The Redding Garden in Fairfield County, Connecticut, is a formal garden featuring a local vernacular of construction materials and details. Eight acres of rolling terrain have been divided into a dozen and half garden rooms: a poem of natural beauty.
The emphasis is on native plants that provide environmental resiliency and allows the garden to fit into the Connecticut countryside. The garden was designed to fit well into its surroundings. Its contemplative character provides formal entertaining space and respite from life in New York City.
The approach to the property is through a tree-lined lane into a red gravel-surfaced parking court with a medallion of the cardinal points.
The central terraces step down from the main house to a large lawn designed for entertaining. From here a symmetrical sunken garden is visible with sentinels of up-right beech trees under-planted with roses from the auto court, house, and living terraces. The swimming pool and formal fountain garden are set in a picturesque landscape planted with meadows, woodland gardens, and lawns.
Each garden room offers expansive vistas through the garden and to the distant hills. Eight water features act as focal points to the various spaces. Figurative art is used to great effect in the landscape. All walls are built of stone from the site. Locally cut and milled white oak was used for each of the arbors. Bluestone was sourced from a quarry within 75 miles of the site. Local craftspeople were used for construction to emphasize sustainable development strategies.
Photos: Rob Cardillo, Claire Takacs, Land Morphology.
