"Sharing the mystery and the history of the garden surrounding his lovely home in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, host Gordon Hyatt escorts viewers on a tour of his garden as well as other stunning gardens in the Berkshire region. Hyatt tours gardens designed by Frederick Law Olmsted (Wheatleigh) and Fletcher Steele (Naumkeag) as well as the sumptuous estate gardens of author Edith Wharton (The Mount) and sculptor Daniel Chester French (Chesterwood). A trip to the Berkshire Botanical Garden is also included. The host walks, bicycles, and rides in vintage card or horse-drawn carriages as he travels between gardens, showing off such features as panoramic gateway entrances and spectacular views. Hyatt is well informed about the trees, shrubs, perennials, annuals, vegetables, herbs, and other plants that thrive in this climatic zone. Background music, poetry selections, historic photographs, and brief reenactments accent interviews with biographers, ecologists, landscape historians, and head gardeners. Nine gardening seasons devised by Swedish botanist Carolus Linnaeus, provide structure and help gardeners see the seasonal evolution of plants, ponds, and garden ornaments. The glorious footage is sure to mesmerize home gardeners and entice viewers to visit this area of lush estate gardens."
-Nancy McCray - Booklist
"Editor’s Choice 2006"
-Booklist
SummaryGreat Berkshire Gardens chronicles the nine seasons of the gardening year–from snowy winter through midsummer to the blazing colors of fall.
The work of some of America’s most famous gardeners and designers--including Frederick Law Olmsted, designer of Central Park and Edith Wharton, novelist--is seen in famed Berkshire sites including Chesterwood, The Mount, Naumkeag, Wheatleigh, The Mission House and the Berkshire Botanical Garden.
Guests include gardeners, historians, writers, and conservationists – each of whom brings new understanding and enjoyment to some of the most beautiful estate gardens and landscapes in America.
