The Beauty of Botanical Illustrations in Litchfield Hills

Betsy Rogers-Knox has been drawing and painting since childhood.  Her interest in botanical illustration began in Boulder, Colorado where she worked for a botanist and learned by close observation to appreciate the intricate beauty of Colorado wildflowers.  This interest led her to the botanical illustration program at the New York Botanical Garden.  Her final project included paintings of historic plants from the gardens of the Bellamy Ferriday House in Bethlehem, Connecticut.

Betsy is enchanted by the full lifecycle of the plants she portrays in watercolor, and typically observes a plant for a full year before beginning a composition.  Published work includes cover designs for Herb Quarterly magazine, the illustrations for the bookHerbs, Leaves of Magic and White Flower Farm's catalog, as well as over thirty greeting card designs internationally distributed by Renaissance Greeting Card Company and Sunrise Publications. 

She has exhibited extensively including the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C., London's Kew Gardens, the Horticultural Society of New York, and the New York Botanical Garden.  In April 2013 she will show several works at the Royal Horticultural Show in London.  Betsy also teaches drawing and watercolor painting to both adults and children from her studio in Bethlehem.  Her website is www.betsyrogersknox.com.

A selection of the work of Betsy Rogers Knox will appear in the  Gallery of the Oliver Wolcott Library located on 160 South Street, Litchfield, CT. through April 26 2013.  For more information call 860-567-8030. or visit www.owlibrary.org. For area information www.litchfieldhills.com

Stamford’s Bartlett Arboretum Presents “Garden Rooms by Design

The Bartlett Arboretum & Gardens of Stamford has announced its "Garden Rooms by Design" showcase now open June 8th – 15th. The week long event welcomes visitors to experience the top to bottom transformation of the Bartlett's historical homestead, once the home of the famed Dr. Francis A. Bartlett at 151 Brookdale Road, Stamford.   Tickets to see the "Garden Rooms by Design" showcase are $20/person.   Showcase hours are 10-4 daily and tickets can be purchased at the door. For more information and a sneak preview of each designer's ideas, visit www.bartlettarboretum.org events.

Top local designers and artisans have been given the challenge of bringing the outdoors inside to create the unparalleled "Garden Rooms by Design". This theme proves to be a fresh take on the Bartlett Arboretum's purpose: to inspire the community to explore, examine, understand and appreciate the natural history of the botanical world and its place in our lives. This inimitable design challenge has requested some of the area's top interior and landscape designers, artists and artisans to "think-out-of-the-box" and consider "green" elements in a not-so-usual sense.  This renovation of the
Bartlett homestead will include rooms, staircases, landings and gardens.

The Designer Showcase is a new element added to the Bartlett's ever-popular Spring Garden Tour Event going on concurrently. An added feature to the Designer Showcase is an informative lecture series featuring experts in hydrangeas, landscape design, design inspirations, photography, and creative design solutions.

All lectures are free of charge with admission to the Showcase with the exception of the featured presentation, "Success with Hydrangeas" by Famed Nantucketer Mal Condon which is $25 per person.  The Series kicks off from 10 a.m. to noon with Mal Condon's presentation on "Success with Hydrangeas" that will be held in the lecture room of the new Silver Educational Center on the arboretum's property.

Hydrangeas continue to be a very popular woody ornamental genus. Widely grown along our New England coastline, they create something special in so many gardens. This discussion will include the following topics; climate and plant siting, a major species review, cultural issues including fertilizing and bloom color control, best pruning practices, new varieties of merit, and propagation/making more plants. A lifelong gardener, Mal has always loved the genus hydrangea and began collecting plants from his extensive travels during his engineering career. His retirement in 1999 allowed him to pursue hydrangea nurturing with total commitment. Ever the engineer, he brings a strong technical and investigative nature to the continuing development of the genus – searching for new and better plants, evaluating their landscape performance, and finding superior ways to produce them.

Hydrangea Farm on Nantucket Island, Massachusetts has become a much visited location for serious hydrangeaphiles. This lecture is being partially underwritten by gifts made in memory of Barbara Saverine, lover of hydrangeas and wife of the Bartlett's executive director.   This will be a digital presentation featuring detailed graphics relevant to all topics. A Q&A session will follow the lecture. Class Fee $25. Call 203.322.6971 for more information or to reserve your spot.

Following Mal's presentation on Wednesday will be free lectures by Jan Johnson on Landscape Design at 1 p.m. and Victoria Lyon at 3 p.m. The Art of Design in Bringing the Outside In.  On Thursday, June 14th the series will feature at 11 a.m. Jamie Gotto of Bungalow 5 and Napa Home and Garden followed by Michael Yedowitz from Wainscot Solutions and concluding with Jeremy Keets Saladyga Photography. All free lectures will be held in the Showcase house.

