Women’s Support Services of the Northwest Corner (WSS) is hosting its 18th Annual Trade Secrets® on Saturday and Sunday, May 19 and 20, 2018. Each year thousands of garden lovers trek to the Litchfield Hills of Connecticut for what has been dubbed “the northeast’s garden event of the year!”
Trade Secrets®, founded by Honorary Chair Bunny Williams, kicks-off with Saturday’s rare plant and garden antiques sale featuring nearly 60-vendors – specialized growers, small nursery owners, antique dealers, and artisans. They gather together to sell unusual plants, garden antiques, and other unique outdoor objects.
On Sunday, spend the day taking a self-guided tour of three of the most beautiful and picturesque private gardens.
The Falls Village, CT, garden of Bunny Williams and husband John Rosselli, has been on every Trade Secrets® tour and is a highlight for garden lovers who come back year-after-year to see it. An added treat: you will most likely have the pleasure of meeting Bunny & John as they enjoy their garden to the fullest and are often out and about during the tour.
In 1998, Henry Hope Reed commented about the Wethersfield Estate in Amenia, NY: “The inspiration is grand, the tradition noble, and the vision all-seeing; yet, with all, no detail has been neglected. . . Wethersfield Garden is the offspring of the wise, patient, and loving solicitude of a master.” These words by the noted architecture historian describe both the grandeur and simplicity that is Wethersfield. Described as “the finest classical garden in the United States built in the second half of the twentieth century,” it is the creative child of Bryan Lynch, Evelyn Poehler, and Chauncey Stillman.
The garden at Gil Schafer’s house also in Amenia, NY, aptly named Middlefield for its siting in the midst of an old farm field, was a personal project for Schafer—and one of his early collaborations with long-time friend and landscape designer Deborah Nevins.
The nearly 45-acre property is composed mostly of wooded hillside, but at its base, nestled in a hollow of land overlooking a stream, sits a 6-acre field which forms the setting for the house and its surrounding garden. While the design of the house is inspired by the 1840’s Greek Revival architecture commonly found in vernacular farmhouses in the region, the design of the garden is an exploration of both traditional and contemporary design ideas.
Tickets for Saturday’s sale are $125 for early buyer from 8 am – 3 pm with a continental breakfast. $50 for regular buyer from 10am-3pm. These tickets can be purchased in advance or day-of at the event. Late Bloomer tickets are $25 from 1-3pm and can ONLY be purchased the day-of.
Garden Tour tickets are $75 and available in advance only. There is parking at both William’s garden and Wethersfield. To visit Middlefield, parking and shuttling will be provided from Wethersfield.
Trade Secrets® is introducing Print-at-Home Etickets this year to purchase your advance tickets. To purchase tickets, make a tax-deductible donation to WSS, or to get more information on the event please go online to tradesecretsct.com or call 860-364-1080.
Trade Secrets® is sponsored by Connecticut Cottages & Gardens, Flower Magazine, and New England Home. Find Trade Secrets on Twitter @Trade_SecretsCT, on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/TradeSecretsCT and on Instagram @trade_secretsct.
For press, information contact Jeanne Rebillard jeanne@rebillardpr.com 845-518-4636.
*Photos:
1. Bunny Williams and Martha Stewart at Trade Secrets. Photo by www.stephaniestantonphotography.com
2. Photo courtesy of Wethersfield Estate
3. The Garden at Middlefield Photo courtesy of Gil Schafer
