Join the New England Carnivorous Plant Society on Saturday, January 14, at 12:30 pm at the Roger Williams Botanical Center in Providence for the Nepenthes (Tropical Pitcher Plant) Cutting Event. Members will leave with a cutting for propagation, and may bring in overgrown Nepenthes vines and share the fun with other members. To join, or for more information, visit www.necps.org.
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.
Providence’s historic Federal Hill neighborhood invites you to participate in the 2009 Christmas Stroll, taking place Sunday, December 6, from 1:00 – 5:00 pm. Tree lighting will take place at 4:00 pm. Enjoy holiday fun and cheer with a horse and buggy ride, free Christmas drinks and snacks, shopping, and much more. Federal Hill is the “Heartbeat of Providence.” For directions and more information, log on to www.providencefederalhill.com, or call 401-453-6161. You may also email info@providencefederalhill.com.
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.
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.
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.
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 gardenâ€, the focus at Parterre is on horticultural specimens and diversity.
