English Garden Dreams

Travel through the English countryside and strolls through English gardens and homes are two of my favorite things to do in the world.  While finding the time and resources to do these can be tricky, Virginia's Hunt Country offers easy access in the form of a perfect day trip. 

The Mellon Estate, Oak Spring, in Upperville, Va, set amongst rolling hills and hedgrow-ed, unmarked byways, nestles into a natural landscape that Capability Brown would have envied.  Twice a year the private garden, greenhouse, and a small portion of the house are opened to the public.  I've tried many times to get a ticket, but they sell out so fast it's almost impossible.  Yet hope spring eternal, and this June, Katherine (my daughter) and I made it!  And I think you should try, too.  The Spring tour sells out ridiculously fast, but this summer one is worth the wait.   

Firstly, driving to Oak Spring is very much like a drive through the English countryside.  This landscape, filled with sprawling horse farms, is a culture and lifestyle all its own.  The roads are discreet.  The fences are mostly stacked stone.  And the entrances to these estates are quietly exclusive.  The name of the estate may be printed on a small signpost.  The entrace may be gated.  A few may have lions and pillasters to announce them, but for the most part, the culture here is quiet and content to stay that way.  

Upon entering the Mellon estate, you'll be greeted by staff that, in some cases, date back to the days when Bunny lived here (she died in 2014).  Their love of the property and sharing it with others is contageous. 

WARNING:  Parking is exclusively in fields.  And it was pouring the day we were there.  We had no problem in our low-slung car, but I wish I'd driven our 4WD.

The tour begins at the stables, which have been fitted out as guest rooms for attendees to their many conferences and training programs.   Overhead, amongst the rafters of the encircling logia, are the names of the many racehorses bred there.

Follow the path from the stables toward the gallery (which houses rotating collections ranging from botantical prints to remembrances of the Kennedys) and gift shop (we stopped in for umbrellas - yes, we were completely unprepared for the weather!).  

And from there it's an easy stroll, through the fields, to the Main House. 

En route we noticed a sign showcasing the original Mellon home on the property, known as The Brick House.   The Brick House was an impressive, yet stiff and predictable, Palladian style - nothing like the sense of rambling history, at one with its surroundings, like what Bunny ultimately created.

THE PATIO & ENTRY:

I loved the seemingly careless way plants and herbs grow up through the chinks in the stone and brickwork.  It honestly made me feel much better about my own patios!

We didn't get a tour of the house, but we entered the garden through the side entrance, which led to a perfectly proportioned, brick-floored foyer.  The graciousness and comfort of this home, as expansive and costly as it is, makes it surprising livable.  

Baskets and cut flowers were everywhere. Looking through the mirror behind this bouquet, you get a sense of the proportions of the foyer. 

This photo doesn't do it justice, but there were two corridors leading off the foyer.  This one leads to a children's wing.  We were not allowed to leave the bricked floor, but could see down these hallways.  The other corridor leads to the formal rooms of the house, including a swooping-staircased front hall, with the dining room beyond.  I was too intimidated to take pictures of that - the docent at that entry was Bunny's former butler, still in residence here.  He was gracious and charming, but it just felt too intrusive to take a picture over his shoulder...

THE WALLED GARDEN:

I loved this creamy treatment of the doors with the white trim.  The combination balances with and mimics the tones of the stone beautifully.   The unruly plantings add to the sense of all of this happening naturally.

The above seating area is to the right as you enter the garden.  And then this walkway to your left:

The color of these lights is the same as the color on the garden furniture, creating a cohesive palette.  

Just look at this secreted door at the end of the left-side walkway, and the combination of flagstone and brick.  The effect is that of a garden that has been here for ages, and evolved over time.   The triangular pull on this door is the same on all the doors cut into the walls of this intimate garden. 

A guest house is built into the walls on this left side.  We could only peek through the windows; but don't the rooms look welcoming?  And again the painted wood floors.  You may have noticed them in the photo of the children's wing, and thought they were a nod to the playroom.  Not so.  These meticulously painted surfaces are throughout the house's first floor and serve to give it a light, unpretentious air.

Next along the left wall is this bright, happy octogonal structure.  I assumed it was the swimming pool and its house.  Not so.  This pool, with its walkway transcepting it, is only about a foot deep.  Traditionally, if you have a water feature, as opposed to a swimming pool, you would paint it black, or nearly so, to be as natural looking and reflective as possible.  Described to me, I would have thought this pool's color garish.  But as you can see, it's anything but.  And its color does truly add to the sense of depth.  What do you think of the hue?

And the little octogon is one large room, set up for a party, and containing a little wood-burner stove to take the edge off the chill in colder months.

