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Once a Mobster's Garden

And of course it's in New Jersey! Deep Cut Gardens was once owned by Mafia boss Vito Genovese, who bought the 54 acre property in New Jersey in 1935 as a peaceful retreat for his family away from their home in New York City.  He obviously spared no expense in turning the site into a magnificent garden that reminded him of his Italian homeland.

He hired Theodore Stout to design the gardens, which included a terraced rockery crafted from Italian volcanic stone, with three pools and a miniature stone Mount Vesuvius that at one time emitted smoke. Lush evergreens and weeping hemlocks with striking contorted trunks complete the scene.

In the distance, there's a rose garden and a pavilion, but the swimming pool has now been filled in. 

Two years after he bought it, Genovese, facing arrest, fled to Italy, and the property fell into disrepair. 

In 1952, Marjorie Sperry Wihtol (of the S&H Green Stamp family) and her husband bought the property, and during the next 25 years added herbacious borders, a koi pond, a Japanese garden with bonsai, and a vegetable garden.  The Wihtols also erected a new house and Library, now the horticultural center.  Mrs. Wihtol bequeathed 20 acres of the property to the Monmouth County Park System, and the rest of the site was bought with Green Acres funding.  The current Elvin MacDonald Horticultural Library has four thousand books and periodicals on gardening and related topics. 

Aside from the designed gardens, you can stroll through a forest and woodland meadows that feature groves of chestnut, oak, maple and ash trees.  Specimen trees on this property alone make it worth a visit.

Happenings June 2017

Selected Events Around the Country:

Exhibitions:

thru Aug 12, Happiness: The Writer in the Garden," New Haven, CT
Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library, 203-432-2977
thru Sept 10, Roberto Burle Marx Drawings, Landscapes, More. Glencoe, IL
Chicago Botanic Garden, 847-835-5440
thru Oct 29, Artworks & more by Dale Chihuly, Bronx, NY
NY Botanical Garden, 718-817-8700
thru August 31, 2018, "Cultivating America's Gardens," Washington DC
National Museum of American History, sponsor: Smithsonian Gardens & Smithsonian Libraries, 202-633-1522

 

May 27-June 4  Rhododendron Festival, Sandwich, MA
Heritage Museum & Gardens. Walks, Talks, Demos 508-888-3300
May 31, Garden Design Magazine - last day for free issue when you subscribe.

June 3, The Art of Elegance, East Hampton, NY
4pm, Garden Conservancy, Afternoon with Interior Designer Marshall Watson
June 3-4 Garden Conservancy Open Days Tours: CA, CT, ME, MO, NY, SC
CA: Marin Cty; CT: Hartford, Litchfield Ctys; ME: York Cty; MO: St. Louis Cty; NY: Columbia, Suffolk Ctys; SC: Charleston Cty.
June 3, Garden of designer Edwina Von Gal, East Hampton, NY
Garden Conservancy: Garden Tours at 10am, 11am, 1pm, 3pm with the designer - speaking about toxin-free landscaping.

June 4, Hort Society of MD Garden Tour, Annapolis, MD
10am-4pm, 26th Annual Tour, "Dedicated Gardeners & Creative Spaces."
June 7-10, Native Plants in the Landscape Conference, Millersville PA
"Building Communities One Plant at a Time," Millersville University: tours, workshops, lectures, more 717-842-0272
June 10-11, Landscape Pleasures Symposium, Watermill, NY
Parish Art Museum, Symposium & Garden Tour, 631-283-2118
speakers: Author Page Dickey, LA Christy Ten Eyck, R. William Thomas
June 10-11, Garden Conservancy Open Days Tours: CT, MA, MD, NJ, NY
CT: Fairfield Cty; MA: NorfolkCty; MD: Frederick Cty; NJ: Bergen, Essex Ctys; NY: Onondaga, Putnam Ctys.

