Gardens

Take a walk around this eight acre garden in Connecticut – designed over a thirteen-year period

Planned to fit in with its surroundings, this exquisite garden was a labor of love for the landscape designers

InSitu garden Connecticut
(Image credit: Rob Cardillo Photography)

Often called one of the 'most significant gardens in Connecticut' – The InSitu Garden in Redding – integrates landscape structures, rich plantings and art to create a spiritually and emotionally inspiring garden. 

'The eight acres of InSitu are designed as a series of twelve-plus garden rooms that are harmonious with a spiritual quality that inspires the visitor to relax and form a deeper connection to the land,' notes designer at Land Morphology Richard Hartlage. Eight water features, an outdoor kitchen, recreational facilities, arbors, walls, portals, terraces, and walks provide a rich mix of experiences.   

The garden was designed over an impressive thirteen-year period. It truly was a labor of love for the designers and owners alike.  

Main living terrace

InSitu garden in Connecticut

(Image credit: Rob Cardillo Photography)

The main living terraces step down from the house to a large lawn designed for entertaining. Its contemplative and beautiful character provides formal entertaining space and respite from life in New York City. 

Features in the living spaces include a wisteria-covered rustic arbor, water feature made from locally sourced and milled white oak, and a dining terrace that is shaded by a 75-year-old copper beech tree. The outdoor kitchen and pizza oven are concealed behind a large-scale outdoor fire place. 

Water features

InSitu garden in Connecticut

Water features of varying scales are situated to add interest to the various garden rooms

(Image credit: Land Morphology)

InSitu garden in Connecticut

The pool garden surrounded with a circle of 3,000 black-eyed Susans

(Image credit: Rob Cardillo Photography)

InSitu garden in Connecticut

(Image credit: Land Morphology)

Eight water features act as focal points, helping to organize space and highlight a collection of figurative art that is placed throughout the landscape. 

Sunken garden

InSitu garden in Connecticut

Pump house framed by a lawn path and surrounded in black-eyed Susans

(Image credit: Rob Cardillo Photography)

InSitu garden in Connecticut

A wisteria-clad arbor provides a transition from the auto court and a focal point for the west end of the sunken garden

(Image credit: Rob Cardillo Photography)

A symmetrically-organized sunken garden with sentinels of upright beech trees under-planted with roses is visible from the auto court, house and living terraces. 

Pools and garden rooms

InSitu garden in Connecticut

A view of the swimming pool entry from the goldenrod meadow

(Image credit: Land Morphology)

InSitu garden in Connecticut

An aerial view of the swimming pool, across the meadow to the tent lawn, and beyond

(Image credit: Rob Cardillo Photography)

InSitu garden in Connecticut

White PeeGee hydrangeas form the entry into the swimming pool garden

(Image credit: Land Morphology)

InSitu garden in Connecticut

The sauna is nestled at the edge of the meadow

(Image credit: Rob Cardillo Photography)

The swimming pool and formal fountain garden are set in a picturesque landscape planted with meadows, woodland gardens, and lawns. Each garden room offers expansive vistas through the garden and to the distant hills.   

The house

InSitu garden in Connecticut

The view across the meadow to the main living terraces, which step down from the house

(Image credit: Rob Cardillo Photography)

The approach to the property is through a tree-lined lane into a red gravel-surfaced parking court with a central medallion of the cardinal points. 

InSitu garden in Connecticut

A view through the main meadow back to the house

(Image credit: Rob Cardillo Photography)

The garden highlights local craft, materials and details, emphasizing a sustainable approach to construction and ongoing maintenance. Stone – including site-collected material and blue stone quarried within 75 miles of the garden – is used for terraces and site walls. 

Garden path

InSitu garden in Connecticut

A sweeping grass path leads into the maple grove

(Image credit: Claire Takacs / Takacs Photography)

'Plantings are more than 75% native. We tried to capture the essence of the Connecticut landscape by using locally available materials and plants native to the northeast, this create a profound unity in the garden while creating a place that speaks to the unique beauty of the region,' says Richard Hartlage. 

An emphasis on native plants provides environmental resiliency and allows the garden to fit beautifully into the Connecticut countryside.   

  • See: Garden path ideas – create a beautiful walkway with the right materials, edging and plants

InSitu garden in Connecticut

(Image credit: Land Morphology)

Landscape Architect / Land Morphology 

General Contractor / Kuczo Tree and Lawn Care 

Stone / Pilato Brothers Stone 

Carpentry / Summit Remodeling 

Pools / Pinto Pools 

Electrics / Chestnut Electric 

Irrigation and Lighting / Summer Rain Irrigation and Lighting 

Trees / Rivendell Nursery 

Ornamental Grasses / Kurt Blumel 

Meadow Plants / North Creek Nursery

Perennials / Sunny Border

Photography / Rob Cardillo Photography / Claire Takacs – Takacs Photography / Land Morphology

Jennifer Ebert
Editor

Jennifer is the Digital Editor at Homes & Gardens. Having worked in the interiors industry for a number of years, spanning many publications, she now hones her digital prowess on the 'best interiors website' in the world. Multi-skilled, Jennifer has worked in PR and marketing, and the occasional dabble in the social media, commercial and e-commerce space. Over the years, she has written about every area of the home, from compiling design houses from some of the best interior designers in the world to sourcing celebrity homes, reviewing appliances and even the odd news story or two.