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Travel Notes


Chasing Tulips in Sussex and Surrey, Part 2

5 / 11 / 235 / 11 / 23

It was an article seven years ago in my favorite English magazine, Gardens Illustrated, that served as the inspiration for this year’s annual spring visit to England, specifically to Sussex… Read More

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Chasing Tulips in Sussex and Surrey, Part I

5 / 4 / 235 / 4 / 23

Of course, as soon as I finish one garden tour, I’m planning the next. While the working title of this trip was affectionately named “Chasing Tulips,” it soon become apparent… Read More

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Palm Beach Living: Part 2

3 / 16 / 233 / 15 / 23

Jennifer Ash Rudick and Nick Mele’s new book, Palm Beach Living, well deserves two postings. With 350 images (and 344 pages), the tome is a testimony to the ever-evolving and diverse… Read More

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Palm Beach Living: Pools and Lanais

3 / 9 / 233 / 14 / 23

It’s an exciting time to be living and making a home in Palm Beach…the old guard are refreshing and updating at the same time that the young blood are moving… Read More

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New York City Townhouses

2 / 23 / 232 / 23 / 23

Spending so much time in London over the past two years I had forgetten how magical are New York’s town homes, especially on the UES (Upper East Side). When down… Read More

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Rosemary Verey’s Barnsley House and Garden

1 / 26 / 231 / 24 / 23

As both a garden aficionado as well as a “woman of a certain age,” I had more than a few personal reasons to visit Rosemary Verey’s English Cotswold home last… Read More

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The Neighborhoods of Knightsbridge

1 / 19 / 231 / 21 / 23

The small neighborhoods of London are one of the many assets that make this city such a glorious strolling experience. It’s another reason, too, that I prefer to vary my… Read More

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The Garden at Miserden

1 / 12 / 231 / 5 / 23

As I start prepping and planning for my springtime return to England, it occurred to me that I had not shared one of last spring’s gardens that well deserves a… Read More

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London in December

12 / 22 / 2212 / 21 / 22

Fa la la la la…before Christmas has passed, I couldn’t resist one more post on the glories of London in December! All around the town, festive scenes greeted us from… Read More

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The Bright Lights of London

12 / 8 / 2212 / 8 / 22

Just home, and I’m happy to say…London ’22 was bright, bright bright…the weather, a perfect seasonal temp averaging 40° (and no rain), the crowds cheery and festive. I’ve sorely missed… 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

You were never supposed to see these homes…

For one elegant week each spring, Virginia’s Historic Garden Week quietly opens the gates to some of the state’s most beautiful private estates and gardens.

Often called America’s largest open house, the tradition began in 1927 and now welcomes visitors into hundreds of homes usually hidden behind hedges, winding drives, and brick walls.

From classic Virginia red brick estates to grand Palladian-inspired manor houses, each stop feels like stepping into another era entirely.

Okay… but which one are you picking? 👀
#virginiagardenweek #richmondvirginia #privatenewport #privateliving #fyp

View Instagram post by privatenewport

May 7

719 27
Open post by privatenewport with ID 17898831606287396
You were never supposed to see these homes…

For one elegant week each spring, Virginia’s Historic Garden Week quietly opens the gates to some of the state’s most beautiful private estates and gardens.

Often called America’s largest open house, the tradition began in 1927 and now welcomes visitors into hundreds of homes usually hidden behind hedges, winding drives, and brick walls.

From classic Virginia red brick estates to grand Palladian-inspired manor houses, each stop feels like stepping into another era entirely.

Okay… but which one are you picking? 👀
#virginiagardenweek #richmondvirginia #privatenewport #privateliving #fyp

privatenewport

before trends… this was the standard

nothing accidental, nothing overlooked

follow for more places that feel like another era ☁️
#newportrhodeisland #thebreakersnewport #newportmansions #privatenewport #gildedagemansions

View Instagram post by privatenewport

May 5

464 19
Open post by privatenewport with ID 17906290311411005
before trends… this was the standard

nothing accidental, nothing overlooked

follow for more places that feel like another era ☁️
#newportrhodeisland #thebreakersnewport #newportmansions #privatenewport #gildedagemansions

privatenewport

Built around 1900 as a summer “cottage” for Anna Van Nest Gambrill, this American Renaissance-style estate is anything but ordinary.

Designed by Carrère and Hastings - the same minds behind some of the most iconic architecture of the era, this home has quietly evolved over time.

Today, it’s no longer just a private residence… but home to the National Museum of American Illustration, housing thousands of original works.

Newport always has layers..and this is one of them.

Save & follow @privatenewport for more you don’t always see ➡️
✨✨✨✨✨
#privatenewport #newportri #privateliving #gildedage #newportmansions

View Instagram post by privatenewport

May 4

709 38
Open post by privatenewport with ID 17883866517545502
Built around 1900 as a summer “cottage” for Anna Van Nest Gambrill, this American Renaissance-style estate is anything but ordinary.