June 16-18 Secret Garden Tours, Newport, RI
10am-5pm, Tours of the city's most prestigious properties, 401-439-7253
June 16-18, Native Plant Communities Weekend Retreat, Cornwall, NY
Three day workshop with landscape designer Darrel Morrison, NY Botanical Garden, 718-817-8700
June 17, South End Garden Tour, Boston, MA
10am-4pm, Fabulous gardens & tours.  The best of small urban townhouse gardens.
June 17, Terrace Gardening Saturday, NY, NY
10am-5pm, NYBG Midtown Center, 718-817-8700
June 17-18, Garden Conservancy Open Days Tours: CA, CT, NJ, NY, PA
CA: Mendocino; CT: Litchfield; NJ: Hunterdon; NY:Dutchess; PA: Bucks

June 22, Garden Conservancy Open Days Tours, Nantucket, MA
June 23-25, Newport Flower Show, Newport, RI
22nd annual show, "Fête Des Fleurs: Paintings and Parterres," 401-847-1000
June 23-25, Dwell on Design Conference, Los Angeles, CA
Los Angeles Convention Center, Outdoor pavilion: 30,000 sq. ft. of natural outdoor design.
June 24, Garden Dialogues, Hudson, NY
3pm-4:30pm, Tour of Olana State Historic Site with LA Margie Ruddick, TCLF, 202-483-0553
June 24-25, Garden Conservancy Open Days Tours: CT: IL, MA, NY
CT: Hartford; IL: Cook, Lake; MA: Berkshire, Norfolk; NY: Columbia, Dutchess, Nassau, Putnam, Sufolk, Ulster, Westchester.

LOOKAHEAD:
July 13-17, APLD International Landscape Design Conference, Boston, MA
July 21, Woody Plant Conference, Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, PA
July 23-28, Perennial Plant Symposium, Denver, CO 
Aug 4-7 Gardenwriters Annual Conference, Buffalo, NY

 

Exhibition: America's Gardens

images: Smithsonian - click to enlarge

If you, like me, have often wondered why American gardeners are so fixated on British gardens, it's probably because they just haven't bothered to delve into the fascinating story of our own  gardens here in the United States. But now, the full story is available through the efforts of the Smithsonian Libraries and Smithsonian Gardens (including the Archives of American Gardens) in Washington DC.

A new exhibit, "Cultivating America's Gardens," is now open at the National Museum of American History, and it runs through August, 2018.  So if you're planning a visit to DC, make sure you don't miss this show.

The exhibit covers the American garden from its earliest beginnings to the present day, from east to west coast, north to south and everything in between.  Joyce Connolly, museum specialist at Smithsonian Gardens, explained that "Gardens are an important reflection of our culture, traditions, regional differences and design tastes." She added that "The long tradition of gardening in America continues to have an impact on how we design, use and enjoy gardens today."

The show is divided into various themes, ie, Gardening for Science, Gardening to Impress, Gardening for the Common Good, Gardening as a Link to the Past, Gardening as an Enterprise, and Gardening for the Environment.

Gardeners today are heavily into native plants and sustainability.  They might be surprised to learn that Irish-born gardener William Robinson was inspired by the natural habitats of North America and first introduced the subject in his book, The Wild Garden, published in 1870.

You'll learn about plant explorers and breeders, famous World's Fair gardens, school gardens and victory gardens, the rise of the lawn and botanic gardens, and much, much more.  Best of all, the entire exhibit is now online -- including links to many historic books -- so if you can't make it to Washington, spend a day or so online learning about our country's rich garden history.  Check it out here.

images above:

Blue Garden at Beacon Hill, Newport, Rhode Island, 1920s
Archives of American Gardens, Garden Club of America Collection

Mourning dove (Zenaida macroura) and Mayapple (Podophyllum peltatum)
From Mark Catesby, The Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands (London, 1729-1747)
Smithsonian Libraries

Burgess Seed and Plant Co.
Seed catalog: Plant a Garden, 1943
Galesburg, Michigan
Smithsonian Libraries

 

Books: Giverny: A New Take

There are lots of books about Monet's garden at Giverny, which inspired so many of his artworks, but this new slipcased volume includes much more than photos and descriptions of the garden.

In A Day with Claude Monet in Giverny (Flammarion, 2017-- distributed by Rizzoli International), art historian and writer Adrien Goetz takes you inside the house and the artist's studio at Giverny, and of course gives you a grand tour of the gardens.

In the foreword to the book, the director of the Fondation Claude Monet, Hugues Gall, says "there is more to Giverny than the legacy of Monet."  He explains that the garden represents "an image of a changeless France ... with reflections and echoes of the past."

