art/ph_landscape1.jpg

  • Thursday, July 22, 5:30 pm – 7:30 pm – An Intimate Garden Tour: Villa Palona, Middletown

    Blithewold invites you beyond the garden gate to tour this charming local property on Thursday, July 22, from 5:30 – 7:30 pm. As part of a small and informal group, discover Villa Palona’s story and distinct collection of plants. See the landscape through the eyes of the owner and come away with new ideas and a fresh perspective. Each Intimate Garden Tour is unique, but all afford the opportunity to explore and ask questions.

    Villa Palona, the name of the house, is an integral part, and provides inspiration, for this small suburban garden. The house was designed by the Hoppin Brothers of Providence, and completed in 1924. It was built as a prototype for the Portland Cement Company and named by the architects ‘The Providence’ after the capital of Rhode Island.

    Thinking the name somewhat pretentious, the name was changed in honor of a large Palonia [sic] Tomentosa tree which, sadly, is no longer part of the landscape.

    The house was bought by the owners’ parents in 1946, and the house and garden have had restorations in the last twenty-two years of ownership. A few original specimen trees and shrubs, as well as the garden topography encompass the present plan.

    The illusion of being in a much broader, as well as private, landscape has been an objective. The present garden has evolved dramatically over the past several years with the addition of stone walls and steps, a small reclaimed granite fountain, large plant perennial borders, and a surprise birch tree cedar grove. Plant material is ever changing, rich in texture, and rather bold.

    *In the case of heavy rain, participants will be notified of cancellations by phone. If you do not hear from us a few hours before the program start, the program will run as scheduled.

    Directions to the site will be mailed a few weeks prior to the tour. Light refreshments will be served. Registration is limited and required in advance.$30 Blithewold members, $35 non-members.  Email jmurphyedu@blithewold.org, or call 401-253-2707.

    http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_SRJAqXNdv9c/SuiCVBViozI/AAAAAAAAFTs/uqsdpPhjytA/s400/15Oct09+Jacquemontii+Silver+Birch.jpg

  • Sunday, June 27, 12:00 noon – 2:00 pm – Fergus Garrett: The Spirit of Great Dixter

    Join Blithewold Mansion Gardens & Arboretum supporters on Sunday, June 27, at 12 noon, for tea and a talk by special guest Fergus Garrett, Head Gardener of Great Dixter, the house and garden of the late world renowned horticulturist Christopher Lloyd. Located near Northiam in East Sussex, England, Great Dixter’s gardens are regarded as the epitome of English plantsmanship. The property is particularly noted for its wealth of perennials and extensive topiary. Fergus will speak about all aspects of Great Dixter, from its garden color, planting combinations and meadows, to the house and its interiors. He will include an account of his apprenticeship to the great “Christo”. Fergus is also a well known author and authority on innovative garden design in his own right.

    Tea and scones from Russ Morin Caterers is included in the price of admission, which is $35 for Blithewold Members, and $45 for non-members. Blithewold is located at 101 Ferry Road in Bristol, Rhode Island.

    Learn more about the history of Great Dixter and Fergus Garrett’s work developing and preserving its gardens at www.greatdixter.co.uk. To register, log on to www.blithewold.org, or call Julie Murphy, Education Coordinator, at 401-253-2707, ext. 16. You may also email her at jmurphyedu@blithewold.org. Identify yourself as a member of the Garden Club of the Back Bay (if you are, of course), and receive a special discount.

    http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_N7dFOZ91fkM/S2tVm3EILpI/AAAAAAAABkA/UoKMLd6hb7Q/s400/FergusGarrett2006.jpg

  • Thursday, June 10, 5:30 pm – 7:30 pm – An Intimate Garden Tour: The Maddock Garden, Barrington

    Blithewold Mansion, Gardens & Arboretum invites you beyond the garden gate to tour this charming local property on Thursday, June 10, from 5:30 – 7:30 pm. As part of a small and informal group, discover the Maddock Garden’s story and distinct collection of plants. See the landscape through the eyes of the owner and come away with new ideas and a fresh perspective. Each Intimate Garden Tour is unique, but all afford the opportunity to explore and ask questions.

    The Maddock garden is an original Cape style home and garden, once used as a gardener’s cottage. In this magical garden you will find a breathtaking rose arbor, bordering a sunny perennial bed, which connects the greenhouse to the fernery. The fernery welcomes its guests with gifts of Trillium, Hosta, and native ferns. Native plantings, including spring ephemerals, and bulbs will delight. The newly constructed Lantern walk and quiet upper terrace are planted with Japanese maples, and assorted hydrangeas for late summer interest. A hard surface walkway around the garden makes for a pleasant stroll whatever the weather.

