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Ethne Clarke’s book, An Infinity of Graces tells the story of Cecil Ross Pinsent, an English architect in the Italian landscape. Mr Pinsent, as described by Ms. Clarke, “was trained not to look at any style…but with the full knowledge of what had been done in the past….” The time of Mr. Pinsent’s work was […]
Tapis vert, tapis vert, tapis vert. You are slowly walking between columns of oak and ilex with a carpet of grass under your feet. Yes, pull away those blankets of snow. There is a gateway ahead of you. A hermitage high on the hill. Just climb those scala santa. Edith Wharton wrote about the tapis […]
Hidcote Ethne Clarke paints a fascinating picture of an American expatriate who designs one of the foremost gardens in Great Britain pre and post WWI in her book, “Hidcote, The Making of a Garden,” published by W.W. Norton & Co., 2009. Major Lawrence Johnston’s garden, Hidcote is a garden treasure in England, the first garden […]
A HAPPY NEW YEAR Date: Undated Artists: Currier & Ives Medium: Hand-colored lithograph Measurements: 14 x 10 inches Access Number: 2004-D03-106 Gift of Lenore B. and Sidney A. Alpert supplemented with Springfield Museum Acquistions Funds NEW CURRIER & IVES EXHIBIT OPENS AT D’AMOUR MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS Michele & Donald D’Amour Museum of Fine […]
Read Introduction by John Dixon Hunt of ” Italian Villas and Their Gardens,” a book written by Edith Wharton originally published in 1904 by the Century Company, in 2008 by Rizzoli and The Mount Press. Why did Henry James describe Edith Wharton’s villa and garden visits as “excursionism?” What is difference between garden writer and […]
The Blush rose is white tinged with red. When cutting these stems under conditioned water I noticed how straight the stems were. Not only straight but like a rod with some reinforcement. First I arranged the roses in a cube, its square holding eight roses in upright fashion. I studied the arrangement over night and […]
Magnolia is the quarterly publication of the Southern Garden History Society. You can access it online at http://www.southerngardenhistory.org. Peter Hatch’s review of the book “The Garden Diary of Martha Turnbull, Mistress of Rosedown Plantation” edited and annotated by Suzanne Turner appears under the Resources section, Book Reviews. “Rosedown today,” explains Peter Hatch, Director of Gardens […]
Rarely when discussed the line-up for Thanksgiving dinner is there mention of soup. Pumpkin pies, sweet potato casseroles, onion dip and roasted turkey might translate into creative ingredients for post-game festivities but the in-between football games dinner certainly would never include a bowl of tomato soup. So when I arrived at the relatives for our […]
Keys to Happiness, A Reader’s Digest Guide to Successful Living copyrighted by the Reader’s Digest Association in 1955 was once the property of the Hotel Rockaway. Thanksgiving is four days away, the oak leaves on the hydrangea bush and trees hang tight in the wind of early morning light. The provocative title by Eric Manners, […]
Picture: Courtesy Carlisle Hashim The Tour, “Secret Gardens of the Vieux Carre’” in the French Quarter of New Orleans included a courtyard on Royal Street, a “well-detailed double residence with attached three-story kitchens.” It was built around 1833 for Paul LaCroix, a classic Creole-style building with a central passageway, arched ground floor openings, narrow wrought […]
Gardens in the French Quarter of New Orleans are lush with tropical plants, walled enclosures with water, ironwork and hanging art. It was such a treat to be in the city whose motto is “Laissez le Bon Temps Rouler” on the third weekend in October for a self-guided tour of seven gardens in New Orleans. […]
What is felt from a house facing south? Shadows on the wall are good. How fortunate you are if when you look out your front door you see something of beauty. These are subjects discussed in short yet lovely fashion in Patience Strong’s Book of Homes and Gardens. “If you cannot have a vista” […]
