Connecticut Cottages & Gardens - May 2015

Site Staff

Cutting Edge Objects to Buy and Love

Site Staff,

This month's guide to the must-haves for the design-obsessed shopper, including Santa Barbara Umbrella's Cabana Sea Stripe umbrella, modern outdoor furniture from Room and Board and the James Coffee Table from The New Traditionalists.

Rio de Janeiro's Lush Jungle Beckons Visitors with Tropical Gardens and Awe-Inspiring Falls

Andrew Sessa, Photographs by Fernando Maia-Riotur,

In Rio de Janeiro, anyone out and about at 4 a.m. is more than likely still up from the night before. But not me. I woke up bright and early to make it to the city’s iconic Christ the Redeemer statue by sunrise. Now, at the top of Corcovado Mountain, with the arms of the soaring, stone-carved Jesus stretched out above me, I watch the city come alive more than 2,000 feet below.

A California Vineyard's Formal English Garden Blends Attitude with Altitude

Baroness Sheri de Borchgrave, Photograph by Alex Farnum,

Veering off the flat Napa Valley wine route in St. Helena toward Spring Mountain, I ascended a steep, winding road. White rose bushes accented the drive leading into the Newton Vineyard estate—560 mountaintop acres on Spring Mountain’s southern slope. Perched 500 feet above sea level, 12 tall Cyprus trees flank the entrance. Here was Napa’s best-kept secret, a rooftop English garden.

Creating an Urban Oasis in Industrial Modern South Norwalk

Catriona Branca, Photographs Courtesy of Eric Rains Landscape Architecture,

With the current trend toward urbanism, landscape designers are being called upon to create more diversified green spaces in the “concrete jungle”—finding new ways for commercial and residential projects to complement one another. One is right in our own backyard: South Norwalk’s Ironworks (a mixed-use development that includes apartments, retail space and a public fountain area), which recently garnered Eric Rains Landscape Architecture a Merit Award from CT ASLA.

Deeds & Don'ts: At 300 Acres, Redding's Deer Run is a Sportsman's Paradise

Diane di Costanzo,

Redding's Deer Run, which claims to be the largest privately owned landmass in Fairfield County, clocks in at 300 acres. It’s marketed as a “sportsman’s paradise” and we’d have to agree—with the invitation extended to sporty ladies as well—considering its equestrian facilities (fields, barn, riding trails), private lake with a boathouse, tennis court and indoor and outdoor pools. And oh, yes, there’s also a 16,000-square-foot, stone-and-shingle-style manor house offering 19 grand and gracious rooms.

Cultivate Your Collection with 12 Gardening Books That Bloom

Produced by Annabelle Augustyn, Produced by Elizabeth Duffy,

Presenting 12 Gardening Books that show how to grow a beautiful garden, showcase well-known landscapes, and add inspiration for your garden. Authors Edmund Hollander and Anne Raver, Michael Devine, Piet Oudolf and Noel Kingsbury, Tara Heibel and Tassy de Give, Charlotte Moss, Craig LeHoullier, Alexandra d’Arnoux and Bruno de Laubadère, Bunny Guinness, Tracey Medeiros and Christy Colasurdo, Toby Musgrave, Bill Noble and Lindsey Taylor, and Andrew Keys

An Environmentally Friendly Landscape is Poised to Take on the Next Century

Mindy Pantiel, Photographs by David Heald,

Located near the entrance of a late 20th-century Colonial Revival, two pathways converge on a large stone square with a bluestone compass at its center. Landscape architect Diane Devore, who along with architect McKee Patterson was charged with making the residence and surrounding acreage sustainable for another 100 years. Devore and Patterson worked hand-in-glove to transform the estate into something befitting a contemporary gentleman farmer.

GALLERY A Verdant Outdoor Oasis on the Connecticut Shoreline Takes Shape Thanks

Alejandro Saralegui, Photographs by Neil Landino Jr.,

This brick Georgian Revival house on the Connecticut shoreline met many of the needs for a young family on their return to the U.S. from a work sojourn in London, but the property itself was less than desirable. Certainly a challenging situation, but one that Kathryn Herman and her team, including project landscape architect Elizabeth Gonzalez-Guillot, handled with much aplomb.

GALLERY This Old Lyme Property had All the Ingredients for a Stellar Estate, Given a Little Imagination and a Lot of Creativity

Tovah Martin, Photographs by Kindra Clineff,

When Philip and Robin Schonberger began their quest for the perfect property, he asked her if focusing on waterfront homes might be apropos. It was the 1927 Colonial Revival along the Lieutenant River in Old Lyme with a row of 80-year-old welcoming maples, 10-acre parcel and the river’s slow ripple effect that won them over.