Finally, the event will conclude on Friday, June 15th with a Designer Sample Sale of materials and props used in the showcase, including a variety of lovely potted plants and extra samples that the designers will bring in just for the sale. Designers will be donating 20% of their sales to benefit the Bartlett Arboretum & Gardens.  The showcase admission ticket must be purchased to enter the designer sample sale.

About the Bartlett Arboretum & Gardens
The Bartlett Arboretum & Gardens is a non profit 501 (c) (3) organization that inspires the surrounding community to explore, examine, understand and appreciate the natural history of the botanical world through its research, living plant collections, education and arts and cultural programs. The 91-acre property located at 151 Brookdale Road in Stamford is a living museum of champion majestic trees, rare plant collections, themed gardens, and natural landscapes traversed by hiking and walking trails. The historic site is the former residence, training school, and botanical research grounds of the renowned arborist, Dr. Francis Bartlett, dating back to 1913. With a summer concert series featuring both classical and contemporary selections, and a regular schedule of exhibits by local artists and photographers, the Bartlett Arboretum plays an ever expanding role in the regional cultural community. For more information about the Bartlett Arboretum and the events at the new Silver Educational Center including children's and adults' nature programs please visit the website www.bartlettarboretum.org or call 203-322-6971.

GARDENERS CAN GARNER PRIZE PLANTS AT THE 12th ANNUAL TRADE SECRETS SHOW IN THE LITCHFIELD HILLS

Gardeners in the know mark their calendars a year in advance. The Trade Secrets sale in Connecticut’s Litchfield Hills is a rare chance to shop for treasures from nearly 60 important growers and vendors of unique plants and garden antiques. The sale, scheduled for Saturday, May 19th at LionRock Farm in Sharon, is followed on Sunday with a tour of four exquisite private gardens.

  Many celebrities are among the shoppers seeking the unique from specialized growers and some of the nation's best known small nurseries, as well as furniture, antiques, and garden statuary from the finest dealers in garden antiques, wrought-iron fencing and other exceptional decorations for the garden.

Visitors to the show will enjoy a presentation by owner, Marina Marchese of Red Bee Honey, a boutique farm known for a spectacular edible garden as well as its honeybees. 

The Sunday tour will feature two perennial favorites, the spectacular gardens of Bunny Williams and John Rosselli and the 41-acre futuristic estate of Jack Hyland and Larry Wente.  Two new gardens this year are the Linden Hill Farm owned by Richard deBart and Debra Blair, owner of Debra Blair Associates in New York City, and Hawk Hill Farm owned by Robert & Jane Keiter.         

For the 12^th year, all proceeds from the annual event go directly to Women's Support Services, an organization aiding victims of domestic violence.

Tickets for the rare plant and garden antique sale on Saturday are $35 for regular admission from 10am to 3pm and $100 for "early buying" tickets.  Tickets for Sunday's garden tours are $70 ($60 in advance).  Advance tickets will be available for order beginning April 1^st from the event web site, www.tradesecretsct.com.

Wine & Roses Celebrates The Jekyll Garden in Woodbury CT

It is hard to resist a glass of wine in a beautiful garden on a perfect summer evening.  That is what you can expect at the Glebe House Museum on Hollow Road in Woodbury, at its festive lawn party, WINE & ROSES, in the Gertrude Jekyll Garden from 5:30 to 7:30 pm on Saturday, July 16.  Surrounded by bursts of summer flowers in the garden and bouquets of roses, guests can sample Gertrude's Garden, a white wine named for Gertrude Jekyll and bottled by Walker Road Vineyards in Woodbury.  Hors d'oeuvres and other wines will also be served.  There will be a silent auction and special items for sale including rose bushes for your home garden.  The museum will be open for the evening. Tickets for the garden party are $20.00 per person and all proceeds for the event will support the renovation and preservation of the Gertrude Jekyll Garden.

Set in the picturesque Litchfield Hills in historic Woodbury's village center, the museum welcomes visitors for a glimpse of Revolutionary War era Connecticut.  The simple but elegant 18th century farmhouse is furnished as the home of the Reverend John Rutgers Marshall, his wife Sarah, their nine children and three slaves who lived in the "glebe" during the turmoil of the American War for Independence. The Glebe House was restored in 1923 under the direction of William Henry Kent, pioneer of early American decorative arts at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.  One of the early historic house museums in the country, The Glebe House opened its doors to the public in 1925.