Designed by Carrère and Hastings - the same minds behind some of the most iconic architecture of the era, this home has quietly evolved over time.

Today, it’s no longer just a private residence… but home to the National Museum of American Illustration, housing thousands of original works.

Newport always has layers..and this is one of them.

Save & follow @privatenewport for more you don’t always see ➡️
✨✨✨✨✨
#privatenewport #newportri #privateliving #gildedage #newportmansions

privatenewport

Often called America’s largest open house, Virginia’s Historic Garden Week offers a rare glimpse behind doors usually closed.

For one elegant week each spring, homes and gardens across the state are opened - revealing layers of history, architecture, and life as it’s truly lived. A tradition dating back to 1927, now carried on by hundreds of homeowners.

From classic Virginia red brick (as seen here), to Jefferson-inspired Palladian design, to storybook cottages and Italianate manors - the range is as refined as it is personal.

There’s something quietly extraordinary about a home that isn’t staged… just opened.

Save this for your spring itinerary… and follow for more places you weren’t meant to see 🤍
#virginiagardenweek #richmondvirginia #privatenewport #privateliving #fyp

View Instagram post by privatenewport

May 3

336 7
Open post by privatenewport with ID 18096325154131385
Often called America’s largest open house, Virginia’s Historic Garden Week offers a rare glimpse behind doors usually closed.

For one elegant week each spring, homes and gardens across the state are opened - revealing layers of history, architecture, and life as it’s truly lived. A tradition dating back to 1927, now carried on by hundreds of homeowners.

From classic Virginia red brick (as seen here), to Jefferson-inspired Palladian design, to storybook cottages and Italianate manors - the range is as refined as it is personal.

There’s something quietly extraordinary about a home that isn’t staged… just opened.

Save this for your spring itinerary… and follow for more places you weren’t meant to see 🤍
#virginiagardenweek #richmondvirginia #privatenewport #privateliving #fyp

privatenewport

Nothing here is accidental.

Set around a storybook-like stone cottage, often described as something out of Hansel and Gretel - this garden is just one of the many private homes opened during @historicgardenweek .

Where detail like this isn’t added… it’s expected.

Save & follow along for the kind of inspiration that’s hard to come by➡️🌳
#virginiagardenweek #richmondvirginiagarden #fyp #privatenewport #gardensofvirginia

View Instagram post by privatenewport

Apr 30

353 12
Open post by privatenewport with ID 18090018584242115
Nothing here is accidental.

Set around a storybook-like stone cottage, often described as something out of Hansel and Gretel - this garden is just one of the many private homes opened during @historicgardenweek .

Where detail like this isn’t added… it’s expected.

Save & follow along for the kind of inspiration that’s hard to come by➡️🌳
#virginiagardenweek #richmondvirginiagarden #fyp #privatenewport #gardensofvirginia

privatenewport

An outstanding botanical garden has always felt like the quiet measure of a great city… and in Richmond, that standard is met beautifully at @lewisginter

Founded in 1984 and now considered one of the top botanical gardens in North America, it has grown into an 82-acre oasis, complete with four lakes, fifteen distinct gardens, and conservatories showcasing plants from around the world.

But it’s in spring that it feels almost cinematic…
roses climbing effortlessly, peonies just beginning their debut, and the kind of blooms that stop you mid-step.

And of course, there’s always one..
that singular flower you didn’t expect to fall for.

(For me, it was this deep violet bearded iris… appropriately named Superstition.)

Even the smallest details feel considered here, pollinators drifting from bloom to bloom, the entire landscape quietly in motion.

A place worth returning to… perhaps even in winter, when the garden transforms for its famed Festival of Lights.

Save this for later - and send it to someone you’d wander here with 🌿
#lewisginterbotanicalgarden #richmondvirginia #botanicalgardensofvirginia #privatenewport #lewisginter

View Instagram post by privatenewport

Apr 28

196 13
Open post by privatenewport with ID 18262702786289214
An outstanding botanical garden has always felt like the quiet measure of a great city… and in Richmond, that standard is met beautifully at @lewisginter 

Founded in 1984 and now considered one of the top botanical gardens in North America, it has grown into an 82-acre oasis, complete with four lakes, fifteen distinct gardens, and conservatories showcasing plants from around the world.

But it’s in spring that it feels almost cinematic…
roses climbing effortlessly, peonies just beginning their debut, and the kind of blooms that stop you mid-step.

And of course, there’s always one..
that singular flower you didn’t expect to fall for.

(For me, it was this deep violet bearded iris… appropriately named Superstition.)

Even the smallest details feel considered here, pollinators drifting from bloom to bloom, the entire landscape quietly in motion.

A place worth returning to… perhaps even in winter, when the garden transforms for its famed Festival of Lights.

Save this for later - and send it to someone you’d wander here with 🌿
#lewisginterbotanicalgarden #richmondvirginia #botanicalgardensofvirginia #privatenewport #lewisginter
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Bettie's Faves

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