A Timeless Country Garden & Greenhouse in Connecticut

For nearly 30 years, landscape designer Kathryn Herman has been thoughtfully restoring and reimagining the gardens surrounding her historic home in Fairfield, Connecticut, gradually transforming the grounds into a pastoral tableau of New England gardens, meadows, and orchards. Her garden and the lessons she has gathered along the way are featured in her new book, A Moment in Time: Designing a Country Garden, which also includes her favorite sources for garden antiques and other resources.

Purchase the book here: https://go.shopmy.us/p-78867779

Originally known as Pepperidge Farm—the property where Margaret and Henry Rudkin built their famous Pepperidge Farm bread and cookie business—the estate dates back to the 1920s and once spanned 125 acres, with horses, orchards, and working farm buildings.

Kathryn has lived here since 1998, and bringing this part of the property back to life has truly been a labor of love. When she arrived, the area around her home—originally the groom's cottage and caretaker's quarters—had very few gardens. Instead, she inherited magnificent mature trees, including enormous weeping cherries and a rare American elm, and gradually transformed the grounds into a series of thoughtfully designed garden spaces. Kathryn takes us through her greenhouse, a colorful hedge garden, vegetable garden, meadow, orchard, pool area, and more. She shares the stories behind the plants she has collected over the years, the influence of her travels, and the process of creating a garden that feels beautiful and abundant without becoming overly difficult to maintain.

One of the highlights is Kathryn's extraordinary greenhouse, a dream she had for years after being inspired by a greenhouse she visited in England.

Seven years in the making, it is now her favorite place on the property and a refuge for the tropical plants, citrus, geraniums, and other treasures she brings home from her travels.

From the historic trees that have been here for a century to the flowers, vegetables, and plants Kathryn has introduced herself, these are gardens shaped slowly and intentionally over decades—a beautiful example of how a landscape can evolve with the person who cares for it.