A Late Summer Vegetable Garden
It’s been busy around my good friend Alice Ross’ abode this summer — she’s bottling honey from her bee hives, delivering Olive’s four Havanese-mix puppies, growing vegetables in the midst… Read More
Author: Bettie Bearden Pardee
A Refreshing “Devine” Summer Tablescape
Isn’t this fabulous! No surprise, when the designer’s last name is Devine…Michael Douglas Xavier Devine, to be exact. When I walked onto the terrace at Rosecliff during the pre- Newport… Read More
Summer Picnics: 14 Don’t-Miss Pointers
Picnics! What is summer without them? And sometimes the best spot for the occasion just may be on your own plot of heaven. If truth be told, I find myself… Read More
The Chowder Bar Pop-Up Party
Newport is busy with visiting guests, drop-by garden aficionados and parties galore. You probably have your own version of this summer fun also. So I thought you might enjoy an easy-to-assemble, spur-of-the-moment… Read More
Bill Cunningham in Newport: Remembering a Legend
It’s an ages-old tradition in Newport…when a member of the “community” passes away off-season, a memorial service is held after all summer residents have returned for “the season.” In his own… Read More
Planted Containers: Horticultural Delights for an August Garden
It’s about this time of the summer that planters are “strutting their stuff,” full and bounteous with mature horticultural offerings. From breathtaking and dramatic (repeating the planting around the gates… Read More
Toasts: the Good, the Better, the Best
One could write another War and Peace-size tome on the mishaps, malaprops and missteps that have happened in the name of giving toasts. But it’s summertime; I’m going to make… Read More
An Invitation to Newport Summer Fêtes: 12 Entertaining Details
There’s no end to opportunities to party the night away during Newport in the summer. The biggest challenge — keeping up your stamina (sometimes a decision to take a night,… Read More
In the Garden: Designing with Stone
In 2002 I photographed this garden for my first book, Private Newport: At Home and in the Garden. I remember making a mental note to check in on it over… Read More
Realizing a Dream: The Creation of the Parterre Bench
When something has been a dream for so long, it begins to take on mythic proportions…and begs that inevitable question…am I really going to design this bench? Somehow in my… Read More