Confessions of a Gardener
A perennial favorite, this is the blog where I “dish the dirt,” or rather, confess my horticultural missteps. I long ago found that in formal gardens it is more difficult… Read More
Author: Bettie Bearden Pardee
Newport’s Clarendon Court
Clarendon Court (1904) represents everything the words elegant, classical and sublime bring to mind. In this important Newport residence, there is the added distinction of a noted Gilded Age architect,… Read More
16 Signature Images from Newport’s Private Gardens
It’s been a somewhat interesting summer in Newport. While the town seemed busier than ever, confirming yet again that our City by the Sea is a very desirable destination, the… Read More
Provence: Le Mas des Poiriers
During this bridge month of late August into mid-September, when the gardens are a bit tired (especially after a mini-hurricane), I‘m remembering a garden from Instagram that has long intrigued… Read More
Pampered Pets of Private Newport, 2021
I take great delight in coincidences. For example, this annual blog which usually caps off August, the last post of the last month of summer. When scouting the many photo… Read More
Sonnenhof: The Evolution of a Garden
In my 2016 blog on Sonnenhof “Designing with Stone,” I closed with…”The owners’ decisions and their implementations have resulted in a landscape that provides a valuable lesson in the evolution… Read More
Landscaping with Hydrangeas
It’s usually about this time that I begin photographing for my annual hydrangeas of Newport post. Looking over past entries, I’ve realized yet again that Newport’s summer flower can be… Read More
Wonky and Witty Sakonnet Garden
A garden worthy of visiting twice in a summer, Sakonnet is testimony to the design truth that garden rooms increase the illusion of a property’s space. On not quite one… Read More
Champ Soleil, a 17th Century-Style French Chateau
By any measure, 1929 was not an auspicious year…except, perhaps, in Newport. For that was the year that an exquisite version of the hunting lodge at Versailles, La Lanterne, was designed… Read More
The Front Courtyard at Parterre
As I was strolling through the front landscape’s parklike setting this past weekend, it occurred to me that I’d been focusing my thoughts, and camera, on the blooms in the… Read More