A philosophy of “gardening large” instills a sense of personality and place

excerpts from an article
by Carleen Madigan Perkins

“Duncan and Julia Brine’s six-acre garden in Pawling, New York, is one of those hidden treasures. …

It is the embodiment of Duncan’s philosophy of ‘gardening large.’ This concept doesn’t necessarily relate to size; it’s the idea that an entire property, be it two acres or twenty, should be seen and treated as one garden, as a series of interconnected spaces that reflect both the personal style of the creator and the history of the place…

The landscape is encouraged to be itself and, while assuming an identity, it still connects with its surroundings….

© Julia Brine

Part of the wonder of the Brine garden is the journey it takes you on. Duncan wants to surprise you, to make you feel lost, so that you can look up, find yourself surrounded by sophisticated plantings, and wonder if they were planted by human hands or if they made their own way to that spot…

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Careful planning achieves, ironically, the natural look…

‘Only by moving through space does one truly discover the garden.’ he says…

…his first choice is to plant natives and more specifically, indigenous plants – those that are not just native to the United States but to his county. Providing habitat for wildlife is key to creating a large naturalistic garden that truly reflects the locality of where it’s planted…

‘The challenge of a large property is to detail it expressly for its location and to make it whole, no matter how disparate its parts.’

Design for the whole property at once. Include a network of paths to access every corner of the property, even if you’re not prepared to start planting all at once. For a more natural look, eliminate lines and hard edges. Obscure edges by allowing a variety of mixed plantings to grow up around them Avoid lining up evergreens on the edge of your property; plant evergreen screening strategically, only where it is needed. Only take over as much new ground as you can reasonably manage. This includes strategically eliminating invasive plants by starting with less-effected areas first and working slowly to more effected areas. Mass large-leaved perennials and shrubs as groundcover to establish an identity for the landscape and to set up easier care. Even on a small property set aside a nursery area to accommodate impulse purchases and other plants whose place in the larger garden is not yet ready.” –CMP

The Brine garden strikes a delicate balance between large scale and intimate detail. Mature trees and shrubs sometimes act as a backdrop for perennials and grasses to be seen up close, or as a unifying element throughout the landscape…

To artfully pair woodies and perennials in a large landscape, Duncan often chooses large-leaved or large-scale perennials…

Part of Duncan’s goal in leading you through the garden is to surprise you with what lies around the next corner, to enhance the drama evoked in each garden space by juxtaposing them in sequence, while also responding to changes in the topography of the land. The logo for the Brines’ business, Horticultural Design, Inc., is a labyrinth, a meditative maze of shrubbery that forces seekers to slow their pace, appreciate their surroundings, and anticipate the next turn in the path. So it is in the Brine garden.”

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A Purposeful Confusion

In Duncan Brine’s big, beautiful garden,
it’s hard to tell the difference between
nature and nurture.

by Lynn Hazlewood

When Duncan Brine talks about his garden in Pawling, Dutchess County, he often uses the words “mystery,” “surprise” and “drama.” And if you stroll around the grounds that he has cultivated over the past 17 years, it’s clear that it was those notions, rather than the usual horticultural esthetics, that were the driving force behind its design. The place is by turns mysterious and surprising, with a dash of drama for good measure.Brine, who grew up in Rye in Westchester and on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, began his career in the theater, intending to be a director. A stint in Los Angeles doing film production work was “a pause along the way,” he says. What turned out to be the prelude to a much more lasting pause came in the early 80s, when Brine met Julia, a botanical artist who is now his wife.

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Julia lived in a floor-through Brooklyn apartment with a little patch of ground behind it.

“It was a semi-junkyard back there,” Brine remembers. He decided to transform the junkyard into a garden in order to film it – and that first encounter with horticulture evolved into his life’s work as a landscape designer.

“I sifted the soil, needlessly,” Brine says, recalling his first efforts. “What did I know? I followed my instincts. I planted a lot of things by seed, something I don’t bother to do now. One of the predominant plants was the amaranth, Love-lies-bleeding.” (That variety of

amaranth – a five-foot-tall, old-fashioned annual with melodramatic foot-long drooping red tassels for blooms – was a hint at Brine’s taste for offbeat plants that make a big statement.) “It was a very sensual, atmospheric place,” he continues. “We called it Red Gardens because of all the red brick surrounding us. It was next to an auto body shop, so it was a pretty idyllic setup,” he jokes.

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Friends who admired the little garden asked Brine to design city and rooftop gardens for them, too. By 1984, he had a new career as a landscape designer. He and Julia launched Horticultural Designs and city projects soon gave way to suburban and then rural ones.

Brine’s exuberant design style is hard to pin down. He admits to loving the Japanese aesthetic, but after designing just one Japanese garden, he “cut his ties,” he says. “I’m an American, I have to have an American look. In the early days here in Pawling, I had Japanese ornaments, but they’re now hidden away. Granite lanterns, birdbaths – goodbye. You’ve gotta be strict about this sort of thing. I don’t want to be identified with anything other than nature.”

