Though I have loved nature since my childhood, I never thought—perhaps because I have always lived in cities—that one day I would have a garden of my own. When Françoise and I arrived at Brook Hill Farm, neither of the previous owners had thought of making a garden, probably because of the natural physical beauty of the place. But I started thinking about it, and I had the idea of inviting the great gardener Russell Page to come and visit for the weekend. At that time, Françoise and I had an apartment on East Seventieth Street, overlooking the Frick Museum, and I’d watched Russell creating the garden there.
