Hollister House, in Washington, CT, is the featured site of a Garden Conservancy-sponsored Study Weekend that kicks off with a cocktail reception and tour of the extraordinary gardens that were begun there in 1979 by George Schoellkopf and Ron Johnson. Since then, under Schoellkopf’s guidance (and, since 1993, with the design contributions of Gerald Incandela), the garden has evolved into a uniquely American synthesis of a gardening style we generally think of as quintessentially English.
Sited on 25 acres of mostly wooded landscape, the garden complements and incorporates 18th-century structures —a house, barns and outbuildings. These and the walls and hedges that surround and connect to them, create a firm architectural framework for a series of garden "rooms" in the romantic English tradition. A winding brook and a large pond at the bottom of the lawn complete the scene.
Saturday's events include a morning seminar at the Washington, CT Town Hall. Old Fashions, New Traditions: The Influence of the British Isles on Northeast Gardens is the topic of a talk by Dan Pearson, the British garden designer, plantsman, and contributing editor to Garden's Illustrated magazine. It will be followed by case studies of a number of notable gardens by the gardeners who created them. After a buffet lunch (and another opportunity to tour the Hollister House Garden for those who missed the reception the night before), there will be a connoisseurs' plant sale, and a plant show-and-tell session with gardening writer Page Dickey (author of, among other titles, Gardens in the Spirit of Place, 2005) and Marco Polo Stufano, the former director of horticulture at Wave Hill. Also weighing in will be nurserymen Pierre Bennerup and Adam Wheeler. Sunday will be a normal Garden Conservancy Open Day with tours of five Litchfield County gardens, including Hollister House. Friday, September 5 Cocktail Reception 5 - 7:30 Admission: $60; $50/members 300 Nettleton Hollow Road, Washington Saturday, September 6 Hollister House Garden Festival and Program, including buffet lunch: $140; $125/members Washington Town Hall 2 Bryan Plaza (off Route 47), Washington Depot and Hollister House 300 Nettleton Hollow Road, Washington Cocktail Party, Program, and Hollister House Garden Festival, including buffet lunch: $180; $160/members Pre-registration required for all of the above Litchfield County Garden Conservancy Open Day TourSunday, September 7; 10 - 4 Admission: $5 per garden at the door
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