Horsefeathers

Horsefeathers is known in Redding as the Aaron Barlow House and is the oldest dwelling in Redding. Joel Barlow, after whom the Redding high school is named, one of Aaron's brothers, lived here after the French Revolution. Joel, a diplomat and renowned poet, was an attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Paris at the time of Thomas Jefferson and was instrumental in the purchase of Louisiana from France. While residing in the house, he composed the epic poem The Columbiad (1807), his most famous work. The gardens, designed by former owners Helen and Françoise Verglas with the assistance of garden designer and consultant Laura Tuttle Stabell, were on the Garden Conservancy tour for seven years before Dana and Connie Zangrillo purchased the property. The gardens, which surround the site of the circa 1723 home, contain strong elements of historical design influenced by French and English period gardens. The views are structured around the "reflecting pool," with French curves of Nepeta on the outer borders. Stone walls, boxwood, and a pergola give the garden architectural "bones" in all seasons. The formal and structural details contrast with free-growing and abundant roses, perennials, and herbs. There are several separate garden areas, or rooms, bounded by fences or stone walls, with a distinct feel to each. French garden principles permeate the design in the lines and curves but also in areas of dark green evergreens. The landscape also features a large wetland/meadow shared among several adjacent landowners and maintained with good stewardship practices. The abundance of birds and other wildlife brings an "edge of nature" feel into the landscape. This is consistent with the views, at the time of the home's building, toward nature as exemplified in the writings of Jonathan Edwards of New Haven, who wrote, "Almost all men, and those that seem to be very miserable, love life, because they cannot bear to lose sight of such a beautiful and lovely world." The garden, which has been organic from its inception, also features pervious stone and gravel surfaces, which help to prevent runoff. This is especially important, as the site sits adjacent to the Saugatuck River Watershed, which supplies drinking water to much of Fairfield County.

Directions: From Route 7 North, take Route 107 at Georgetown for 1.7 miles, to Umpawaug Road. Continue on Umpawaug for 3.5 miles to Horsefeathers; sign on left. Look for parking signs on right.

Open Days 2018: June 2
Hours: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Admission to this garden is $7 for members and nonmembers without tickets purchased in advance.

Buy discounted admission tickets in advance! They can be used at most Open Days to make garden visiting easier.
Nonmembers get 6 visits for the price of 5 with advanced ticket book purchase.
Members get 50% off ONLY by purchasing ticket books in advance.

 Digging Deeper program: Elements of Historical Garden Design—Bringing Ideas of the Past Into Gardens of Today with Laura Stabell. 11 a.m. & 3 p.m.
Horsefeathers was designed with many historical elements: topiary, espalier, parterres, tuteurs, a pergola, a solarium terrace, even a mini ha ha. The vegetable beds are laid out in a geometric pattern, while thyme and catmint buzz with bees. A fountain splashes in the center of a more formal area near the home. In the days before television, a stroll garden—a place to walk and talk with company after dinner—preferably with gravel walks so ladies skirts would stay clean, was a common feature, following European modes. There was an underlying need in European design to have a sense of order, of man’s hand against the natural. Colonial Americans brought with them European ideals of garden design, but the American sense of practicality and the natural edge of the wilderness crept in. A looser cottage garden form emerged. Farmsteads and their gardens were carved out of the wilderness and built from locally sourced materials. What the American homesteads lacked in sophistication, they made up with creativity, simplicity, and comfort. Landscape gardener Laura Stabell will talk about how these same elements and ideas can be incorporated into the landscapes of today, whether in traditional or modern landscapes.

Garden admission is $7 per person and children 12 & under are free. There is no additional fee for this program. Call 1(888) 842-2442 or email opendays@gardenconservancy.org with questions.