Books & Blooms

A Weekend of Garden Events to Benefit The Cornwall Library

Highlights from the 2024 Books & Blooms Talk & Cocktail Reception

June 21 & 22, 2024

View and purchase photos from photographer Sari Goodfriend taken during our Friday night event.

2024

June 21 & 22, 2024

Friday, June 21, 6 pm – Why Waterlilies? Claude Monet and the Art of the Garden. A presentation by Ann Temkin, followed by a cocktail reception in a private garden

Saturday, June 22, 10 am to 4 pm – Four delightful private Cornwall gardens

2023

June 16 & 17, 2023

Friday, June 16, 6 pm – The History of Lawns: From Pasture to Plastic by Peter Del Tredici, followed by a cocktail reception in a private garden

Saturday, June 17, 10 am to 4 pm – Four delightful private Cornwall gardens — three of them new to the tour

2022

June 17 & 18, 2022

Friday, June 17, 6 pm – “Bringing Meadows into the Garden” by Page Dickey followed by a cocktail reception

Saturday, June 18, 10 am to 4 pm – Tour of 4 Cornwall Gardens

Four very special Cornwall gardens featuring a mix of formal and informal – one in town, one by the river, and two in bucolic country settings.

2021

June 18, 19 & 20, 2021

Zoom talk ~ George Schoellkopf – Hollister House Garden: 40 Years in the Making

George Schoellkopf will talk about the creation and evolution of his garden which surrounds an 18th-century house and barns in Washington, Connecticut and was purchased by him in 1978.

Tour of 4 Cornwall Gardens

John and Juliet Hubbard ~ Cornwall Village

Bart and Debby Jones ~ Cornwall Bridge

Roxana Laughlin ~ West Cornwall

Michael Trapp ~ West Cornwall

Hollister House Garden Self-guided Tour

2019

June 14 & 15, 2019

We are pleased to welcome acclaimed interior decorator and landscape designer Bunny Williams to discuss her newest book, Love Affairs with Houses, at the annual Books and Blooms kickoff lecture.

Cocktail reception and book signing with Bunny following the talk.

Tour of 4 country gardens

Page Dickey ~ Falls Village

Debby and Bart Jones ~ Cornwall Bridge

Roxana Robinson ~ West Cornwall

Bunny Williams ~ Falls Village

2018

June 8 & 9, 2018

40 Years of Gardening: Private and Public,” a talk by Lynden B. Miller, public garden designer in New York City who was trained as a painter and studied horticulture at The New York Botanical Garden before beginning her career. Based on her belief that good open spaces can change city life, Lynden has designed over 45 gardens, parks, and public spaces in the five boroughs since 1982. She is also the author of Parks, Plants, and People: Beautifying the Urban Landscape.

Tour of 4 country gardens

Jane Garmey ~ North Cornwall
Juliet & John Hubbard ~ Cornwall
Lynden B. Miller ~ Sharon
Amelia Starr & Matthew Ziehl ~ Milton

2017

June 9 & 10, 2017

Kitchen Garden Design: The Art of Growing Food,” a talk by Ellen Ecker Ogden, food and garden writer and lecturer on farm-to-table cooking and kitchen garden design. Her newest book, The Complete Kitchen Garden, features inspiring designs to create works of art outside your window. Ellen’s articles appear in many national magazines, most recently the March issue of Better Homes and Gardens.

The Silent Auction Prize: Ellen’s Saturday morning (June 10) one-hour garden design consultation at your home.

Tour of 5 local gardens: Mary Ellen & Andrea Geisser, Laurie & David Hodgson, Ridgway Farm, Betty Spence, Joanne Wojtusiak

2016

June 17 & 18, 2016

“Busy Landscape Architecturing:” Olana as Earthwork, a talk and film presented by Mark Prezorski, Landscape Curator, Thee Olana Partnership. The short film explores the 250-acre landscape in Hudson, NY, designed by the great Hudson River School painter Frederic Edwin Church (1826-1900).

Self-guided tour of five beautiful Cornwall gardens: Tom Bechtle & Don Bachman; Juliet & John Hubbard; Debby & Barton Jones; Roxana Laughlin; Michael Trapp.

