There’s nothing more glorious in the fall than a trip to New York City…especially when the sun is beyond brilliant and “strong” breezes hint at seasonal changes. It has been…| Private Newport
It is October 9th and the grounds and gardens are still in full bloom, all dancing blithely along. And speaking of dancing, it is this time in the fall season when a 114′ hedge of stunning blousy white hydrangeas blooms along the stucco wall, inspiring this annual blog. But not just any “white,” this cultivar has a luscious lime-green shade that inspired their garden name, ‘Limelight’ hydrangeas. Falling in love with them years ago when they were first introduced, I chose to us...| Private Newport
This perfect early fall weather (and a calmer pace after the freneticism of summer) has prompted many walks around my favorite neighborhoods, each route including one architectural treasure after another.…| Private Newport
From the greater parklike landscape to the tiniest garden container, this time of the year provides such a wealth of details. I find myself stopping the car as I wind…| Private Newport
September is the most beautiful month of the year, as Newporters will assure you. One of its highlights is the dahlias that are at the height of their season throughout many gardens. Here at Parterre, we augmented some of our old standbys with some new names that I’m very excited about. | Private Newport
I’ll start this post not with my own words, but with kind observations from a visitor to Parterre over this past weekend during the garden tour….”The lovely French inspired design…| Private Newport
Arriving back in Newport from our Scotland trip just as Labor Day weekend started…so this post was created a bit on the fly, sharing “Postcards,” as I like to call them, providing a personal perspective on this special city where we began our trip. | Private Newport
While we would usually be in Newport mid-August, a lovely invitation prompted a re-consideration. So off we went to visit Edinburgh and then cruise the eastern shores of Scotland and a…| Private Newport
And just like “that”, Coaching took over the island the weekend of August 15-17. With 2 separate “drives” on Friday and Saturday and one Sunday morn, the number of people enjoying this panoply is remarkable…from the spectators lining the routes to the Whips, their out of town guests, and Newport participants in the social moments. | Private Newport
Living in Newport, with its many exceptional homes, gate houses, stables and carriage houses, complemented by grand specimen trees on manicured landscapes, gives one the sense of existing in another…| Private Newport
Though late to bloom this year given our wet and wonky summer, these Newport signatures never fail to make their statement…and complete many a landscape’s je ne sais quoi. Look no further than Marble House (above), where they stretch all the way from the house to the street…healthy and happy, flapping gayly in abandon and tossing their flowers in the welcome breezes. Masses of hydrangea hedges continue the beauty on the back terrace, breaking up the coolness of the gray-white marble wit...| Private Newport
Today, the Newport Flower Show opens officially at Rosecliff! The three days in this idyllic oceanside setting are a much-anticipated event on the summer calendar… June 20th to 22nd, 2025.| Private Newport
This recent trip to England reminded me of the ever-so-true saying…”So many gardens, so little time.” And how very happy I am that I opted for a new part of England (rather than returning to the Cotswold area), the Peaks in Derbyshire. Three hours north of London on the way to Yorkshire, it is famous as the site of the centuries-old stately home, Chatsworth, where we spent 2 1/2 days. But venturing beyond Derbyshire introduced us to Biddulph Grange, Haddon Hall, Melbourne Hall, and Reni...| Private Newport
As a gardener, imagine that you lived in the Victorian era when men and women were in the enviable position of having a wealth of new and totally unknown plant options from all the corners of the earth. How exciting is that!! When James Bateman began Biddulph Grange in 1842, the “world was his oyster,” as the saying goes. Each garden was a stage-set, offering endless possibilities…shelter or exposure, moisture or dryness; plants were selected AND importantly, sited by their growing needs.| Private Newport
While only two centuries old, Biddulph Grange in Staffordshire, England was a horticultural wonder of its time, benefiting from the exciting possibility of global plant exploration in the mid-19th century. James Bateman, on whose family property the grounds were developed, belonged to a coterie of men, and women, who shared interests in botany, zoology, horticulture, geology, and plant science: Nathaniel Ward, designer of the Wardian case, a large wood and glass “terrarium” that made it p...| Private Newport
It is perhaps difficult to believe that behind this formal chateau (above) is a sunken garden that in its simplicity provides the lessons for creating your own version. But indeed it is so, and right here in the heart of Newport! The grounds of the Elms are one of the great landscapes of the Gilded Age, designed in the Classic Revival style of gardens of the Italian Renaissance and eighteenth century France.| Private Newport
From Avenue Montaigne to the Place de la Concorde to Le Marais, the “City of Lights” takes on a new meaning at Christmas! Trees sparkle all over Paris (much more so than I’ve seen in London and New York).| Private Newport
On my recent trip to Atlanta I had a singular goal in mind…to capture the sumptuous beauty and history of Swan House, one of the most elegant (former) private homes in our country and a treasured landmark of this city. As one of many volunteer docents over the years I developed an affection for this residence, and its architect. Through these images I’ll weave the tale of that esteemed architect, Philip Trammell Shutze, whose noteworthy neo-Renaissance Revival talents made this house poss...| Private Newport
