Lack Of Stormy Weather Led To

A Brilliant Homes & Gardens Tour

By Shannon Hicks

Thanks to weather that was better than expected and a collection of properties that featured gardens and homes of varying styles and construction eras, Newtown Historical Society’s 14th Annual House & Garden Tour was one for the record books.

Sunny skies and very light humidity on a day when morning showers had been predicted to give way to clearing conditions by early afternoon meant ticket holders were out early, and took their time exploring the nine properties that were open on Saturday, July 18. Kudos to this year’s tour committee (Ginnie Carey, Lincoln Sander, Mary Thomas, and Gordon Williams), who selected four homes, one from each century since the incorporation of Newtown in 1711. The homes ranged from the 1731 home and gardens of antiques dealer Tucker Frey and his family, a pre-Revolutionary War property considered to have been part of the first Newtown settlement, to Don and Lise Purdy’s circa 1968 home on Equestrian Ridge and The Dana-Holcombe House, a traditionally designed home that was built just five years ago and blends perfectly into its historic Main Street neighborhood.

The tour also included Katherine Williams’s circa 1802 home and surrounding property, complete with antique furniture Kathy brought with her from her native England when she moved to the United States with her family in the 1980s. Ms Williams bought the property at 3 Obtuse Road less than a year ago, and has used her decorator’s eye to add more charm and beauty to a home that was already appreciated when she found it.

The home features a modern kitchen with high ceilings and a center island. This modernized room — which, while updated, nevertheless maintains the home’s historic character and dignity — leads into the oldest part of the house, a living room with its original cooking fireplace, original woodwork and parson’s cupboard.

Terrace gardens can be accessed by walking from the formal sitting room and around the side of the house or from a breezeway that leads from the kitchen, attached garage, or driveway.

Four gardens had also been selected this year, including the pretty little one-acre garden at the home of Horticulture Club of Newtown president Dottie Evans and husband John.

One garden is filled with vegetables and perennials carefully selected to encourage birds, butterflies and other wildlife.

“It’s all my wife’s work,” John admitted by mid-afternoon. Dottie had gone off to check on the other properties on the tour, leaving John to welcome guests and keep an eye on Molly and Mavis, the couple’s two Springer spaniels. “I can’t answer any technical questions,” he said.

The couple have tended the gardens since 2002, when they moved onto Reservoir Road. In addition to the fenced-in back garden, there is a pair of front gardens with artificial ponds, surrounded by red coneflowers, bee balm, and native milkweed. A recently planted “rain garden,” which features a dry well surrounded by red twig dogwoods and other shrubs designed to absorb water in a low area, is also part of the Evans collection.

Mary Stambaugh’s garden, which the owner describes as “an acre or so of scalped, brown lawn, two clipped yews and five hoses” when she purchased the property, has since been transformed in 26 acres of rock, formal and woodland gardens and meadowland, was the third garden open on Saturday.

“It’s very unique,” Gordon Williams, one of the tour committee members, said of the property featured in the October–November 2008 issue of Horticulture magazine. “Where grass would be, there’s moss. So many different shrubs and trees too. It’s a very interesting place to just wander.”

Justamere Farm was on also the tour. The landscape architect David Davis established much of the property’s tree lines and layouts while he owned the property. Marcia and Jim Morley picked up what Mr Davis started when they bought the 1830 home (itself an outstanding example of Greek Revival architecture) in 1978 and have continued to improve it since then.

Jim Morley was home on Saturday, welcoming those who were curious to see the gardens that cannot normally be seen beyond the property’s slight incline and the picket fence that divides the front lawn from the busy Huntingtown Road just a few feet away. Guests were rewarded with the sight of a handful of manicured areas which lead to large meadows on the west side of the property, and a recently added lily pool in the center of one such garden “room.”

Granite from a former Quincy, Mass., courthouse was used to create the pool, an old English sundial sits among perennials in another area, and a trellis with a bench and well-established ivy lead to an iron gate that opens to the meadows that all punctuate the careful additions to the property.

Ena Higgins and Arline Shanley were two of the volunteers who welcomed ticket holders to this property. They had a shaded spot to the south corner of the house in which to relax and answer questions, and were also among those enjoying Saturday’s weather. Volunteers were stationed at each home and garden on the tour, offering background information and answering questions. Most homeowners were also involved in this year’s tour, where in years past the information had been gleaned solely from the docents.

Nearby, October Hill, the 48-acre property that is home to Dr Humberto and Gretchen Bauta, was the final garden receiving visitors last weekend.

In addition to the tour committee, Newtown artist Ruth Newquist handled the task of selecting the artists included within the historic barn at 50 Main Street. Part of the property owned by Shane and George Miller, the circa 1929 barn’s main floor has undergone substantial renovations in recent years. It is a comfortable gathering place.

For Saturday’s tour, oils paintings, watercolors, pastels, photographs and gouache on watercolor paper works were hung within the seating area and former stalls. Mrs Newquist had a pair of works displayed, as did fellow Newtown artists Betty Christensen, Bruce Degen, Frank Gardner, Ross MacDonald, Grace McEnaney, Dick McEvoy, Linda Pickwick, Lisa Willvonseder-Greto, and Virginia Zic.

Outside the barn, George Miller’s continually expanding gardens welcomed visitors. Mr Miller began building small gardens behind the barn in 2002, and has expanded the project annually with ponds, trails, trellises, birdhouses, and plants that capture his fancy. Additionally, George has turned the barn’s lower level into a potting shed that doubles as a winter nursery for some of the plants that would be vulnerable to outdoor winter conditions. All of these areas were open for exploration last weekend.

Ticket sales for the annual home and garden tour benefit Newtown Historical Society. They are used to maintain the society’s headquarters at 44 Main Street (The Matthew Curtiss House) and also to underwrite the educational programs presented year-round.

“The tour went very well this year,” Gordon Williams reported this week. “The day was beautiful and ticket sales were very good.”

Historical society members, additional volunteers, and the homeowners all gathered at the Miller Barn late Saturday afternoon to celebrate the conclusion of the 2009 tour, but Mr Williams said that planning has already begun for 2010.

“We already have a few names and properties to look into.”

For many additional photos from the homes and gardens tour visit The Bee’s page on Facebook and view the album for the week of July 17–23, 2009.