There's a chapter on the village itself, it's history, churches, hotels, and scenes that inspired some of Mone't paintings. You'll read about Monet's family, impressionism, and the property itself, both inside and outside the residence.  There are scores of photos of Monet, the gardens, his paintings, and objects that surrounded him in everyday life.

It's a different look at the place that was his home for the last 40 years of his life, and a book you'll treasure forever.

 

 

Landscape Design Awards - APLD GOLD II

photos: Charles Mayer - click to enlarge

Jim Douthit of a Blade of Grass in Wayland, MA, received a 2017 Gold Award from the Association of Professional Landscape Designers (APLD) for this farmhouse garden -- his own --  in Wayland. To screen the property from a busy road, Douthit planted a row of mixed evergreens along with deciduous trees and shrubs, and also installed lush gardens to make the area around the gravel courtyard feel much less like a driveway. 

Views from inside the old farmhouse were reoriented to the backyard and the river beyond. The designer handled a five foot drop from the back door to the yard by adding a small porch one step down from the kitchen and a bluestone patio three steps down from the porch.  A yew hedge separates the patio from the front courtyard, and the patio and firepit are oriented to offer views to the river.

And finally, a veg garden was added on the far side of the barn, along with beehives and a chicken coop.

Most plantings on the property are native, and reclaimed granite pillars, cobbles and landings were installed throughout the site. 

"City of Trees" - Trees on the Increase

Washington DC has long been known as the "City of Trees" because of its diverse and historic tree population.  From the famous flowering cherry trees around the Tidal Basin to the southern magnolias at the White House and the 4000+ trees on the Capitol grounds, it's part of what makes the city so beautiful.

Years of neglect left the tree canopy much reduced, but a program was started by Casey Trees in 2002 to plant new trees across the city with an eventual goal of a 40 percent tree canopy.

For this year, Casey's Tree Report Card gives DC an A minus.  The tree canopy increased last year from 36 to 38 percent, bringing the city within two percentage points of its goal.

Part of the program is to plant diverse trees throughout the city to avoid rapid deterioration from potential new pests and diseases.  I just noticed a new tree the other day in a Northwest DC neighborhood, a pink-flowering red horsechestnut.  I was totally unfamiliar with it, but's it's a lovely specimen.

Aesculus x carnea 'Fort McNair' is a 30 x 30' small flowering tree with a rounded form, great for small landscapes.  The long clusters of pink flowers have yellow throats and attract hummingbirds and bees.  The dark green palmate leaves have a tropical effect and are attractive year-round.  Hardy in USDA Zones 4-7.

Design: Oudolf Channels Jens Jensen

 

photos: Chicago Parks Foundation

Dutch designer Piet Oudolf has been tapped to design new plantings for the historic Jens Jensen Formal Garden in Chicago's Humboldt Park.  Jensen's garden, dating back to 1908, has been deteriorating for years, but a restoration project is now underway sponsored by the Chicago Parks Foundation, the Chicago Park District, and the Garden Conservancy.

Jensen, a proponent of the Prairie style of landscape design, described the landscape as a "community garden" created for city residents "who have no other gardens except their window sills."  His design features a reflecting pool and fountain, a terrace with pergolas and a lagoon that he called "a prairie river." 

Oudolf met with the Humboldt Park community in April and presented his thoughts about the garden's new sustainable design, which include plants that can survive the Chicago weather year-round and will not require the use of pesticides.  "We will create a community of plants that work well together and look beautiful throughout the seasons," he said. 

Happiness: Writers in Gardens

 

Beinecke: Photo of William Carlos Williams gardening, 1955, click to enlarge

You have to admit ... poet William Carlos Williams looks gloriously happy in the midst of his garden.

A special exhibition, Happiness: The Writer in the Garden, is now open (through August 12) at Yale's Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library in New Haven, CT.

Curator Timothy Young says the library has a number of works on gardening in its archives. "Like a wandering vine, the subject of garden-making winds through the shelves of books and boxes of archives in the collection of the Beinecke Library," he says. 

Beinecke: Edith Wharton in the rose garden

Young adds that the theme of happiness runs throughout the collections: "Writers of all dispositions seem to agree that the work of shaping the natural world into manageable plots brings particularly rewarding forms of joy and satisfaction."