After this space, the garden wall takes a turn, where you find a door to what appears to be a gardener's office, and this fairytale stairway going up its side:

 

I think Bunny must have read, and loved, The Secret Garden and Beatrix Potter when she was a girl.  Everything about this garden evokes some aspect of one or the other. 

At this point you're at the bottom of the walled portion of the garden.  And you can look back to this view through the middle of the garden:

See what I mean?  Wouldn't Peter Rabbit be delighted in this garden?

Continuing along the back wall, you find a joyous collection of native plants, herbs, and perrenials spilling onto the walkway.  

Strolling through the middle of the garden to the opposite side of the wall, we noticed this seemingly aged building.  With its tiny upper windows and Dutch door, the architecture points to a very old structure.  But it, like everything else in the garden, dates to the mid-twentieth century.

Small water features and fountains are scattered throughout the garden, giving it a lively sound and the feel of having been created on the banks of a stream.

More 'moments' in the walled portion of the garden:

The above is a short, espaliered apple tree, trained as a low fence row, along a path through the garden.

Every surface in the garden is an opportunity to grow and come alive.

And then we exit the walled portion of the garden:

THE ALLÉ & GREENHOUSE:

The structure of these trained crabapple trees and pathway contrast gently with the sprawl of the border at its base.  The structure at the end of this walkway is the greenhouse, with it's iconic, trompe-l'oeil workroom at its center.

This famous space boasts a brick floor and is lined with very practical cupboards.  The extraordinary thing about this room is that the cupboards are painted to appear to be open, displaying their contents.  But this is all a trick of the eye (trompe l'oeil in French), as is the bamboo detailing on the walls and doors.  The items depicted are all special to Bunny, including this little poem, seemingly tacked onto the wall:

Here's the main workspace, opened up so that you can see what's behind the faux-painted doors.  Can you tell what inside this workspace is real, and what's a trick of the eye?

It's all real, except the botanical print is painted on the wall to appear tacked up, just like the Fox and the Rabbit poem in the previous picture.

To either side of this dreamy workspace, the greenhouse unfolds.  While it does contain of few of the usual suspects - citrus trees, orchids, palms - the focus of these greenhouses is Bunny's collection of myrtle topiaries.  If you know me, you know I'm a HUGE fan of them, too.  I find it quirky and idiosycratic that her gardens are sprawlingly unruly, and yet her greenhouse is almost entirely dedicated to the very orderly, snipped, and structured topiaries she is famous for.

From the greenhouse, we meander out of the garden, toward Bunny's botanical library, built in the 1980s.

As you exit the allé, looking over your shoulder reveals the back of the garden wall.  You might remember this sweet little cottage, and its fairy-tale stairway from inside the walls.  

THE LIBRARY:

While the rest of the estate has a decidedly English attitude, this structure harkens to Mediterranean visions.  While Katherine found this divergence off-putting, I found the contrast interesting and unexpected - much like the contrast between the topiaries and the flowing garden beds.

From the library, the tour works its way back to the gallery and gift shop and its end. 

Even in the rain, this garden is worth touring if you can score a ticket.

MAKE A DAY OF IT:

Katherine and I wound our way into Upperville after the tour, to have lunch at the Hunter's Head Tavern - a very English vibe with delicious, locally-sourced fare.   I highly recommend reservations if you're going on an Oak Spring tour day.  While in Upperville, drop in at Trinity Episcopal church.  Its design is based on 12th century French churches, and was constructed by hand using medieval methods, all with the vision and financing of Paul and Bunny Mellon.  The graveyard alone is worth the visit. 

Heading home, we traveled via Millwood, Virginia.  If you've never been, go.  It's tiny.  But includes a restored, and working, 18th century mill.  Of course we bought some of their flour.  And across the street is a delightful deli/coffee shop/local grocer and an adorable restaurant, The Buttery.   There are events at the mill throughout the year.  The first time we went, there was local artists show set up throughout the mill.   You'll love it.

I hope you enjoyed touring with us.  Check out these sites for more information about all the places we visited:

Oak Spring Garden Foundation - official website of the Paul & Bunny Mellon estate in Upperville, Virginia

Hunter's Head Tavern - delicious, charming, cozy, great food and service

Trinity Episcopal Church - beautifully designed and handcrafted church, hall, and rectory, funded by Paul and Bunny Mellon

Federal & Black - though we didn't make it to Middleburg this trip, it's just a 15 minute drive from Upperville along Rt 50.  Federal & Black is a must-see shop there.  Also check out the bookstore right down the street, as well as shops and eateries along the main street.

Burwell-Morgan Mill - 18th century working mill

Locke Store & The Buttery - local deli, grocer, and wine store.  A one-stop-shop for all things charcuterie and picnic.  The Buttery is their restaurant next door.  The patio dining looks divine.

Thanks for reading!

Virginia