Gertrude Jekyll's gardens. A white chinoiserie gazebo
and small pagoda-like birdhouse are planted in their
midst, reminders of the human hands and minds that
tend these luscious arenas of plants and vegetables of
the kitchen garden.
On the estate is a diminutive one-story summer kitchen,
white frame, overgrown with old-fashioned climbing
roses. One has the impression that this small house has
been here always, that perhaps it preceded the grander
main residence. Its pitched and gabled roof is literally
carpeted in roses, an example of the Akridges' approach
to gardens: contained wildness.
The charm of Harleigh House's landscape is that it is
gently overgrown, tangled in places, a testament to
over three centuries of patient, devoted cultivation by
many hands. Its plants are its pedigree, a perpetual living
"patent" of its unique beauty, both tame and wild. H
Johnson Berman
Architectural and Interior Design
18 W Hamilton St,
Baltimore, MD 21201
Erik Kvalsvik
Photography
ek@erikkvalsvik.com
