OLMSTED GARDENS

These homeowners moved in during the winter. Come spring, they were pleasantly surprised to find they had a formal garden—an Olmsted Brothers-designed garden that had been commissioned almost a hundred years earlier by the artists–owners of the house during the 1920s.

The garden had been terribly neglected. It was so overgrown, Rosemarie Padovano and Marcello Marvelli had to remove three 30-yard containers of debris, just to get started. Marvelli has since become a dedicated gardener.

“When you inherit a garden like this, you have to do it justice,” Rosemarie says. Rock walls were rebuilt, the lawn reseeded, encroaching wooded areas were pushed back, brambles were extracted, and a pool re-dug. They employed the help of Clive Lodge, a distinguished garden designer. They used bluestone around the pool and retrimmed the boxwoods surrounding it. Then they properly manicured trees and shrubbery, back to the way it looked a century ago.

“Now it’s a very beautiful place to be,” explains Marcello. “Because of the history and age of the plants, we feel a lot of respect for the garden— we didn’t want to make it cutesy or suburban, and we want to keep it healthy. A lot of responsibility comes with that.”

TOP The pergola-shaded patio was added during the garden’s redesign in 1922. Against the garage is a mature and rare, 100-yearold Saucer magnolia espalier. LEFT Trimmed boxwood and Euonymus ‘Fortunei’ are part of the view from the pergola-covered patio.

TOP The beech allée was planted in 1922, part of the garden redesign by the Olmsted Brothers firm. Cast-iron urns are Victorian antiques. ABOVE A boxwood parterre surrounds a renewed reflecting pool with an antique cast-stone sculpture. BELOW Mature boxwood balls, yew, and holly enhance the front of the house.

BELOW The old potting shed is also used as a studio; Linnaea amabilis (beauty bush) is in bloom. LEFT Mismatched antiques furnish the quiet interior of the shed–studio. RIGHT The beechwood allée is visible from the pergola-covered patio that dates to the Olmsted Brothers design.