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Duncan Brine – principal designer
Nursery

© John Lei, 2007

In the Garden

“a dreamlike landscape”

Vistas and Close-ups, Staged by a Filmmaker
Duncan Brine is a Landscape Designer with a Filmmaker’s Eye

IT had been raining all day, so mist covered the trees and shrubs as we set out for a walk through Duncan and Julia Brine’s six-acre garden, a dreamlike landscape that takes its cues from the old shade trees and fence posts remaining from the farm that was once here, as well as the native plants, like black locust and joe-pye weed, that populate the hills and spring-fed marsh.

The land is part of the old Sheffield Farm, which supplied 50,000 bottles of milk a day to New York City in the 1920s and 1930s (according to the enlargement of a vintage postcard in a little restaurant in town), and the Brines have made their home and office here, in two 1920s farmhouses at the apex of the property.

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It takes exactly 27 steps for the Brines to commute from the renovated farmhouse they live in to the one where they run their business, Horticultural Design Inc., across a gravelly courtyard filled with exotic plants.

“It’s all Asian, except for the elderberry,” Mr. Brine said, as I stood nose to nose with an enormous cryptomeria, or Japanese cedar, outside the office door. “The idea was to have more exotic things close to the house, and in a deer-protected area.”

The space is fenced with a combination of coarse oak planks and locust posts, as well as an occasional Japanese umbrella pine, which the deer do not eat (here, anyway).

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Mr. Brine has broken every rule in the book by planting the cryptomeria right in front of the door. But this magnificent evergreen – a Yoshino, at least 15 feet tall and 6 feet wide – did not block my way. It was riveting, like an unbelievably handsome man, and caught me off guard. I forgot all my preconceived ideas about how to navigate this garden and simply started looking around.

There were callicarpas full of pale lavender berries, which would turn purple in the fall; viburnums and shrub dogwoods; and lacy elderberries juxtaposed against dense evergreens or the large, floppy leaves of an oakleaf hydrangea. There were specimen trees, like an English oak and sweet gum, both with variegated leaves, and mounding shrubs, like stephanandra, whose bright green, deeply incised leaves cascaded over black sedge grass.

“It’s stuffed with stuff,” Mr. Brine said, grinning at what he calls “an intentional arsenal of plants,” all knitted together, hiding the walls of the house we had just left. Otherwise “we’d have this building looming over us,” he said. “But as soon as you’re out the door, you’re in ga-ga land.”

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“Every time I talk to a savant I feel quite sure that happiness is no longer a possibility. Yet when I talk with my gardener, I’m convinced of the opposite.”

–Bertrand Russell, philosopher, mathematician, and author (1872-1970)

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Schedule Duncan to speak to your group.

“When Duncan Brine talks about his garden in Pawling, Dutchess County, he often uses the words “mystery,” “surprise” and “drama.” And if you stroll around the grounds that he has cultivated over the past many years, it’s clear that it was those notions, rather than the usual horticultural aesthetics, that were the driving force behind its design. The place is by turns mysterious and surprising, with a dash of drama for good measure.”

– Hudson Valley Magazine, Best of the HudsonValley, Lynn Hazlewood

Recent Talks and Seminars:

The New York Botanical Garden Seminar

The Berkshire Botanical Garden

Connecticut Horticultural Society

The New England Wildflower Society Seminar

Garden Inspiration: Spring Talks at The Otesaga Resort
in Cooperstown, NY

The St. Louis, Missouri, Garden Club of America

The Hardy Plant Society of New England, Connecticut Chapter

Putnam County Master Gardeners, Spring Gardening School

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Horticultural Design, Inc.
21 Bluebird Inn Road
Pawling, NY 12564

Phone: 845-855-9023
Fax: 845-855-3756
Email: info@gardenlarge.com

GARDEN LARGE presents the related stories of Horticultural Design, Inc., Duncan Brine,and the Brine Garden. Selections from several favorite articles written about us form the backbone of the site.

We’re here to share our garden world and to entice you to visit the Brine Garden and engage the landscape design services of Horticultural Design,Inc.

We hope that GARDEN LARGE will bring you together with like-minded garden people.

info@gardenlarge.com
Duncan and Julia Brine
Pawling, NY

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Naturalistic Landscape Design and Installation Since 1984

Specializing in native plants and whole property residential gardens
New York to Boston

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[contact-form]Horticultural Design, Inc.
Naturalistic Landscape Design since 1984
21 Bluebird Inn Road
Pawling, NY 12564

Phone: 845-855-9023

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Pawling, NY

Cafe Baklajava 845-855-1325
10 East Main St.
Coffee, bakery and sandwiches.

Forrest Sidestreet Cafe 845 878-6571
It’s just off the west side of Rt.22 (and just over the border and in Patterson,NY).
Out of a truck, this friendly couple has been serving hamburgers, hot dogs and a surprisingly long list of other tasty items to an ever increasing group of local appreciators. Long lunch hours only.

