A New Treat at the Elms!
In a busy (too busy!) summer to find a spot on the calendar, a moment of spontaneity carried the day. A Sunday morning text invitation tempted me to join friends… Read More
Author: Bettie Bearden Pardee
Viewscapes and Vistas of Newport
Three weeks ago we were all enjoying an “Evening at Home,” with its views and landscapes that are at the heart of the success of this Aquidneck Island Land Trust’s… Read More
At Home with Flowers
As I write this post, I’m in my sun room looking out the deep bay window that provides a panoramic view of the Fountain Garden and its signature details that make… Read More
Bois Doré: Inspiring Architectural Design
With credit to its magnificent beauty (and Covid), the Newport community has turned into a beehive of real estate activity; to express it very simply, “buy or build”. I’m now finding… Read More
Hydrangeas: Newport’s Iconic Summer Flower
As of July 4th, summer is in full swing in our City by the Sea, and just like clockwork, an iconic flowering shrub, the hydrangea, comes into bloom. This presents… Read More
July in the Garden
July is an important month at Parterre, when all the demanding garden work expended from March through June pays off…none more so than in the Green and White Garden. For… Read More
Revisiting “Newport, A Lively Experiment”
I originally posted this blog on September 9, 2015. Eleven years later, I still find Newport, A Lively Experiment one of the most compelling and captivating tomes I’ve ever read, and… Read More
The Newport Flower Show 2026
The theme for this year’s Flower Show was “Pearls of Newport.” And can there be a more appropriate pearl than Rosecliff, this architecturally splendid Gilded Age mansion, where many a… Read More
Containers, A Valuable Garden Detail
In honor of my dear friend, Margot Shaw, founder of Flower magazine and one of the headliners for the 2026 Newport Flower Show, I’m taking a page from her new… Read More
Flowering Outdoors: Gardens and Parties
The Newport Flower Show will have a Star headliner this month, Margot Shaw, founder of Flower magazine, introducing her new book, Flowering Outdoors: Gardens and Parties. Don’t you love the… Read More