Private Newport - with Bettie Bearden Pardee

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Design


16 Signature Images from Newport’s Private Gardens

9 / 9 / 219 / 8 / 21

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

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Sonnenhof: The Evolution of a Garden

8 / 19 / 218 / 18 / 21

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

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Landscaping with Hydrangeas

8 / 12 / 218 / 11 / 21

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

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Wonky and Witty Sakonnet Garden

8 / 5 / 218 / 4 / 21

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

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Roses on Parade

7 / 15 / 217 / 15 / 21

My good friends at The Garden Conservancy just put out a special publication on preserving gardens in America. In one of the articles, Mac Griswold, noted landscape historian and author,… Read More

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Down the Garden Path

7 / 8 / 217 / 7 / 21

As we move into our 23rd year in our Newport home, I thought you might enjoy a bit of histoire on its past. Parterre, taking its name from the delineated… Read More

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Rose-y News from Parterre

7 / 1 / 217 / 1 / 21

Perhaps I put “the cart before the horse” in posting the rose chain before a story on Parterre’s roses overall, but I was just so excited about their beauty this… Read More

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A Peony Chat

6 / 24 / 216 / 1 / 26

I’m so excited about the prospects for summer ’21 that I’m going to celebrate by “chic-ing up” the feature image for this post! Knowing how much we are all besotted… Read More

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The Rose Chain at Parterre

6 / 17 / 216 / 17 / 21

Our winter ’21 was impeccable (mild temps, not too much snow, no savage winds) and it is showing in the fullness and lushness of the flowers now blooming. At Parterre,… Read More

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Sakonnet Garden: a Personal Perspective on Rhododendrons

6 / 10 / 216 / 9 / 21

Last week a few friends and I made a much-anticipated return to one of my most admired gardens in the northeast, right across the Sakonnet River in Little Compton, Rhode… Read More

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About Bettie

Author of Private Newport and Living Newport, designer of the Parterre Bench, national lecturer, and entertaining expert.
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privatenewport

Some Newport invitations are simply too good to decline...

A spontaneous Sunday morning brought us back to one of our favorite places, The Elms, where Gilded Age grandeur gives way to one of Newport’s most enchanting garden moments✨

Beyond the sweeping lawn lies the sunken garden, its formal parterres remarkably preserved from the original 1914 design. Nearly 125 years later, the symmetry, architecture and romance of it all feel as timeless as ever.

For a gardener, this is the part of The Elms that always calls us back🌿

Save this for your next Newport garden day💚
#theelmsmansion #theelms #newportrhodeisland #newportmansions #privateliving

View Instagram post by privatenewport

Aug 26

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Open post by privatenewport with ID 18030356249846368
Some Newport invitations are simply too good to decline...

A spontaneous Sunday morning brought us back to one of our favorite places, The Elms, where Gilded Age grandeur gives way to one of Newport’s most enchanting garden moments✨

Beyond the sweeping lawn lies the sunken garden, its formal parterres remarkably preserved from the original 1914 design. Nearly 125 years later, the symmetry, architecture and romance of it all feel as timeless as ever.

For a gardener, this is the part of The Elms that always calls us back🌿

Save this for your next Newport garden day💚
#theelmsmansion #theelms #newportrhodeisland #newportmansions #privateliving

privatenewport

Another Newport summer is beginning to slip away… and we’re not quite ready to let it go🤍

Long afternoons on sweeping lawns, doors thrown open to grand rooms, garden cocktails and evenings that call for getting dressed up - A Newport Summer captures that unmistakable rhythm of life in our City by the Sea🌊

As Bettie wrote when the book was released, “Newport has an understated elegance that truly sets it apart from other resort towns”. These photographs by Nick Mele @nickmelephotography feel like a love letter to exactly that, the houses, the people, the parties, and those fleeting summer moments we wish could last just a little longer☀️

Consider this our reminder to savor what’s left of the season. ✨

📖 A Newport Summer by Nick Mele and Ruthie Sommers
@nlmele @sommersruthie
#anewportsummer #nickmelephotography #privatenewport #newportri #vacationdestination

View Instagram post by privatenewport

Aug 20

538 11
Open post by privatenewport with ID 18132202138725202
Another Newport summer is beginning to slip away… and we’re not quite ready to let it go🤍

Long afternoons on sweeping lawns, doors thrown open to grand rooms, garden cocktails and evenings that call for getting dressed up - A Newport Summer captures that unmistakable rhythm of life in our City by the Sea🌊

As Bettie wrote when the book was released, “Newport has an understated elegance that truly sets it apart from other resort towns”. These photographs by Nick Mele @nickmelephotography feel like a love letter to exactly that, the houses, the people, the parties, and those fleeting summer moments we wish could last just a little longer☀️

Consider this our reminder to savor what’s left of the season. ✨

📖 A Newport Summer by Nick Mele and Ruthie Sommers
@nlmele @sommersruthie 
#anewportsummer #nickmelephotography #privatenewport #newportri #vacationdestination

privatenewport

There are beautiful coastlines… and then there is Newport☁️

Its beauty isn’t defined by one mansion, one garden, or one stretch of shoreline. It’s the way the salt marshes glow at sunset, the ledge-lined coast meets an endless blue horizon, and every bend in the road offers an entirely different perspective.

