Welcome to Spring, When Everything Old is New Again!
by Maxine Carter-Lome
Welcome to the premier issue of our new logo redesign. We could not be happier to share the graphic evolution of our look and brand. I am reminded of the Loggins & Messina song lyric, “Same old wine in a brand new bottle.” Our mission and editorial focus remains the same, but with our new design and logo artwork, we look to graphically present a more contemporary interpretation of the antique and collectibles market, and the readers and advertisers we represent – both in print and online.
Our new design look is not the only change in this issue. I am pleased to call your attention our new Collector Clubs Directory, which will run monthly in the magazine and can now be found on our website. We work with a lot of collectors who are dedicated, long-time, active members of a collector club. While their interests and passion remains high, they share they are discouraged and despair for the future of their club as they struggle to attract new members. We hope this Directory and the many other regional and national clubs that are out there for almost any and all areas of the collectibles market will inspire you to take your interest to the next level and join a club.
With this May issue we also cross into spring, and a new season of outdoor antique and collectibles shows and flea markets. Here in Sturbridge, MA we prepare for the May Brimfield Shows, which this year takes place May 9-14. People travel from all over the world to attend Brimfield as a dealer, vendor, or attendee, and use the opportunity of a road trip to stop at antique shops, living history museums, and historic homes and gardens along the way.
May is also the month we prepare to enjoy our gardens for the summer season so what better topic this month than historic gardens and garden collectibles, which includes such items as garden tools, ornaments, statues, seeds, catalogs, outdoor furniture, sprinklers, flower pots, wind chimes, and other lawn and garden adornments and accessories. This collectibles category in particular enjoys a highly creative upcycle market. Pages on Etsy and Pinterest are dedicated to old and vintage items-from silverware to furniture, old tools, and china-repurposed to create new planters, garden ornaments, and outdoor décor. We hope they inspire you to look at something old in a new light at your next show or antique excursion.
Historic gardens are an inspiration not only for their design and floral beauty but for the stories they tell, which are reflected in their living collections and horticultural history. In this issue, we take a look at six historic house gardens and share information about their evolution, restorations, and collections.
A number of the earliest historic house gardens that we profile were designed to be both a botanical showpiece and a self-sustaining source of food for the estate. For Thomas Jefferson, the gardens at Monticello, his home near Charlottesville, Virginia, was also an experimental laboratory of sorts. Jefferson was known for his horticultural experiments and meticulous record-keeping, documenting nearly six decades of horticultural triumphs and failures in his Garden Book, a diary he maintained from 1766 to 1824.
On the other end of the spectrum you have America’s oldest landscaped gardens at Middleton Place in Charleston, South Carolina, dubbed “the most important and most interesting garden in America.” The 65-acre gardens at Middleton Place, started in 1741, reflect Henry Middleton’s emulation in America of the grand, classic style gardens that were en vogue in Europe and England into the early part of the 18th century based on the principles of André Le Nôtre, the master of classical garden design who laid out the gardens at Vaux-le-Vicomte and the Palace of Versailles.
Franklyn Delano Roosevelt’s gardens at his home Springwood in Hyde Park, NY, helped shape his values, his sense of identity, and his deep connection to his Hudson Valley home, as well as to inform the environmental, agricultural, and social ideals that he fostered in the programs of his Presidency. Miss Florence Griswold’s gardens in Olde Lyme, CT inspired an American art movement and played a role in The Garden Movement during the Progressive Era at the turn of the 20th century.
More than just beautiful and bucolic, these were influential gardens that represent design and horticultural feats that helped to shape our vernacular landscapes. Whether you view them as horticultural labs, living collections, or just beautiful by design, make the time to stop and smell the flowers the next time you’re in their town. It’s the trip – not just the destination.
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