The exhibition includes items ranging from 17th century to contemporary archives, and writers represented include Francis Bacon, Edith Wharton, Alexander Pope, Beatrix Farrand, Willilam Carlos Williams, Gertrude Stein, Vita Sackville-West, Diana Balmori and many others.

If you, like me, love garden history, you'll definitely not want to miss this exhibition.  And, as an added plus, the library has created a special area -- a reader's garden, outdoors -- so you can relax and be inspired by others who found gardening so worthwhile.

Beinecke: Karl Priebe's illustrated postcards

While you're at the library, stop by the companion exhibition, Bird-Watching. Do you know a gardener who doesn't like birds?  The exhibition documents bird forms, songs, behavior, and more in word and images.  Collectors include some of the same writers as above along with Audubon, Mo Willems, Carl Van Vechten and more.

Books: Great Shade Secrets & Photography Workshop

These two new titles from Timber Press will carry you beautifully through the planting season.

There are lots of books on shade gardening, but this one stands out as the one you might want on your reference shelf because of its all-inclusive subject matter and comprehensive list (with photos) of gorgeous shade plants. Glorious Shade: Dazzling Plants, Design Ideas, and Proven Techniques for Your Shady Garden (Timber Press, 2017) by Jenny Rose Carey, director of the Ambler Arboretum of Temple University, encourages you to embrace the shady spots in your garden rather than curse them. 

As Carey puts it in the introduction, shade gardens offer "...cool refreshing places to sit away from the heat of the sun and paths that entice visitors to explore." But best of all, she says, "The ever-changing beauty of the shade garden is a celebration of life; a multifaceted ecosystem full of a diverse community of plants and animals... that will let you revel in the benefits that a glorious shade garden will bring to your life."

Carey tells you how to create a shade garden, no matter what kind of space you have -- how to plant in and among tree roots and next to buildings.  She offers design ideas, from Japanese-style gardens to water-saving solutions, tropical and water gardens, and shade gardens composed of containers.  And finally, there are extensive plant lists of trees and shrubs, vines, ferns, perennials, tropicals and annuals. 

I can't think of a better volume of shade gardening that's as useful as this one.

It's pretty easy to pick up that cellphone and start snapping away on visits to public gardens or on great garden tours.  But your photos will say much more to you if you follow a few simple photographic tips and techniques. 

In The Garden Photography Workshop: Expert Tips and Techniques for Capturing the Essence of Your Garden (Timber Press, 2017), British photographer Andrea Jones shows you how to take photos with impact that will capture both the spirit of the place and design details you want to remember.

A chapter on cameras and digital devices and how to use them to best effect is particularly useful. Did you ever wonder how to handle exposure without using a good light meter? Want to know what the professionals always carry with them to handle various situations?  How to get good garden photos in small spaces?  It's all here in the book.

Most useful of all, Jones includes portraits of 10 different gardens and walks you through the way she captured each one in images. There are lessons about weather, framing, light, color, detail in the shadows, and much much more.

Pick up a copy of this book ... and you'll see an almost instant improvement in almost anything you dare to shoot (Shoot photos, that is). 

 

 

Landscape Design Awards - APLD GOLD I

Two NYC Projects that won 2017 APLD GOLD Landscape Design Awards:

photos: Paul Warchol - click to enlarge

Brooklyn Townhouse
Lauren Pucciarelli - Gunn Landscape Architecture

This double design challenge includes a shaded patio garden -- just 610 square feet -- that connects the kitchen with an outdoor dining area.  A number of white plantings lighten the area: dogwoods, oakleaf hydrangeas, and 'Honorine Jobert' anemone among them. There's also a small, tranquil seating area and a hidden grill at the rear. 

Up on the roof, the 350 square foot terrace has a wet bar and entertainment area, and plantings were designed to allow views of the city while screening the roof garden from surrounding buildings.

 

photos: Nicolas Calcott

Upper East Side Maisonette Terrace
Harrison Green

Jacqueline and Damien Harrison designed this split-level terrace to give their client maximum entertaining space that incorporates year-round greenery through ivy-covered fences and mass plantings of sculptural boxwood.

The client's request for blue hydrangeas is realized in four specimen plantings installed in Italian terracotta pots that anchor the corners of the rear garden.  Materials and plants were locally sourced and decorative pebbles at the rear allow water to percolate through the soil.