Visit Superb Private Gardens in Rural CT and the Boston Area

Register today for special Garden Dialogues in Connecticut and the Boston Metro Area on July 18-19. Get exclusive access to some of today's most beautiful gardens and learn the secrets to creating them. Hear from the owners and their landscape architects about the creative process, the give and take, and the collaboration that yields a great space.

Native Wildflower Meadow and Woodland Garden photo courtesy Larry Weaner Landscape Associates

The settings are intimate—generally no more than 24-30 people – and relaxed—most run 90 minutes, providing ample opportunity to explore the garden and hear a lively, informative Dialogue. Each is approved for 1.5 PDH by LA CES.

Two Dialogues are offered in Connecticut on Saturday, July 18, and Sunday, July 19. Tickets to the Dialogues are $45 each:

Saturday, July 18, 3:30 pm-6:00 pm, Native Wildflower Meadow and Woodland Garden, Lakeville led by Larry Weaner of Larry Weaner Landscape Associates.

In the area surrounding Lake Wononskopomuc in northwest Connecticut, two landscapes, each distinct yet inspired by the region’s natural environment, offer insight into the design of native landscapes and the role of the landscape architect in determining the trajectory of site evolution. Once a field of barren turf located along the lake’s northern shoreline, the first site has been transformed into a mature, native meadow, with spectacular diversity and full floral display. The second site, a more recent woodland planting on the lake’s eastern shoreline, supports a landscape in an earlier stage of evolution. While evidence of establishment techniques remain visible, this season marks a distinct moment in the landscape’s advance toward full maturity. Despite their modest size, these landscapes provide a momentous occasion to better understand designed, native landscapes and their growth and evolution. Born in the mind of the designer and bearing his thumbprint, these native landscapes spring from the dance between humans and the patterns and processes of nature.

Sunday, July 19, 3:00 pm-4:30 pm, Pittman Residence, Falls Village designed by A.E. Bye, and led by Kimberly Mercurio of Kimberly Mercurio Landscape Architecture.

The centerpiece of this idyllic Falls Village property is a 3-acre parcel designed by twentieth-century landscape architect A.E. Bye. Characteristic of Bye’s work, whose designs include the landscape for Frank Lloyd Wright’s Reisley House, are the creation of manmade landforms and use of native plantings to subtly enhance the pre-existing ground plane. At this residence, Bye has created an undulating landscape, with mounds, native plantings, and evergreen and deciduous trees, strategically placed to display patterns of shadow upon the ground at certain times of day.

Landscape architect and Bye scholar Kimberly Mercurio will lead this engaging dialogue on the design history of the residence and the significance of Bye’s play on shadows in landscape architecture. The event has been scheduled to take advantage of the early afternoon light so that attendees can see the full intention of Bye’s design. Mercurio recently completed the A.E. Bye/Landscape Architecture Archives Research Fellowship at Penn State University and has received a grant from Dumbarton Oaks to further study and document his achievements.

In addition to learning about Bye’s original design, attendees will also hear from the owners about how they have adapted and expanded upon the planting scheme and grounds of this historic landscape while maintaining the focus of Bye’s design.

Lowder Brook, photo by Jane Messinger

Three Dialogues are offered in the Boston Metro Area on Saturday July 18. Tickets to the Dialogues are $45 each or $125 for a special three-pack:

Saturday, July 18, 10:00 am-11:30 am, Lowder Brook, Dedham, MA, led by Keith LeBlanc, FASLA and John Haven of  Keith LeBlanc Landscape Architecture, with Dell Mitchell of Dell Mitchell Architects.

A series of structured gardens and terraces were designed in conjunction with a new Greek Revival home set on twelve acres within a residential neighborhood in suburban Boston. The unusual scale of the property conveys the feel of secluded New England woodland, highlighting the dramatic beauty of the existing mature trees, which were carefully cultivated and catalogued by a previous owner with ties to the Arnold Arboretum. The gardens provide spaces both grand, as in the front approach, and intimate, as the walled rear garden, and mediate between the architecture and the woodland setting.  Pathways surrounded by rhododendrons and viburnums lead visitors to a hedged pool garden and orchard meadow. The result of this close collaboration among owner, architect, and landscape architect is a subtly crafted landscape at harmony with its formal and naturalistic cues.

Saturday, July 18, 1:00 pm-2:30 pm, The Macallen Building and Court Square Press Courtyard, Boston, MA, led by Michael Blier, RLA, ASLA of  Landworks Studio, Inc., with architect Nader Tehrani of NADAAA.

Located in a rapidly evolving area on the outskirts of South Boston, the Macallen Building condominium community features an award-winning landscape that evokes the neighborhood’s industrial heritage while demonstrating modern principles of sustainable development.  Awarded LEED Gold certification in 2008, the project’s attention to sustainability permeates all aspects the three-tiered landscape. Paving materials, tree plantings, and lighting adorn an entry-level courtyard on the ground floor, known as “Macallen Way.” The second level landscape covers the roof of the parking garage, providing recreational space for building residents as well as a graphic garden designed to be viewed from the condominiums above. The third level—including a sloping green roof and terrace garden—is integral to the building’s achievement of LEED certification as the green space is specifically designed to improve stormwater management, ameliorate the urban heat island effect, and provide additional insulation to the building. Through use of these design elements, the landscape greatly diminishes the ecological impact of development and serves as a model for sustainable development throughout the evolving region. In addition to the Macallen Building attendees will also get to visit the adjacent Court Square Press Courtyard which won the American Society of Landscape Architect's 2006 Award of Excellence in the General Design category. The project, which was conceived as a series of fragmented views, is equally compelling both while in the space, and when viewed from above.

Saturday, July 18, 4:00 pm-5:30 pm, Pocket Garden, Boston, MA, led by Lynne Giesecke and James Royce of Studio 2112 Landscape Architecture, with Michael S. Coffin of Michael S. Coffin Landscape Construction.

This site, once a vacant lot, was transformed into a secret getaway – a private pocket garden filled with lush plantings on a prominent corner in the historic Beacon Hill neighborhood. Intricate paving patterns and ironwork reflect the historic setting, while flowering trees and perennials create a layered garden. A small greenhouse provides space for unique plants and shade for entertaining. The site, which was formerly the edge of a seawall for the Charles River was originally below street level. The designers used lightweight geofoam to raise the elevation, and create a tiered landscape overflowing with new growth.

Pocket Garden, photo courtesy Studio 2112 Landscape Architecture

Garden Dialogues has become one of the most popular programs in TCLF's history, with most sold out weeks in advance. In 2015, Dialogues will be held coast-to-coast through October, at exceptional gardens designed by leading practitioners. Upcoming destinations include Aspen and Denver, CO, Vancouver, BC, Chicago, IL, and Northern California. Register now for Dialogues in your area.