2015

June 19 & 20, 2015

“Some of My Favorite Gardens and Why,” a lecture & book signing by Page Dickey, acclaimed garden designer & author, at The Cornwall Library.

Tour six Cornwall gardens: Tom Bechtle & Don Bachman; Peter Del Tredici & Susan Klaw; Jane Garmey; John Green; Juliet & John Hubbard; Roxana Robinson.

Books & Blooms

A Weekend of Garden Events to Benefit The Cornwall Library

2024

June 21 & 22, 2024

Friday, June 21, 6 pm – Why Waterlilies? Claude Monet and the Art of the Garden. A presentation by Ann Temkin, followed by a cocktail reception in a private garden

Saturday, June 22, 10 am to 4 pm – Four delightful private Cornwall gardens

2023

June 16 & 17, 2023

Friday, June 16, 6 pm – The History of Lawns: From Pasture to Plastic by Peter Del Tredici, followed by a cocktail reception in a private garden.

Saturday, June 17, 10 am to 4 pm – Four delightful private Cornwall gardens — three of them new to the tour.

2022

June 17 & 18, 2022

Friday, June 17, 6 pm – “Bringing Meadows into the Garden” by Page Dickey followed by a cocktail reception

Saturday, June 18, 10 am to 4 pm – Tour of 4 Cornwall Gardens

Four very special Cornwall gardens featuring a mix of formal and informal – one in town, one by the river, and two in bucolic country settings.

2021

June 18, 19 & 20, 2021

Zoom talk ~ George Schoellkopf – Hollister House Garden: 40 Years in the Making

George Schoellkopf will talk about the creation and evolution of his garden which surrounds an 18th-century house and barns in Washington, Connecticut and was purchased by him in 1978.

Tour of 4 Cornwall Gardens

John and Juliet Hubbard ~ Cornwall Village

Bart and Debby Jones ~ Cornwall Bridge

Roxana Laughlin ~ West Cornwall

Michael Trapp ~ West Cornwall

Hollister House Garden Self-guided Tour

2019

June 14 & 15, 2019

We are pleased to welcome acclaimed interior decorator and landscape designer Bunny Williams to discuss her newest book, Love Affairs with Houses, at the annual Books and Blooms kickoff lecture.

Tour of 4 country gardens

Page Dickey ~ Falls Village

Debby and Bart Jones ~ Cornwall Bridge

Roxana Robinson ~ West Cornwall

Bunny Williams ~ Falls Village

2018

June 8 & 9, 2018

40 Years of Gardening: Private and Public,” a talk by Lynden B. Miller, public garden designer in New York City who was trained as a painter and studied horticulture at The New York Botanical Garden before beginning her career.

Tour of 4 country gardens

Jane Garmey ~ North Cornwall
Juliet & John Hubbard ~ Cornwall
Lynden B. Miller ~ Sharon
Amelia Starr & Matthew Ziehl ~ Milton

2017

June 9 & 10, 2017

Kitchen Garden Design: The Art of Growing Food,” a talk by Ellen Ecker Ogden, food and garden writer and lecturer on farm-to-table cooking and kitchen garden design.

Tour of 5 local gardens: Mary Ellen & Andrea Geisser, Laurie & David Hodgson, Ridgway Farm, Betty Spence, Joanne Wojtusiak

2016

June 17 & 18, 2016

“Busy Landscape Architecturing:” Olana as Earthwork, a talk and film presented by Mark Prezorski, Landscape Curator, Thee Olana Partnership.

Self-guided tour of five beautiful Cornwall gardens: Tom Bechtle & Don Bachman; Juliet & John Hubbard; Debby & Barton Jones; Roxana Laughlin; Michael Trapp.

2015

June 19 & 20, 2015

“Some of My Favorite Gardens and Why,” a lecture & book signing by Page Dickey, acclaimed garden designer & author, at The Cornwall Library.

Tour six Cornwall gardens: Tom Bechtle & Don Bachman; Peter Del Tredici & Susan Klaw; Jane Garmey; John Green; Juliet & John Hubbard; Roxana Robinson.