    *In the case of heavy rain, participants will be notified of cancellations by phone. If you do not hear from us a few hours before the program start, the program will run as scheduled.  Directions to the site will be mailed a few weeks prior to the tour. Light refreshments will be served.  Registration is limited and required in advance. Call 401-253-2707, or email jmurphyedu@blithewold.org.  You may also log on to www.blithewold.org.  $30 Blithewold members, $35 non-members.

    http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_dhOHZ7F7les/R_-mEl9ODwI/AAAAAAAAAHw/0UIY4JTm474/s320/Cecile+Brunner+just+open.JPG

  • Saturday, June 20, 10 – 4 – Newport Area Open Day

    The Garden Conservancy will sponsor an Open Day in Newport, Rhode Island on Saturday, June 20, from 10 – 4.  Visit Green Animals Topiary Garden at 380 Cory’s Lane, Portsmouth, Rhode Island, and Blithewold Mansion, Gardens & Arboretum at 101 Ferry Road and Route 114, for more information.

    The Purviance Garden,  47 Kane Avenue, Middletown, Rhode Island

    For more than thirty years the owners have lovingly tended their gardens. The house is sheltered by two venerable lindens of astonishing form and framed by a billowing boxwood hedge, shaped by an artist. The border by the terrace holds flowering shrubs, a whimsical collection of potted plants, a garden pool, roses, perennials, and evergreens. A tiny playhouse is tucked under a copper beech. Other small gardens are constantly changing, rearranged by the owners who cannot resist tinkering.

    Bellevue House Gardens, Newport, Rhode Island

    This walled three-and-one-half-acre property serves as the private park of an estate designed by Ogden Codman Jr. for his cousin Martha. The gardens have recently been restored, embellished, and re-imagined. They pay homage to the garden designers of the American Renaissance period (1885-1930), and include a series of follies, exedras, and tea houses which form axes and vistas inviting diversions beyond the contemplation of the magnificent specimen trees set in sweeping lawns. The most recent additions include the American Renaissance Water Garden on the east side of the house. A carved granite statue of the goddess Pomona as a metaphorical deity passes energy to the current family over time. The waters gush forward from the her fruit-laden cornucopia, then rise up to a Villa Lante-like table, spill out the father’s lips, under a bridge, and down a long rill to a children’s fountain. A pergola nearby pays homage to Rosemary Verey’s laburnums and wisteria and frames the new tea house, replicating the work of Salem architect Samuel McIntyre (1800). At the rear of the property, stands the newest folly—the cupola of McIntyre’s 1809 Branch (now Howard Street) Church in Salem as redesigned by J. P. Couture of Providence. It is adjacent to an English water garden that reflects the cupola in its symmetrical pool. Completed in the fall of 2008, a new Oriental Vale extends the view to the south. Here a Chinese Chippendale bridge frames a cascade running from a lily-lined lagoon into the pond. A hillock blocks street views and sends a waterfall down to stepping stones that edge the lagoon, which is embraced by a shoal of large beach stones, Japanese maples, and granite lanterns. We regret that fishing for the multi-colored koi is not allowed. Nor will we in turn fish for compliments, though your comments and suggestions for this evolving work will be appreciated.

    Parterre, Newport, Rhode Island

    Recalling the romance of eighteenth-century France, a series of formal gardens with whimsical outbuildings surround the house, built just ten years ago amidst a park-like setting. Always a work in progress, inspiration from other gardens continue to provide precious details. The existing woodland had been reclaimed, with a fall “flame border” of Japanese maples as its accent (a la Sheffield Park, England.) From the fourteen-foot copper beech tapestry hedge to the evergreen “winter garden”, the focus at Parterre is on horticultural specimens and diversity.

  • Tuesday, March 10, 6-7 pm – Spice It Up!

    Spice up your life with an A to Z tour of spices that explore the history, folklore and medicinal benefits of common culinary spices. RN/herbalist Bonnie Kavanagh will guide you in the creation of a healthy spice blend to bring home, along with the knowledge to improve your health with every meal. Workshop will meet in the Carriage House of Blithewold Mansion, Gardens and Arboretum, 101 Ferry Road, Bristol, Rhode Island. $20 members of Blithewold, $25 nonmembers. For more information call 401-253-2707, or log on to www.blithewold.org.