The Bartlett Arboretum & Gardens of Stamford has announced its “Garden Rooms by Design” showcase now open June 8th – 15th. The week long event welcomes visitors to experience the top to bottom transformation of the Bartlett’s historical homestead, once the home of the famed Dr. Francis A. Bartlett at 151 Brookdale Road, Stamford. Tickets to see the “Garden Rooms by Design” showcase are $20/person. Showcase hours are 10-4 daily and tickets can be purchased at the door. For more information and a sneak preview of each designer’s ideas, visit www.bartlettarboretum.org events.
Top local designers and artisans have been given the challenge of bringing the outdoors inside to create the unparalleled “Garden Rooms by Design”. This theme proves to be a fresh take on the Bartlett Arboretum’s purpose: to inspire the community to explore, examine, understand and appreciate the natural history of the botanical world and its place in our lives. This inimitable design challenge has requested some of the area’s top interior and landscape designers, artists and artisans to “think-out-of-the-box” and consider “green” elements in a not-so-usual sense. This renovation of the Bartlett homestead will include rooms, staircases, landings and gardens. The Designer Showcase is a new element added to the Bartlett’s ever-popular Spring Garden Tour Event going on concurrently.
An added feature to the Designer Showcase is an informative lecture series featuring experts in hydrangeas, landscape design, design inspirations, photography, and creative design solutions.
All lectures are free of charge with admission to the Showcase with the exception of the featured presentation, “Success with Hydrangeas” by Famed Nantucketer Mal Condon which is $25 per person. The Series kicks off from 10 a.m. to noon with Mal Condon’s presentation on “Success with Hydrangeas” that will be held in the lecture room of the new Silver Educational Center on the arboretum’s property.
Hydrangeas continue to be a very popular woody ornamental genus. Widely grown along our New England coastline, they create something special in so many gardens. This discussion will include the following topics; climate and plant siting, a major species review, cultural issues including fertilizing and bloom color control, best pruning practices, new varieties of merit, and propagation/making more plants. A lifelong gardener, Mal has always loved the genus hydrangea and began collecting plants from his extensive travels during his engineering career. His retirement in 1999 allowed him to pursue hydrangea nurturing with total commitment. Ever the engineer, he brings a strong technical and investigative nature to the continuing development of the genus – searching for new and better plants, evaluating their landscape performance, and finding superior ways to produce them. Hydrangea Farm on Nantucket Island, Massachusetts has become a much visited location for serious hydrangeaphiles. This lecture is being partially underwritten by gifts made in memory of Barbara Saverine, lover of hydrangeas and wife of the Bartlett’s executive director. This will be a digital presentation featuring detailed graphics relevant to all topics. A Q&A session will follow the lecture. Class Fee $25. Call 203.322.6971 for more information or to reserve your spot.
Following Mal’s presentation on Wednesday will be free lectures by Jan Johnson on Landscape Design at 1 p.m. and Victoria Lyon at 3 p.m. The Art of Design in Bringing the Outside In. On Thursday, June 14th the series will feature at 11 a.m. Jamie Gotto of Bungalow 5 and Napa Home and Garden followed by Michael Yedowitz from Wainscot Solutions and concluding with Jeremy Keets Saladyga Photography. All free lectures will be held in the Showcase house.
Finally, the event will conclude on Friday, June 15th with a Designer Sample Sale of materials and props used in the showcase, including a variety of lovely potted plants and extra samples that the designers will bring in just for the sale. Designers will be donating 20% of their sales to benefit the Bartlett Arboretum & Gardens. The showcase admission ticket must be purchased to enter the designer sample sale.
About the Bartlett Arboretum & Gardens
The Bartlett Arboretum & Gardens is a non profit 501 (c) (3) organization that inspires the surrounding community to explore, examine, understand and appreciate the natural history of the botanical world through its research, living plant collections, education and arts and cultural programs. The 91-acre property located at 151 Brookdale Road in Stamford is a living museum of champion majestic trees, rare plant collections, themed gardens, and natural landscapes traversed by hiking and walking trails. The historic site is the former residence, training school, and botanical research grounds of the renowned arborist, Dr. Francis Bartlett, dating back to 1913. With a summer concert series featuring both classical and contemporary selections, and a regular schedule of exhibits by local artists and photographers, the Bartlett Arboretum plays an ever expanding role in the regional cultural community. For more information about the Bartlett Arboretum and the events at the new Silver Educational Center including children’s and adults’ nature programs please visit the website www.bartlettarboretum.org or call 203-322-6971.
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