Small Gardens Are Like Short Films

Quotes from  ‘The Oscar-Nominated Short Films 2014: Live Action’

“12 Years a Slave” Director Steve McQueen
"The structure of short film is all about narrative."

"You have to say a lot in a short period of time. You think, 'How do I do that? How do I have the maximum impact within a time restriction?' But it could be actually much more effective than a long film. All this thing about short and long--its all about whether it is good or not. Often a short film can be better than a long film. It has nothing to do with length. It has to do with intelligence."

Luciano Giubbilei Chelsea Flower Show Garden

 Matthew Modine Actor and Shorts Director
"As artists you have to find someplace where you can go and find quiet and hear yourself; to hear your voice, because it is small."

Peter Wooster's Garden, Roxbury, CT

2013 Shorts Winner Shawn Christensen
"You have one idea, one notion, and you can take that idea all the way. If it is a strong idea, you can just explore it and you don't have to worry about being complicated. You can do that one simple idea."

Sakonnet Gardens, Little Compton, RI

Peter Webber Director "Girl with a Pearl Earring"
"There can be a purity about a short film. You can take a very simple pure idea...and make it purely cinematic."

"There is something much purer about working with a smaller budget or working on a smaller canvas."

"Short film is a real skill. It is like writing a Haiku."

"You need to have a really good story to tell and you need to tell it really well."

Rosemary Verey's Potager Garden, Cirencester, England

Jim Field Smith Director "She's Out of My League"
"The constraints of making a short sometimes end up being the strongest points."

Michael Trapp's Garden, West Corwall, CT

Joanna's Bergenia

Bergenia cordifolia with Indian Pot and Stone Pedestal

According to my gardening journal, on May 5, 1997, I got a division of Bergenia cordifolia from the late Joanna Reed's garden in my hometown of Malvern, PA. I didn't know the plant but was willing to try anything Joanna suggested. I brought a single plant home and every year I divided it. One year, I happened to plant a division on the shapely drained slope flanking the granite steps down to what I now call the Blue Bench Terrace. It was the right plant in the right spot and it prospered beautifully there.

The bergenia's russet-colored leathery paddles of foliage contrasts well with the gray granite steps and the bluestone patio this time of year. It is also the perfect compliment to the rusted Indian pots from Michael Trapp's Connecticut shop I got about a dozen years ago. In April, it will have rose-colored blooms that seem to hang on for several weeks. Here in New Hampshire, any plant that peaks in December and April is highly prized.

Bergenia cordifolia is an extremely useful plant but what I treasure most about this unnamed cultivar is that it came from Joanna's garden. It is a lasting memento of her garden and the time I spent there when I was just beginning to learn about gardening.

Lee Link's Garden in Sharon, CT

Front Entrance to the House

Entrance Courtyard with Michael Trapp Pot

Lower Entrance with River Birch: An Idea Borrowed from Helen Dillon

The Greenhouse

Potting Area

Rear view of Greenhouse

Agave on Wall

View from the Pool

Michael Trapp was Here

Three Cornus kousa replace Mixed Border

About a 10 minute drive from Michael Trapp's shop is the Sharon, CT garden of Michael's good friend, Lee Link. Lee is a perennial host to the Garden Conservancy Open Days. I had last seen her garden about 8 or 10 years ago. It was and is meticulously maintained and beautifully designed. I think the greenhouse had been added since my last visit. It is full of exotic and unusual tender plants.

Lee's description of her garden in the Open Days Directory explains, "Three stone walls cascade down a hillside at the top of which is a greenhouse containing a wide spectrum of succulents and tropical plants. Within the last year, the former perennial border was replaced with a new hardscape and three kousa dogwoods highlighted by groundcover and spring bulbs. This is an effort to minimize upkeep. One level has a fish pond which reflects a winter conservatory attached to the house."

Michael Trapp Creates a Mood

Michael Trapp's Shop

Pencil-thin Junipers Reach for the Sky

View over the Upper pool Behind Michael's Shop

Looking from the Upper Level to the Lap Pool below

Steep Steps to the Lower Garden

The stone Spiral Staircase

The Cool Dark Lower Garden and Pool

Steps to the Pool

Architectural Fragments Add an Ancient Feel to the Stone Wall

Urns Flank the Path Parallel to the Pool

The Steps Return to the the Upper Level

Looking Back at the Pool

Stone Benches Invite the Visitor to Stay a While Longer

Simple Composition: White Urn Backed by Boxwood

Michael Trapp knows how to create a mood. He converted an 19th century Greek Revival house overlooking the Housatonic River in West Cornwall, CT into a shop nearly twenty years ago. The shop is chalk-full of architectural fragments, balustrades, antique furniture, pots, urns, statuary and textiles. The 3/4 acre garden surrounding the shop compliments it perfectly. He "wanted to make the house and garden seem as though the were 500 years old." In doing so he brings us to Europe, for the garden has an unmistakable Italian and French atmosphere.

The house and garden are situated on a very steep slope and has a dramatic stone stairway leading to the lower garden and lap pool with handsome limestone coping. The garden boasts 78 tons of cobblestone paths. The plant material is very limited. There is plenty of boxwood, arborvitae, juniper and yew creating walls and repeated vertical elements. The upper garden has some cottage plants like hollyhocks but the lower garden is in deep shade and has a dark and romantic aura.

Michael Trapp's garden has an intention fortified with restraint which makes the garden so successful. Every detail reinforces the feeling of a Tuscan villa on a steep slope complete with vistas and axes. You are taken away to another time, another place. If you are ever in northwestern Connecticut, Michael Trapp's shop and garden should be a must-see destination. There are many exquisite items, but each time I visit his shop, I manage to find a very special inexpensive artifact that I can use to embellish my garden. It is also a charming reminder of this alluring garden.