In Situ is a grand garden covering 8 acres in rural Redding, CT. This is my second garden tour and the pictures tell more than my words can express. I visited the garden this past Sunday, 9/22/13, with my son, Ben, and his girlfriend, Shelby during the Open Days Tours. In Situ truly combines art with the landscape, blurring the lines between indoor and outdoor spaces.

In Situ’s landscape designer is Richard Hartlage from Land Morphology in Seattle, Washington. They create designs that respond to the land which is shown in the placement of the elements used in the property. This garden does not have as many colorful flowers and plants as I expected, but it might have been the time of the year. However, I think Richard may have designed In Situ this way. The private estate is like a piece of art itself, skillfully crafted into the property which is surrounded by the 312 acre Saugatuck Falls Natural Area.

I really enjoyed the art and sculptures throughout the garden which complimented the choice of plants, stones and design. Great thought was taken in placement and choice. My favorite piece was the mirrors. By itself, it blended into the environment, but add a few people and it was just fun. I only wish there was a legend, or plaques, to identify the art and plants.

In Situ is divided into garden rooms that are made up of meadows, stone walkways, water features, woodlands and architectural arbors and stone work. The spaces vary from the natural to recreational like a pool and a basketball court to multiple dining areas and places just to sit and relax.

In Situ’s mission is to provide scholarships to under privileged college students who aspire to attend art schools in the US. They offer the use of the gardens and property to companies dedicated to sculpture, music, fashion or the culinary arts as a means to stage charity functions in support of their mission. For more information, email info@insitu.org.

First up in our Connecticut garden tours is Hollister House Gardens in Washington, CT. Nancy and I visited the garden on Saturday, 9/7/13, during their garden fair where they were giving tours and selling rare and unusual plants and artifacts. This is the first of many garden reviews to come.

The gardens and grounds are spectacular and are very well maintained. I am sure they rely on many volunteers to help. There are a few areas where they are doing some work and 2 truck loads of rocks are waiting to be moved to a new wall or other various areas throughout the garden. Don’t worry about restrooms, the public ones are brand new and nicely done.

Many flowers are in full bloom and are quite spectacular. Most are mature and established with many perennials in well thought out garden spaces. There are about 8 separate spaces, each uniquely created. Walls, fences plants and hedges separate the garden rooms making each it’s own. Hollister House Gardens is a preservation project of The Garden Conservancy.

One of my favorite parts of the gardens are the ponds and water features. Each are home to several families of green and brown frogs. They seem docile and used to humans.

The house and other outbuildings seem to be natural components. It’s almost as though you can feel them breathing and living among the garden spaces. The outside dining room is my favorite space. I can see this space hosting many meals and just hanging with family and friends.

The only negative part of the property that stood out to me was the dam for the main pond. It was covered in concrete and stucco and just didn’t seem to fit. Plus, part of the stucco was falling apart and crumbling. The other thing that bothered me was the lack of honey bees. There were many bumble bees and other pollinators, but I didn’t see one honey bee.

I would highly recommend visiting this special garden. A donation of $5 per person is requested which helps to expand their outreach and education efforts. Hollister House is open on Saturdays May through September. Check their site for hours.