During my garden touring trip to Long Island, NY last June, my friends and I visited the private garden of Connie Cross in Cutchogue. Connie is a well known garden designer and owner of Environmentals, a wholesale nursery.
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| Residence of Connie Cross viewed from the pool area |
Encompassing five acres, the mature garden includes many garden rooms, an elaborate chicken coop and a beautiful pool area. The garden is frequently open to the public and has been featured on Martha Stewart's blog.
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| Poolside in Connie Cross's garden |
We've all toured many fabulous gardens both in person and via some sort of media. Our different styles and tastes dictate that some will sing to us louder than others. Earlier in the day I had visited the personal garden of Dennis Schrader and Bill Smith (which you can read about HERE). On my garden rating scale of 1 to 10, Dennis and Bill's garden was an 11. Admittedly hard to top.
Although I enjoyed my tour of Connie's garden, for me it wasn't an 11. But that doesn't mean it was any better or worse than Landcraft just not as much my style. Given the opportunity I would definitely visit again and so should you. Since I was looking for something in this garden to set it apart, what caught my eye at Connie's was this imaginative and cleverly designed outdoor shower.
An over the top outdoor shower worthy of a Pinterest pin.
Complete with lush plantings and vintage details all wrapped up with a touch of whimsy.
And fully operational. I did ask and was told the shower does get used.
I'll admit to being skeptical though as this all appears to be for show. But that's OK.
Because a little fantasy in the garden is never a bad thing.
As much as I delight in unexpected surprises and staged areas in a garden, I feel I've neglected to design any into my own. Maybe I'm too practical or so familiar with my own garden that I just don't see them. How about you? Does every area of your garden need to be functional or is there room for a bit of fantasy? Dreaming is what gets us gardeners through the next few months so let's dream!
Happy 2014!
Sue~
I was just working on a post for next week where I'm dreaming of a blue sky ceiling in my home. Like a skylight only bigger and always blue. That's my current dream.
ReplyDeleteI have often wanted dream areas...but DH is opposed. In particular he hates sculptures...which nixed my school of fish. I kept them for over a year, but his discomfort was palpable. He wants nature plain and simple.
ReplyDeleteMy friend has an outdoor shower which is small and handsome. You've actually been to her garden when you visited years ago....by the river.
My dreaming is mostly done with flowers these days. Come spring, my dream will be huge ampounts of tree pruning after our ice storm. (unfortunately!)
Love this post Sue. That was really a fun outdoor shower.
ReplyDeleteI'm the more practical sort myself, Sue - my current dreams are focused on the removal of more lawn. Although, I admit that there are fairies, a gargoyle and similar touches here and there...
ReplyDeleteI'd love little whimsical areas but am not sure I have the room. That doesn't keep me from putting up inspiration on my Pinterest boards! It's fun to dream.
ReplyDeleteSue, your garden IS my fantasy! It's absolutely beautiful and I envy you!!!
ReplyDeleteOn the subject of outdoor showers, my grandmother had one at her summer cottage in Branford. It was mostly utilitarian, and she made us shower off the salt water and sand before we came in the house. It was COLD water only...and I remember dreading it! I always tried to be first so I could get that first bit tepid water heated by the sun from the pipes before the cold water cam e flowing through!
Those are the outdoor showers of my memories too, Bonnie.
DeleteI think whimsical is very hard to pull off, but this shower does it well. I have a few things like a birdhouse, a fairy twig house and some little metal chickens (all gifts,which is why I like them), but I have nothing that is a whole cute vignette or designed room like this shower. It feels like it would be too much in my garden!
ReplyDeleteTo be sure It is dream time for gardens, and outdoor showers too for some – especially with such a hard winter. My favorite outdoor showers are the more ordinary ones, like those I've had in places like Lake George, New York, where the shower is the thing, without beautiful decor to distract from the outdoorness of it all.
DeleteYou're much too modest about your own spaces, Sue. The images of your garden rooms mesmerize dramatically, artistically and seasonally.
To pull something like this off requires a much larger garden than the usual suburban lot, IMO. What was odd was this garden had a pool and the shower was no where near that area.
DeleteOk, here's my super cheeseball response - considering my garden was a hideous blank slate 10 years ago, it all feels like a fantasy sometimes. I'd be worried that as soon as I got nekkid and hopped in my outdoor shower, someone would show up and my butt would be on display. I've added whimsy to my garden and have more goodies to add this summer, but they're all functional art.
ReplyDeleteHmmm...Tammy, I seem to recall some nudist garden blog posts somewhere in the past year or so. Oh yeah, that was at your blog, wasn't it? :)
DeleteThe idea of an outdoor shower seems oogie to me, maybe because I'd worry about stepping on slugs with my bare feet, maybe because my being naked without four walls to protect others form the hideousness seems cruel. Anyway, this one is kind of cool to look at.
ReplyDeleteSpiders are the outdoor (and indoor) shower demons for me. This shower did have four walls. The addition of a toilet would have elevated it to an outdoor bathroom. I thought it was very cool and nice to admire in this garden but don't see one in my future.
DeleteI dream of tearing down my rickety deck and replacing it with a screened porch in the summer that can be turned into a conservatory in the winter.
ReplyDeleteIt looks beautiful!
ReplyDeleteThe three cups in that one shot, I've seen those before. Those three cups with soda, zeep, and zand (?) are very common in Dutch households.
Strange this post is totaly irrelevant to what I was looking yahooo for, but it was listed on the first web page. I think your doing something right if yahooo prefers you enough to put you on the first web page of a non appropriate look for.
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I well remember perusing this shower with you and taking photos. My neighbor across the street put in an outdoor shower and swears they use it daily. Even in winter, which is admittedly not that cold here but not something I'd relish when it's in the 40s or 50s some mornings. I should grab a photo.
ReplyDelete