Perhaps that’s Newport’s greatest luxury, not just the architecture, but the landscape that has quietly framed it for centuries🤍

It’s a place where the light changes by the hour, the tides reshape the shoreline, and yet the feeling remains exactly the same.

Timeless🌊

Save this as a reminder that some of Newport’s most extraordinary views exist beyond the front gates✨
📸: David Thalmann

#newportcoast #skyline #newportsummer #privatenewport #timelesselegance

View Instagram post by privatenewport

Aug 6

388 13
Open post by privatenewport with ID 18104855060129050
There are beautiful coastlines… and then there is Newport☁️

Its beauty isn’t defined by one mansion, one garden, or one stretch of shoreline. It’s the way the salt marshes glow at sunset, the ledge-lined coast meets an endless blue horizon, and every bend in the road offers an entirely different perspective.

Perhaps that’s Newport’s greatest luxury, not just the architecture, but the landscape that has quietly framed it for centuries🤍

It’s a place where the light changes by the hour, the tides reshape the shoreline, and yet the feeling remains exactly the same.

Timeless🌊

Save this as a reminder that some of Newport’s most extraordinary views exist beyond the front gates✨
📸: David Thalmann

#newportcoast #skyline #newportsummer #privatenewport #timelesselegance

privatenewport

Some homes make an impression before you ever reach the front door..

A long, winding driveway unfolds through a park-like landscape filled with remarkable specimen trees, setting the stage for an estate that quietly reflects Newport’s architectural legacy. Built with traditional three-coat stucco construction and crowned by an original slate roof, every detail speaks to craftsmanship designed to stand the test of time.

It’s the kind of approach that reminds you why Newport’s historic estates continue to captivate generations.

🌿 Follow @privatenewport for more of Newport’s hidden beauty and timeless estates✨
#privatenewport #newportestates #privateliving #newportri #parterre

View Instagram post by privatenewport

Aug 2

884 24
Open post by privatenewport with ID 18099479645580417
Some homes make an impression before you ever reach the front door..

A long, winding driveway unfolds through a park-like landscape filled with remarkable specimen trees, setting the stage for an estate that quietly reflects Newport’s architectural legacy. Built with traditional three-coat stucco construction and crowned by an original slate roof, every detail speaks to craftsmanship designed to stand the test of time.

It’s the kind of approach that reminds you why Newport’s historic estates continue to captivate generations.

🌿 Follow @privatenewport for more of Newport’s hidden beauty and timeless estates✨
#privatenewport #newportestates #privateliving #newportri #parterre

privatenewport

The garden’s final act may be its most beautiful🧡

At Parterre, July and August are a celebration of flowers in every form, not only in the garden, but gathered indoors where each arrangement becomes part of the home’s story. Sunlight, heirloom vessels, weathered books, and blooms cut at their peak remind us that beauty isn’t only found outside the window.

Save this for your next floral inspiration, and follow @privatenewport for more timeless corners of Newport and beyond🌿
#privatenewport #flowerarrangements #floraldesigns #privateliving #newportestates

View Instagram post by privatenewport

Jul 30

136 7
Open post by privatenewport with ID 17985999039035208
The garden’s final act may be its most beautiful🧡

At Parterre, July and August are a celebration of flowers in every form, not only in the garden, but gathered indoors where each arrangement becomes part of the home’s story. Sunlight, heirloom vessels, weathered books, and blooms cut at their peak remind us that beauty isn’t only found outside the window.

Save this for your next floral inspiration, and follow @privatenewport for more timeless corners of Newport and beyond🌿
#privatenewport #flowerarrangements #floraldesigns #privateliving #newportestates

privatenewport

One of the last great mansions built in Newport, Bois Doré has quietly watched generations come and go. Its name translates to ‘gilded wood,’ a fitting tribute to the golden avenue of pollarded lindens that transforms the entrance each autumn. Beyond the pink stucco walls lies a house where every room tells a story, of art, gardens, entertaining, and a distinctly European elegance that still feels timeless today.

Some homes are admired. Others are remembered. Bois Doré has always been both.

Which detail would you linger over first?✨
#privatenewport #boisdoré #gildedwood #privateliving #privatehomes

View Instagram post by privatenewport

Jul 23

368 10
Open post by privatenewport with ID 18006654782756454
One of the last great mansions built in Newport, Bois Doré has quietly watched generations come and go. Its name translates to ‘gilded wood,’ a fitting tribute to the golden avenue of pollarded lindens that transforms the entrance each autumn. Beyond the pink stucco walls lies a house where every room tells a story, of art, gardens, entertaining, and a distinctly European elegance that still feels timeless today.

Some homes are admired. Others are remembered. Bois Doré has always been both.

Which detail would you linger over first?✨
#privatenewport #boisdoré #gildedwood #privateliving #privatehomes
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Bettie's Faves

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  • La Dolce Vita
  • My Beautiful Paris
  • The Enchanted Home
  • The Glam Pad
  • The Lush List
  • The Potted Boxwood
  • Vicki Archer
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