This past week, I officially passed on the gavel, ending my term as President of the Memphis Horticultural Society. For those who enjoy reading about gardening, the organization's newsletters are available on-line at
http://www.memphishorticulture.org/. Readers of this blog might particularly enjoy the description of my favorite private garden in the U.S. that I described in the President's Letter of the September, 2010, newsletter "Clippings" which can be viewed by visiting the site.
As some may guess from the photos, the garden that I have written about belongs to interior designer and author Bunny Williams and her antiques dealer husband John Rosselli. The first photo shows antique tole flowers in pots on a window ledge at the Manor House, Bunny and John's weekend house in Litchfield County, Connecticut. And the second photo shows a portion of the sunken garden, an outdoor room with a wonderful stone retaining wall on one side and lattice walls on the other three; trimmed boxwoods around the lily pool form a room-within-a-room. (The photo is reversed, for those who have visited).
My very minor contributions from years ago, a drawing for a fence, a bench, an arbor, etc., are all still part of the scheme for the remarkable series of gardens to form a collection that Bunny has created and beautifully maintained. All these photos and more, along with the whole story of the property, are delightfully presented in
An Affair With A House, written by Bunny and published by Stewart
, Tabori & Chang, New York. The book is one of the best of its kind and highly recommended for all house and garden lovers. And yes, it is pleasing to the most devoted classicist.
