Continuing my good fortune of being able to study abroad, I managed to find a job as a gardener at Harkness Memorial State Park, filling the last seasonal position for the summer. My only regret is that I didn't find this summer job years ago, when I was miserable at dead-end restaurants or joylessly babysitting. While my friends were living in hot cities and chipping away at lofty internships, I was enjoying my summer in the West Garden overlooking the Long Island Sound. Maybe upon graduation I'll regret not finding some résumé-building internship, but for what my summer was worth, I expect not.
Harkness Memorial State Park was originally the summer home Edward Harkness and Mary Stillman Harkness. The Harkness' inherited their wealth from Edward Harkness's father, who was one of the early investors in Rockefeller Standard Oil Company. If I remember correctly, Harkness Park (or rather, the mansion, named Eolia) was the 7th home belonging to the Harkness'. It was purchased from Mary Harkness' sister in 1907, and bequeathed to the State of Connecticut upon Mary's death in 1950. It officially became part of the state park system in 1952. Now it is overseen by the Connecticut DEEP.
While the mansion is beautiful and deserves a blog post of it's own, the gardens are obviously the focus here. With 3 main gardens, there's a lot of ground to cover (literally) without even mentioning the entirety of the property, which used to be functioning farm as well as 9-hole golf course. Is it also worth mentioning the beach? Because there's one of those, too.
The West Garden
The West Garden (formally known on tours as the Italianate Garden) is where I spent the vast majority of my time this past summer. The garden beds, paths and water features were designed originally by James Gamble Roger's firm, and planted with spring bulbs (hyacinths, daffodils, etc.) and red geraniums in unimaginative straight rows throughout all the beds. In 1910, the pergola was built atop several garden beds as a birthday gift to Mrs. Harkness. It has been said (by my bosses, specifically) that Mrs. Harkness didn't like the garden design or use of flowers, and particularly disliked the color red. In 1916, Beatrix Farrand, an acclaimed American landscape architect, was invited to Eolia for a consultation. Between 1918 and 1929 Farrand worked on various projects on the property, including redesigning the West Garden.
Farrand, who preferred the British term "landscape gardener" rather than landscape architect.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beatrix_Farrand
Looking North towards the pergola; yews surrounding ornamental lawn.
Looking West at the water feature known at work as "Duck Baby" (the statue in the fountain is a small child holding two ducklings.) People love to photograph Duck Baby.
Inside the pergola, looking West. Thick Wisteria covers the majority of the pergola, providing shade and a great place to take our allotted breaks.
Plan of the West Garden, including the Boxwood Parterre and Alpine Garden to the Southwest of the main axis. These were added by Beatrix Farrand during the West Garden renovations. Beds H, G, and F were also added. The space had previously been used as a seating area. I don't know why the beds are lettered out of order, but I can tell you that it's really confusing for new seasonals.
Looking down on the lily pond of the Alpine Garden. Growth of the conifers in the Alpine Garden has slightly changed the climate of the West Garden, as the taller trees now block cool air from the Long Island Sound, but also provide shade in the late afternoon. The West Garden is referred to at work as the sauna.
Beatrix Farrand was given quite a bit of freedom in redesigning the flower use of the West Garden, and used the same color-theory-meets-botany methodology that Gertrude Jekyll had invented and popularized via the English Arts and Crafts garden. The straight rows of spring bulbs were removed . Instead, Farrand used daylilies, asiatic lilies, nasturtium, coreopsis, brown-eyed susans, sunflowers, lantana, poppies, marigolds, goldenrod (considered a weed by boss, who begrudgingly leaves it in the garden) calendula, rudbeckia, snapdragons and yellow roses in wave-like, irregular patterns much in the same way that Jekyll did. Though it is unclear if Farrand ever met Jekyll, it was known that during her studies Farrand travelled to Munstead Wood to gain first-hand experience with Jekyll's most famous Arts and Crafts garden. Farrand's use of warm-colored flowers was intentional: Mrs. Harkness wanted to evoke a hot, Mediterranean climate in the garden. The oranges, umbers, and yellows that dominated the beds were offset by blue salvia patens, flaxseed, bachelor buttons and nigella jekyll, as well as white flowering tobacco, cosmos, irises, dianthus, phlox and baby's breath. Purple columbine spread throughout the garden as well. Finally, two large bushes of red crocosmia served as accents in beds C and E.
In keeping with the ideals of an classical Italian Renaissance Garden, the West Garden is placed topographically lower (though not by much) than Eolia, so that the garden can be seen when looked out from the home, and the home, which is quite imposing, can be seen from the garden. The "to-be-look-at-ness" of the West Garden is, to me, the main signifier of its Italian Renaissance inspiration. Though there are walls around the garden, these walls are often crowded with roses and ivy to hide the walls. In the past, before the conifers of the Alpine Garden were so tall, the garden gave way to views of the rolling lawn and Long Island Sound.
Gratuitous picture of myself along the southeast wall of the garden, by bed E.
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