TRADE SECRETS GARDEN TOURS 2023
Taking place Saturday, May 20th, 2023
Extraordinary New England Gardens
Find inspiration on Saturday, May 20th at the extraordinary New England gardens of Bunny Williams and John Rosselli, Michael Trapp, and Hollister House. Spend your morning or afternoon enjoying the perennial borders of Bunny’s 1840’s Federal home, stepping into Michael Trapp’s fairytale landscape of gothic ruins and natural artifacts, or taking in Hollister House’s romantic natural plantings situated in defined garden rooms.
The Garden of Bunny Williams & John Rosselli ($20/ticket) - 10:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Address: 1 Point of Rocks Road, Falls Village, CT 06031
PLEASE NOTE: Tickets to the Garden of Bunny Williams & John Rosselli are currently sold out. To be added to our waitlist, please email tsassistant@project-sage.org with your name and preferred method of contact. We apologize for the inconvenience and thank you for your support of Trade Secrets and the work of Project SAGE.
The property of Bunny Williams and John Rosselli encompasses twelve acres of varied gardens, including woodland, vegetable, parterre, orchard, perennial borders and many container displays that surround the 1840’s Federal home. A mowed path through the orchard and meadow leads to the pool house, a Greek Revival folly made with rustic, locally harvested oak columns. Uphill from the pool is Bunny’s Studio: an inspiring contemporary place with an impressive view of the Berkshire Hills. From the Studio, paths weave their way through the Woodland Garden, past carpets of ferns, wildflowers, woodland peonies, and an understory of dogwoods and redbuds. The Woodland Garden opens up into Elizabeth’s Circle, a contemplative and calming space where large boxwood balls tumble down the hill from the woods edge. Stone steps lead down to the Parterre, located behind the Conservatory and guest barn. Brick walkways, covered in moss, are surrounded by patterned boxwood hedges that edge seasonally planted beds, allowing for a different color scheme each year. Beyond the Conservatory, which showcases tropicals, a pergola leads visitors around the main house to a series of Belgian-style swooped yew hedges that frame a mass planting of hydrangeas. Just past the hedges is a sunken garden, filled with bold mixed borders and box-edged beds, brimming with perennials, annuals, and bulbs, including a granite edged koi pond. In the middle of the property is also a vegetable & cutting garden; a great variety of organic vegetables and herbs are grown along with tulips, peonies and dahlias from spring through fall in symmetrically designed square beds, edged with antique terracotta tile. Unused produce makes its way to the chickens, which are housed in an extraordinary octagonal coop. Visitors will most likely have the pleasure of meeting Bunny and John, as they enjoy sharing their garden with their guests.
Michael Trapp’s West Cornwall Garden ($20/ticket) - 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Address: 7 River Road, West Cornwall, CT 06796
Venture through the shuttered gate that sequesters Michael Trapp’s garden and step into the fractured fairytale that this renowned designer/antique dealer has forged. Slender paths lead through a cobbled labyrinth of idiosyncratic spaces staged with wonderful Corinthian capitals, huge slabs of stone set as dining tables, Roman fountains, and towering topiary spires that have been sculpted personally by Michael over decades. Stairs are swathed in wisteria, deft espaliered apples run their limbs along Gothic ruins, thoroughly lovable lions slumber. There is a craggy grotto beside a sparkling lap pool and a “cabinet of curiosities” filled with fading books and strange natural artifacts to be discovered. All the while, the scenic Housatonic River runs languidly below the balustrade, combining with the panoply of spring bulbs planted in the terraced beds to add a little levity to the ambiance. Michael Trapp’s pocket-sized garden fills minimal space with the full gamut of experiences. Deliciously odd, it reflects the insights of an extremely talented artist with a poignantly noir imagination.
Hollister House Garden ($10/ticket) - 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Address: 300 Nettleton Hollow Road, Washington, CT 06793
Beautifully situated on a sloping, terraced site, Hollister House Garden is an old-fashioned garden in the manner of such famous English gardens as Sissinghurst, Great Dixter and Hidcote, formal in its structure but informal and rather wild in its style of planting. Begun in 1979 by George Schoellkopf, the garden has evolved into a uniquely American synthesis of formal structure and naturalistic planting. The garden unfolds in successive layers of space and color with delightful informal vistas from one section to the next. Walls and hedges define the “rooms” and create an architectural framework for the romantic abundance of the plantings.
Extraordinary New England Garden Tours
Please click the link here to view directions to all three New England Gardens.
Remarkable Millbrook Garden Tours
Explore the beauty of Millbrook, New York with two of the state’s finest gardens - Clove Brook Farm, the private estate of Christopher Spitzmiller and Anthony Bellomo and Innisfree Garden. Spend your Saturday gathering inspiration for your own garden creations by taking in the site of Clove Brook Farm’s neoclassical style pool house and reflecting pool or enjoying the poetic design and innovative landscape of Innisfree Garden. Situated less than a half hour’s drive from each other - these gardens aren’t ones to miss!
Christopher Spitzmiller & Anthony Bellomo’s Clove Brook Farm ($20/ticket) - 10:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Address: 857 North Clove Road, Millbrook, NY 12545
The garden at Clove Brook Farm was begun in 2014 following a full restoration of the circa 1830s Greek Revival farmhouse on the property. The garden has quickly grown into a series of interconnected spaces, beginning with a horseshoe-shaped garden near the house that is surrounded by a clipped hornbeam hedge and anchored by a dovecote. It's this garden where a spectacular show of tulips and sweet peas emerges in spring, followed by towering dahlias in late summer. A few years ago another large garden "room" was added which centers on an oval swimming pool and neoclassical style pool house. This garden is also bounded by a hornbeam hedge and includes perimeter beds filled with various herbaceous perennials which evolve throughout the growing season, starting with poppies in early spring, then peonies, roses, lilies, and finally dahlias. A large kitchen garden has also been added, designed in a formal style, and planted with a large variety of vegetables during the growing season. The garden continues to evolve as embellishments to the formal garden spaces are added, and informal and naturalistic plantings are installed at the edge of the property. The evolution of the garden has been documented in A Year at Clove Brook Farm (Rizzoli, 2021), with foreword by Martha Stewart.
Innisfree Garden ($10/ticket) - 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Address: 362 Tyrrel Road, Millbrook, NY 12545
Innisfree Garden in New York’s scenic Hudson Valley is an oasis of living experiential art that encourages visitors to connect deeply with essential qualities of nature and fundamental cultural ideas of peace, awareness, and beauty. By preserving this legacy of our inspired founders and sharing poetic design, innovative nature-based landscape practices, site-specific and global inspirations, as well as engaging outreach, Innisfree, a 501(c)3 nonprofit, contributes to a healthier, richer society.
Encompassing 185-acres of designed and natural landscapes around a serene glacial lake, this mid-twentieth century landmark is listed on the National Register of Historic Places for exceptional national significance. The garden’s remarkable choreography invites exploration, contemplation, and renewal, making each visit a unique experience.
Remarkable Millbrook Garden Tours Loop
Please click the link here to view directions to both Millbrook gardens.
