Hollister House Garden: an English Garden in Connecticut by Julia Polentes

travelerC’s guide to gardens

Hollister House Garden: An English Garden in Connecticut by Julia Polentes

MONG THE pastoral hills of hard lines of the walls, melding them tious or inappropriate for an 18th-century northwestern Connecticut sits into the surrounding landscape. He re- Connecticut farm.” His solution was to A Hollister House Garden, a tra- turned home and set to work on his own build a wall, complete with walkways, at a ditional English-style garden that evokes garden of rooms. slight diagonal to the axis of the restored, the sense of having wandered into a fairy expanded farmhouse. This was the first of tale. Owner George Schoellkopf was in- AN ENGLISH GARDEN FOR NEW ENGLAND many carefully placed “imperfections” that spired to create it nearly 40 years ago, Schoellkopf, a collector and dealer of would come to characterize the garden. after a visit to Kent, England, where he American decorative and folk art, had pur- After he created the walls of his garden, toured the gardens of Sissinghurst Cas- chased his gently sloping, 27-acre property Schoellkopf experimented with plants. Be- tle. He was enchanted by its series of gar- in 1978 for its historic house—a saltbox cause England has a wetter and milder cli- den rooms, defined by tall hedges and farmhouse built in 1760—and the beauty mate than New England, many species that brick walls. Each room presented new of the surrounding landscape. For the Siss- are popular in English gardens languish views and different color combinations. inghurst-inspired formal garden, he want- in Connecticut. Undeterred, Schoell The abundance of plants softened the ed a design that wouldn’t seem “preten- kopf tried them out in various locations

The Walled Garden features a serene reflecting pool enclosed by a central brick wall that supports a profusion of vines and climbers. SCHOELLKOPF GEORGE OF COURTESY PHOTOS ALL

44 the American Gardener House Garden, Inc., a nonprofit. With Additional Information the help of the Garden Conservancy, Hollister House Garden, 300 Nettleton Hollow Road, Washington, CT 06793. Schoellkopf and Hollister House Gar- (860) 868-2200. www.hollisterhousegarden.org. den, Inc. worked out an arrangement in which the nonprofit will assume full n Hours: Open May through September, every Friday from 2 p.m.–5 p.m. and every ownership and stewardship of the prop- Saturday from 10 a.m.–4 p.m. erty after Schoellkopf dies. Schoellkopf, n Admission: Requested donation of $5. who has contributed an endowment for n Hollister House Garden participates in the AHS’s Reciprocal Admissions Program. the property’s long-term maintenance, will reside there in the interim. Other nearby sites to explore: Public engagement is an important Bellamy-Ferriday House & Garden, Bethlehem, CT. part of Hollister’s mission. The garden www.ctlandmarks.org/content/bellamy-ferriday-house-garden. opens to visitors Fridays and Saturdays The Glebe House Museum & Gertrude Jekyll Garden, Woodbury, CT. from May through September. An annu- www.glebehousemuseum.org. Highstead Arboretum, Redding, CT. www.highstead.net.

and replaced those that failed to flourish. right angles and paths—inside that struc- One survivor is Euphorbia griffithii, the ture is abundance. The plants are supposed only hardy euphorbia with orange flowers to look as if they grow there naturally.” and a preference for wet soil conditions. It In reality, it took Schoellkopf years thrives at Hollister, blooming for a month to achieve diverse color schemes that and a half beginning in June. change gracefully through the seasons, The walls and tall hedges provide a back- with spring being “the most spectacular drop for a myriad of plants that now fills the in the garden,” he says. He particularly garden. Each room offers different perspec- appreciates the serendipity of self-seed- tives of the picturesque house, Schoellkopf’s ing plants. For example, he allows for- private residence. Like the house, described get-me-nots (Myosotis sylvatica) to seed by Schoellkopf as “a pleasant jumble,” the themselves around the feet of boxwoods, garden as a whole doesn’t have an overarch- providing “the one moment you can ing focus and each room is unique. have blue in the garden,” he says. “The best description of the garden is a constant battle between order and chaos. SHARING HOLLISTER WITH THE PUBLIC The plan is ordered, but not the experi- In 2004, Schoellkopf and a group of sup- ence,” says Schoellkopf. “It is composed of porters came together to form Hollister Self-seeded forget-me-nots juxtaposed with clipped boxwoods exemplify the balance Hollister strikes between formal and wild.

al symposium with nationally renowned speakers will take place this September, for the seventh year running. Other pro- gramming ranges from gardening work- shops to live music in the garden. Asked why he chose to preserve the garden in perpetuity, Schoellkopf observes that his garden was a product of his creative vision, whereas the majority of public gardens in America are shaped by the vision of mul- tiple professionals. “I think it’s unusual and people seem to really respond. Americans don’t make this kind of garden very often,” he says, “ but they love visiting Hollister.”m

Julia Polentes is an editorial intern for The

ALL PHOTOS COURTESY OF GEORGE SCHOELLKOPF GEORGE OF COURTESY PHOTOS ALL The colorful double border opens out to the sloping landscape beyond in this early morning view. American Gardener.

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