Garden Secrets of Bunny Mellon

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About Garden Secrets Of Bunny Mellon

Product Description A treasure trove of Bunny Mellon’s garden design philosophy and advice from her personal archive. Garden Secrets of Bunny Mellon is for anyone who has enjoyed time spent in a garden, from aspiring garden makers to those who manage large estates. This collection is comprised of extracts from Bunny’s own writings and garden notes, as well as photographs and drawings from her archive. Chapters are organized by Atmosphere (sky, horizon, shadows), Climate, Light, Space, Shape, Maintenance, and more―readers will feel as if Bunny Mellon has come alongside as a gardening guide and friend. Bunny Mellon was of the affluent class and mingled along with her husband, Paul Mellon, in the circles of the East Coast gentry of the Kennedy and Reagan eras. But Mrs. Mellon, as she was respectfully called by those professional gardeners who worked with her most, wasn’t snooty about social position or afraid to get her hands dirty in the rich soil of her family’s Virginia farm. Beyond this, Bunny Mellon was known nationally and internationally as a style icon of her time, enjoying friendships with Givenchy, the Kennedys, and the like. Her personal passion was for design, and that was exhibited in her fashion and her garden. A late acquaintance, Linda Holden learned that Bunny wanted to write a gardening book but never found the time. Searching the family’s archive after Mrs. Mellon’s death, the editors―whom all shared personal relationships with Bunny―discovered a trove of photographs, illustrations, and writings and have now turned it into the how-to gardening book Bunny had hoped to write. Review Previously unpublished photographs and journal musings from the archive of gardening designer Rachel “Bunny” Lambert Mellon (1910–2014) are beautifully paired in this collaboration between writer Holden ( The Gardens of Bunny Mellon), designer Huffman, and Mellon’s grandson Lloyd. A quote from one of her famous clients testifies to her pragmatic methodology—former first lady Lady Bird Johnson, admiring Mellon’s design of the White House’s Kennedy Rose Gardens, described her as having a “working-at-it kind of knowledge” of her craft. Celebrating Mellon’s life and legacy, this intimate rendering evokes nostalgia and adds nuance and depth to the public portrait of a late, great gardener. ― Publishers Weekly Published On: 2020-07-20 “This fall, garden lovers and admirers of socialite, philanthropist, horticulturalist, and style icon Bunny Mellon will get a more personal look than ever before at the multihyphenate's talent for gardens. The book details some of Mellon's most famous works (including, yes, the White House rose garden) but also delves into her personal life, sharing stories, notes, and advice that she jotted down in her many notebooks. ” -- Hadley Keller ― House Beautiful Published On: 2020-09-02 “The book provides entree into this marvelous life of a 20th-century tastemaker … The secrets promised in the title do not disappoint. There is much to be found here for gardeners of all levels. Tips flourish at every turn of the page, where a generous offering of colorful and previously unpublished photographs highlight important aspects of Bunny’s nuanced instructions.” -- Beth Py-Lieberman ― Washington Gardener Magazine Published On: 2020-09-01 “With color photos and rich, descriptive text, the book is both a how-to resource for gardeners of all levels and a celebration of a woman who stepped onto the world stage because she was asked to help her friend, President John F. Kennedy.” -- Kevin ― Nitty Gritty Dirt Man Published On: 2020-09-22 “The resulting book is a combination of personal anecdotes and valuable advice, much of it just as relevant now as in Mellon's time—and just as applicable if you're working with a modest plot or a grand formal garden.” -- Mary Elizabeth Andriotis ― House Beautiful Published On: 2020-10-20 “My home focus has shifted from renovations (thankfully) to garden design and