A Garden in Greenwich, CT

Our first private commission, this garden has been a work in progress since 2001, beginning with the installation of a taxus urn. The client had designed this piece to act as a planter for annual flowers.

Over the years we have added a hunting dog flushing a pheasant, a cozy outdoor living room, with club chair of boxwood, and working floor lamp in weeping cherry.

A pair of peacocks of boxwood serve as a frame for colorful clematis, and a large resting elephant is the centerpiece for an exotic planting of palms and other tropical wonders. Complete with staircase and cushioned howda, this gold leafed adorned pachyderm is plumbed to spout water out of the upraised trunk!

A taxus cloud hedge and boxwood parterre

Two 80' taxus hedges have been being trained since 2002. Free-hand clipping has been coaxing cumulous clouds from large Hick's yews for 5 years now, and if you look closely, as in a lazy summer day, you can begin to sense the clouds turning into recognizable birds! Truly a flight of fantasy in a magical country garden.

This same garden also boasts a rigidly maintained boxwood parterre, lest you think it is all soft curves! We pride ourselves on the accuracy of our hand clipping.

Connecticut Children's Hospital, Hartford

Begun in 2002, commissioned by the Hartford Garden Club, this installation of 5 pieces of large scale taxus toy people and giraffe was designed to bring whimsey to the patients and guests of the hospital. The sculptures have been fitted with lights for dramatic night time effect.

Hyde Park, home of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Poughkeepsie NY

A pair of boxwood Scotty dogs in custom made planters were commissioned to flank the entrance to the visitor center, commemorating FDR's devoted Scotty, "Fala".

The London NYC, 151 West 54th Street, NYC

Collaborating with David Collins Studio of London, and Andrea Cochran Landscape Architects, San Francisco, Black Barn Farm was responsible for the external decoration of the hotel, including the fabrication of custom mahogany and stainless steel planters, clipped buxus cloud plantings, and traditional "cake stand" topiary of synthetic boxwood. Cloud tree topiary with spilling ivy and bougainvillea under-plantings are all created from artificial material out side the Gordon Ramsey restaurant.

The Grounds at Black Barn Farm

Our own garden was begun in 1997 after we finished restoring the 19th century Greek revival farmhouse. A formal alle of Donald Wyman crab apples leads to our pool garden, and then on to the topiary yard, where we add large varieties of taxus every year to grow out and shape. This is where we experiment with various cultivars and clipping techniques to expand our knowledge of the art form.

Frames

Welded steel frames which are used as forms for the creation of living sculpture known as topiary.