Hancock Shaker Village

With an impressive array of 20 buildings of various function, shape, and size, the Hancock Shaker Village in Pittsfield, Massachusetts is a slice of Shaker1185797-812083-thumbnail.jpg heaven -- architectural heaven that is. I have a natural affinity for antiques; I grew up in an early 1800’s colonial with an old dilapidated barn out back. Yet I think the spare, simple forms of these Shaker gems speak to those with Modernist upbringings as well. The Shakers espoused a purity of self and spirit that manifested itself in a purity of form and function, free of unnecessary ornament or complication.
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More spring/summer 2007 house diversions

Consider These Additional Upcoming New England House Museum/Tours and Related Diversions 

The Glass House by Philip Johnson (New Canaan, CT) opening to the public in July, 2007 www.philipjohnsonglasshouse.org

Brimfield Antique and Flea Market Shows (Brimfield, MA) July 10-15, 2007 www.brimfield.com

Nantucket Garden Club Annual House Tour (and gardens too!) (Nantucket, MA) August, 2007 www.nantucket.org/gardenclub

Secret Garden Tour in Newport's Historic Point Section

I have a special fondness for Newport, Rhode Island’s Point Section. Since1185797-764236-thumbnail.jpg 1990 or so I’ve been attending the self-guided annual Secret Garden Tour there in June. My mother got me started. She’s an avid gardener who shares my taste for charming architecture. This tour happily suits us both since it reinforces the concept that house and garden are each vital to the other. True, only the gardens are open for public touring, but in this densely packed, seaside neighborhood, the historic homes they accompany can also be appreciated in the round.
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Green Animals Topiary Garden

This unusual garden on an estate overlooking Narragansett Bay in Portsmouth, Rhode Island celebrates the art of topiary amidst a vast array of1185797-812053-thumbnail.jpg gardens and garden features including a rose garden, formal parterre, an herb garden, arbors, espaliers, and more. The white clapboard Victorian dwelling and accompanying outbuildings that include a barn, greenhouses, and cottage set the stage for this historic garden that has evolved over the years into a unique New England treasure. Started in 1912 by Joseph Carreiro, the superintendent to the then property owner, Thomas E. Brayton, the original animal and geometric topiaries can still be enjoyed today as well as many created in the 40’s and 70’s.
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Edith Wharton's gardens at The Mount

Edith Wharton’s estate in Lenox, Massachusetts includes her turn-of-the-century summer house, known at The Mount1185797-759231-thumbnail.jpg
view from rear patio, and three-acres of formal gardens all originally envisioned by the author. Known most for writing House of Mirth, Ethan Frome, and Age of Innocence (among other novels), Wharton was also at the forefront of interior and landscape design discourse. She published The Decoration of Houses with friend and architect Ogden Codman, Jr. in 1897 prior to creating The Mount with Codman’s help.
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