The ‘Crown Princess Margaretha’ rose chain is the star of the spring season at Parterre, ushering us into a welcome kickoff for the garden. Five months later, the ‘Limelight’ hydrangea border provides the “last hurrah” for the gardens, charming us with her sassy bounty, her white pillow-y heads tossing in the fall winds.

The stone wall between the Fountain Garden and Orangerie beds is a114′ runway of blousy whiteness, thanks to the 12 individual shrubs planted just the right distance apart to create a thickly voluminous, healthy, and happy ‘Limelight’ hedge.

Positioned between the two main gardens, the hedge can be seen, deservedly, from many angles…

and from many vantage points within the house (our pruning schedule insures that they are just the right height to be seen in all their glory from the wide bay window in the sunroom). She wouldn’t have it any other way!

Her voluptuous limey-white blooms serve us well at this time of year, lingering on with the cool weather while other plants start to whither and die.

Parterre’s formal gardens are a study in shades of green and textures of plant material with white a cooling elegant complement. And remember, white shows off so effectively at night. As the days shorten, the ‘Limelights’ provide a dramatic beacon in the dusk and oncoming evening.

And, in the salon as well…

Fall greetings from Newport…