Tim Street-Porter, Carolyne Roehm, Jane Garmey, and Bunny Williams were among the authors signing copies of their books.
A glorious outdoor marketplace is the centerpiece of Trade Secrets, the annual garden extravaganza started 10 years ago by designer Bunny Williams. On a recent May weekend, some 30 vendors offered rare plants, books and garden antiques to the delight of shoppers. Held on the grounds of picturesque LionRock Farm in Sharon, there was plenty of room for the tented outdoor booths, a café catered by The Farmer’s Wife, and poolside.
Vendors set up booths on the grass at LionRock Farm
Honorary Chairperson Bunny Williams signed her books, and then opened her unusual Falls Village property to visitors on the Garden Tours.
Braving the early-morning rain, visitors strolled through five gardens including Cobble Pond Farm, spaciously landscaped by the Olmsted brothers; the private garden of Lynden Miller, who designed Central Park’s Conservancy Garden; Old Farm Nursery, an old farmstead with the paddocks and cornfields transformed into outdoor rooms; and the historic Hodgson Garden.
Trade Secrets shoppers browsed for plants, antiques, books
Connecticut Cottages & Gardens was pleased to be this year’s media sponsor of the event, which raises funds for the non-profit Women’s Support Services. The agency is dedicated to creating a community free of domestic violence and abuse; it assists clients in need of shelter, court advocacy, transportation and other services.
Trade Secrets 2012 is already scheduled—so mark your calendars for May 19 and 20. For more information, visit www.tradesecretsct.com.
