Boston Flora

Tag: Private Gardens of the Hudson Valley

  • Friday, July 19, 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm – Cocktails in Great Gardens: Rockland Farm

    Rockland Farm comprises a variety of areas that flow one from another over about ten acres of the Canaan, New York property. A 450-foot-long rock ledge runs parallel to the front drive and is topped by a dry garden in silver, gray and blue, with a thyme walk along one edge. Raised areas on the west side of the house feature exotic and tropical plants, many in containers. Behind the house is a sequence of garden rooms: a lavender garden contained within a raised hornbeam hedge; a perennial garden in pastels surrounding our pool; a water garden, fronted by a white garden and with a shade garden and rhododendron walk behind; a hot sundial and rock garden; and a fenced vegetable and cutting garden. From here, a hydrangea allée leads to a lawn with sweeps of perennials on one side and a mixed garden containing a faux-bois set on the other—or to steps up to a small, wooded knoll, where paths offer intermittent views of the garden and the hills beyond and connect a folly, a water feature and a stumpery. Where the garden meets open land, a Tim Prentice kinetic piece snakes its way through the trees, and a massive carved bench in a pine grove overlooks a three-acre lake in the middle-distance. Rockland Farm has been featured in magazines and in the books Great Gardens of the Berkshires, Private Edens, and Private Gardens of The Hudson Valley.

    Berkshire Botanical Garden will host Cocktails at Rockland Farm on July 19 from 5 – 7. $40 for BBG members, $55 for nonmembers. Address and directions will be provided upon Registration. Register at www.berkshirebotanical.org.

    photo by Rich Pomerantz

  • Wednesday, August 9, 10:00 am – 2:30 pm – Gardeners Who Inspire

    A Berkshire Botanical Garden offsite field study on Wednesday, August 9 from 10 – 2 features two remarkable gardens in Dutchess County, New York. Our first garden (pictured), which was included in Jane Garmey’s book, Private Gardens of the Hudson Valley, features a sophisticated plant palette and a spectacular meadow of Sporobolus heterolepsis (prairie drop seed) framing a sculpture by Vivian Beer. Although this is not a low-maintenance garden, the owners rarely water anything after the second year and fertilize only container plants; elsewhere, compost feeds the soil without making it too rich while suppressing weeds. The collection of plants features more natives every year, including interesting native cultivars like Liquidambar  ‘Slender Silhouette.’ The owners, however, still enjoy the thrill of searching out exotic rarities. Our second garden is located on rolling terrain in Sand Lake, NY, and has evolved within a classic nineteenth-century arrangement of house, barn, meadows, and woods. A long peony border leads from the house to a five-acre pond surrounded by native plants. Between the house and barn large deep flower beds are bordered by a pergola on one side and an Italianate upper garden on the other. We will tour both sites with the owners and glean tips and techniques from these remarkable gardeners.

    Driving directions to two gardens in Dutchess County will be provided upon registration. Bring a bag lunch to picnic at the first garden. BBG members $40, nonmembers $50. Register online at www.berkshirebotanical.org.

  • Saturday, September 9, 8:00 am – 6:00 pm – Garden Study Weekend VII Symposium: The Exuberant Garden

    Be inspired by a day long symposium on Saturday, September 9 at the Hollister House Garden, 300 Nettleton Hollow Road in Washington, Connecticut,
    featuring:

    Jacqueline van der Kloet – The celebrated Dutch landscape designer will talk about Magical Mixes in the garden. She is known world wide for her innovative designs and her artful combinations of perennials and bulbs in the garden, She has worked on projects ranging from private gardens and city parks to national and international flower exhibitions. She is also the author of nine books, including Colour Your Garden. In this talk Jacqueline will show us her own garden in Weesp as well as her many international projects.

    Tom Coward – Tom will speak on leading the restoration of William Robinson’s legendary gardens at Gravetye Manor, where he has been the head gardener in Sussex, England since 2010. Previously he was assistant head gardener at Great Dixter, working under Fergus Garrett. The gardens at Gravetye Manor were first developed in the 1880’s by the legendary gardener William Robinson, who wrote some of the most influential gardening books of his generation, and used the landscape at Gravetye to put his ideas into practice. Over the past seven years Coward has led a team working to restore the historical detail of the site, renovating the garden to its former glory while attempting to move it forward into the modern age.

    Andrew Bunting – Andrew Bunting, Assistant Director and Director of Collections at Chicago Botanic Garden, is an expert on woody plants and author on Plant Lover’s Guide to Magnolias. Prior to coming to Chicago, he was curator at the Scott Arboretum at Swarthmore College, and is past President of the Magnolia Society International. Andrew will describe the many and diverse magnolias that can be cultivated in the Northeast.

    Jane Garmey– Jane is a noted author and passionate gardener, author of Private Gardens of the Hudson Valley, and Private Gardens of Connecticut. She will speak on A Sense of Place: Challenges, Approaches and Solutions to Creating Gardens. She has also written about gardens for The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. Her newest book, City Green, will be published next year. In this talk she will give us an inside look at a wide variety of private gardens and will focus on the challenges facing those who set out to make their own gardens and show how inventive and individual their solutions can be.

    The symposium is moderated by Todd Forrest, Arthur Ross Vice President for Horticulture and Living Collections at New York Botanical Garden.

    Each reservation includes continental breakfast and lunch at the symposium and cocktails and preview buying at the Sale of Rare and Unusual Plants at Hollister House Garden. The Heritage Hotel has reserved a block of rooms for symposium attendees ($129 + tax) per night. To reserve please call 203-264-8200 and mention Hollister House Garden to secure this special rate.

    Patron $500 – includes invitation to the speaker dinner on Friday evening at Hollister House Garden and reserved seating at the symposium. ($200 of this ticket is tax deductible)
    Friend $185 – HHG and Garden Conservancy members
    Non-members $200
    No cancellations after August 1. To register, visit https://app.etapestry.com/onlineforms/HollisterHouseGardenInc/symposium.html

  • Saturday, April 5, 4:00 pm – Private Gardens of the Hudson Valley

    This Berkshire Botanical Garden presentation features gardens that emphasize the majestic landscape that borders New York State’s Hudson River. Based on her latest book, Private Gardens of the Hudson Valley, Jane Garmey will discuss the development of 26 private gardens chosen to give a sense of place and convey the romance of the landscape. The location of these gardens plays a vital role in the making of each one. Learn how the owners deal with the transitions between the cultivated garden and its natural surroundings. The gardens include those of Gregory Long, director of the New York Botanical Garden, and Amy Goldman, doyenne of heirloom vegetables. A book signing and sale will follow the lecture.

    Jane Garmey is the author of Private Gardens of Connecticut (Monacelli/Random House), the editor of The Writer in the Garden (Algonquin Books) and the author of Great British Cooking: A Well-Kept Secret (Random House) and Great New British Cooking (Simon & Schuster). Her latest book, Private Gardens of the Hudson Valley, is the subject of this lecture. She writes about gardens and interior design for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and Elle Decor. For many years she was the garden correspondent for Town & Country.

    You may register at www.berkshirebotanical.org.  $25 for BBG members, $30 for nonmembers.

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