In 1926, the famed English horticultural designer and writer was commissioned to plan an "old fashioned" garden to enhance the newly created museum.  This year we celebrate the 85th anniversary of the garden design. Gertrude Jekyll had a profound influence on modern garden design and is widely considered the greatest gardener of the 20th century.  Although a small garden, when compared with the 400 more elaborate designs she completed in England and on the Continent, the Glebe House garden includes 600 feet of classic English style mixed border with sweeps of red, yellow and gold and cool waves of lavender and blue hues, and foundation plantings.  It is the only remaining example of her work in the United States today.  The garden is open during daylight hours and the museum is open Wednesday through Sunday from 1-4 pm or by appointment.

To reserve tickets for WINE AND ROSES please call the Museum Director at 203-263-2855.

New Canaan Nature Center Art Exhibit The Little Things by Melissa Kircher

A exhibit of original paintings and photography by Melissa Kircher will be on display at the New Canaan Nature Center through June 14.  The exhibit, entitled "The Little Things," is a series of floral and nature inspired photographs that combine elements of color, light, and texture, both man-made and natural.  Kiircher says "I find the often overlooked aspects of nature appealing, taking joy in spotting a hidden flower, leaf, or an unusual scene.  These works are about discovering the beauty in little things."

The photographs have all been processed with different fine art elements to create unique and truly original works of art.  Melissa Kircher attended Gordon College in Massachusetts where she studied drawing, printmaking, graphic design, and sculpture. She earned a BFA in Visual Arts with a concentration in sculpture. Melissa is currently a self employed artist in the fields of painting, photography, photo-processing, graphic design and freelance writing. Her home and studio is in Norwalk, Connecticut and her work has been displayed in various Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New York City locations. Melissa's artwork can be seen on her web-site: www.melissakircher.com.

For more information please call 966-9577.  A portion of proceeds from the sale of the artwork will benefit the New Canaan Nature Center

The New Canaan Nature Center is an environmental education center and sanctuary dedicated to helping people of all ages better understand, appreciate and care for the world of nature. The Nature Center's grounds, which include a Birds of Prey exhibit and gardens, are open from dawn to dusk daily. The Visitor's Center and Discovery Room are open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

Garden Lovers Gather for Treasures, Tours At 11th Annual Trade Secrets in the Litchfield Hills

Nearly 60 vendors and garden antiques dealers from around the northeast region will be setting up their wares under the tents at the picturesque LionRock Farm for the 11^th Annual Trade Secrets on Saturday, May 14^th in Sharon. This much-anticipated yearly event in the Litchfield Hills offers the rare chance to find in one setting unusual garden plants and topiary from specialized growers and some of the nation’s best known small nurseries, as well as unusual accessories, furniture, statuary, fencing and garden antiques from the choicest purveyors of these wares.

The event includes the opportunity on Sunday to tour five extraordinary gardens; most of them rarely open to the public. These include the sublime Falls Village garden of John Rosselli and Trade Secrets founder, interior designer Bunny Williams, featuring the mock-coliseum pool house, heirloom apple trees in bloom, wild-flowers, a woodland pool, a birdhouse “village,” and a sea of tulips and bulbs,  
Another highlight is the private garden of author and noted garden designer Lynden Miller, who is responsible for the beloved Conservatory Garden and rejuvenated Bryant Park in New York City. Her personal garden features mixed herbaceous borders of perennials and shrubs in lovely hues, a daylily walk, a flowering meadow with mowed paths, a woodland garden, a raised herb garden and a cottage garden for unusual plants.

Hodgson Garden -- Holabird House Garden in Falls Village includes three acres of perennials, bulbs, cutting, vegetable and herb gardens planted with tiers and rustic fencing, while the Cobble Pond Garden in Sharon, a vintage Olmsted Brothers landscape designed for strolling, features clipped conifers, walled gardens bursting with bulbs and spring blossoms, an apple orchard, and viburnums and wisteria at their peak.

Judy and Patrick Murphy opened Old Farm Nursery in Lakeville in 1988 on land that had been used agriculturally for generations. Living in the old farm house (c 1800) and using the farmland and barns for their landscape business, the Murphys transformed five acres of paddocks and adjacent cornfields into garden rooms with extensive plantings that include a large kitchen and herb garden, perennial borders, a fruit tree allée, a formal boxwood-lined white garden, a woodland shade garden featuring a Japanese maple collection, and a secret garden with a swimming pool.

Proceeds from Trade Secrets go to Women’s Support Services (WSS) a regional non-profit organization celebrating its 30th year in the northwest corner of Connecticut offering free and confidential services to victims of domestic violence.

Trade Secrets includes the antique and plant sale on Saturday, May 14 at LionRock Farm in Sharon, CT, from 10am to 3pm, for $35, and the tour of five gardens on Sunday, May 15 for $70 ($60 if purchased in advance). Tickets go on sale April 1. For those who want first chance at the vendors on May 14, “early buying” tickets are available for $100, and include early admittance with continental breakfast. For more information or to purchase advance tickets phone 860-364-1080 or visit www.tradesecretsct.com.