moments

Wil and I visit a lot of gardens, it is his favorite activity 😉

This weekend I dragged brought him to Trade Secrets in Northwestern CT , which is often described as the “Northeast’s garden event of the season” to shop at all the vendor booths on Saturday and view the four gardens on tour Sunday.  The vendors are usually quite high end with unusual garden antiques and plants and the gardens are most certainly not your typical suburban plots to say the least.

In the 6 years of this blog I think I have yet to  write a post describing another garden , although in the course of that time I have seen probably hundreds. I seldom take pictures when on tours either. I think that it is because I know that these places are meant to be enjoyed in the moment, and most certainly the one thing they all have in common is that with each passing day they will look quite different than they did today.

having your garden on tour always brings up the fact that, if you are public in anyway, either in books, a website, or via  Open Days , your visitors have set images in their mind of what they will be looking for. That can make you crazy as the flowers grow, bloom and sometimes disappear altogether on their own course and you can control none of it. Add in the fact that we gardeners are always changing things up, shuffling things around and re-staging areas  and no garden ever looks the same year to year. If, for instance you see my presentation on vines and then come looking for the scene of one of the photos/combinations that may have inspired you, chances are very good you will not see it. Every year I change the vines I grow, mostly to trail new things to keep my presentations fresh and updated, but also out of boredom.

That is a very long-winded into to the original point of this post…..to see the “Moments” I captured in the gardens we toured Sunday. If you want to read about their history origin, planting schemes, and owners you can read the many books by the owners who are designers and writers or use google 🙂

The first garden was that of Michael Trapp, a dealer in hefty imported garden accents/statuary etc whose formal gardens were intended to enhance the  incredible views on the property. My favorite momentsDSC_0001

-This little scene where the tips of the alliums where touching the bottom branches of the carefully espaliered apple teesDSC_0010

-the Montana like big sky , here broken by the barn , silo and cupolaDSC_0007

-this little nook near the reflecting pool to sit and chill

 

On Carolyne Roehms’ Weatherstone estate , there was much to take in and it was all very spread out. My favorite moments

– In the willow edged parterre there were  what I assume are flowers for cutting (peonies, roses, alliums, and tulips were prominent now) These tulips just happened to be catching the sun behind them during our visitDSC_0030

 

– a very formal and striking veranda by the poolDSC_0032

-and my favorite of all, the white pine and other seedlings trying to grow atop a moss covered cement pillar that was anchoring a gate DSC_0039

At Bunny Williams, this pretty pink trillium caught my eyeDSC_0049

her property is incredible….new design studio perched on a hill overlooking  the world below

( drool), a to die for pool house with just a big enough kitchen and bathroom area to avoid being ostentatious (double drool)  , a converted barn with a huge hearth and attached sunroom ( triple drool)

but those things , although beautiful, are not in my future.

A stand of copper beeches under-planted with a huchera of  the same foliage color may be thoughDSC_0063

I adore white tulips, and these planted in the box parterre  (anyone who is anyone in northwestern CT has a parterre) were dreamy.DSC_0058

Our last stop was Lion Rock Farm, where we could have spent a million dollars on their  garden ornamnents, stakes and planters. Cool stuff indeed.. It had a pool enclosure that was , to me, just perfect.  One side was a stone wall that looked like a ruin , the back was a pool house  and covered sitting area and the last two sides  were vine covered pergolas…..just…..wowDSC_0044

So, there were my “Moments” of this past weekend. Now I am off to create some here in the Burrow

 

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