Mama Pizza II 845-855-9270
46 Charles Colman Blvd.

McKinney and Doyle Fine Foods Cafe and Corner Bakery 845-855-3875
10 Charles Colman Blvd.
A popular favorite. http://www.mckinneyanddoyle.com/index2.ivnu

Pawling Tavern: 845-855-9141
42Charles Colman Blvd.
Burgers, Fries and more.

Wingdale, NY

Big W’s Roadside BBQ 845-832-6200
2 miles north on RT. 22
Warren and his smoked meats are legends. http://www.bigwsbbq.com

Brewster, NY

Jaipore 845-277-3549 Rt. 22
Lunch time buffets. http://www.fineindiandining.com/jaipore.htm

Danbury, CT

If you’re prepared for a rewarding diversion, experiment with the myriad ethnic restaurant choices available over the state line . Lively and authentic Brazilian, Peruvian and Mexican spots dot this city which was formerly devoted to making hats.

by Car

From the South (Westchester County, New York City):Take Route I-684 North ALL THE WAY TO THE END. Route I-684 becomes Route 22. Continue north on Route 22 for about 25 minutes. From the intersection of Routes 55 and 22 in Pawling continue north on 22 approximately 3 miles (passing Trinity Pawling High School and gazebos on right.) Turn right onto Route 68 (North Quaker Hill Road).  Bear left at the first intersection onto Hurd’s Corner Road. Go 1/2 mile. Park on right-hand side of Hurd’s Corner Road across from Bluebird Inn Road (on the left). Walk in on Bluebird Inn Road to the last house on left.
From the North (Northern Dutchess County, Columbia County):
Take Route 22 south. At the intersection with Route 55 in Wingdale continue south on Route 22 about 4 miles. Turn left on Route 68, (North Quaker Hill Road). Bear left at the first intersection onto Hurd’s Corner Road. Go 1/2 mile. Park on right-hand side of Hurd’s Corner Road across from Bluebird Inn Road (on the left). Walk in on Bluebird Inn Road to the last house on left.From Northeastern Connecticut:
From Route 7 in Gaylordsville, CT, go west on Route 55 towards NY. At the T intersection turn left and continue to Route 22. Turn left (south) on Route 22 and go 4 miles. Turn left on Route 68, (North Quaker Hill Road).  Bear left at the first intersection onto Hurd’s Corner Road. Go 1/2 mile. Park on right-hand side of Hurd’s Corner Road across from Bluebird Inn Road (on the left). Walk in on Bluebird Inn Road to the last house on left.

by Train:

There is a Metro North/Harlem Line train
from Grand Central Station to Pawling.

Go to MTA Metro-North Railroad

Or call 1-800-METRO-INFO for schedule information.

Taxi service is available at the Pawling Train Station: (845) 855-9800

FERNS
Athyrium angustum forma rubellum ‘Lady in Red’ Northern Lady Fern
Athyrium filix-femina ‘Victoriae’ European Lady Fern
Athyrium x ‘Ghost’ Ghost Painted Fern

GRASSES
Carex muskingumensis ‘Ice Fountain’
*Carex muskingumensis ‘Little Midge’ Miniature Palm Sedge
*Carex muskingumensis ‘Oheme’

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*Carex nigra Black Sedge Grass
Carex siderostricta ‘Variegata’
Chasmanthium latifolium Northern Sea Oats
**Deschampsia cespitosa Tufted Hair Grass
Helictotrichon sempervirens
Luzula nivea Wood Rush
Miscanthus giganteus Giant Chinese Silver Grass
Molinia caerulea arundinacea ‘Transparent’ Purple Moor Grass
Festuca longifolia and rubra No Mow Grass, Loft’s Ecology Mix
*Panicum virgatum Switch Grass
Panicum virgatum ‘Rehbraun’

PERENNIALS
Actaea japonica ‘Virginianum Acerina’
Actaea racemosa Bugbane
Agastache x ‘Black Adder’
**Asarum canadense American Ginger
Asarum europaeum Ginger
**Aster umbellatus
Brunnera macrophylla Siberian Bugloss

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Brunnera macrophylla ‘Jack Frost’ Variegated Siberian Bugloss
Cephalaria gigantea
Ceratostigma plumbaginoides Plumbago
*Chrysopsis mariana ‘Golden Sunshine’ Golden Aster
Clematis heracleifolia var. davidiana
Clematis recta
*Coreopsis tripteris Thread-Leaf Tickseed
*Diphylleia cymosa Umbrella Leaf
Echinops ritro Globe Thistle
Epimedium alpinum ‘Rubrum’ Barrenwort
*Eupatorium fistulosum ‘Gateway’ Joe Pye Weed
*Eupatorium perfoliatum Boneset
*Eupatorium rugosum ‘Chocolate’
Geranium ‘Rozanne’
Geranium macrorrhizum ‘Bevans Variety’ Cranesbill
Geranium phaeum Mourning Widow
Geranium sanguineum ‘Max Frei’ seedling
Geranium x cantabrigiense ‘Biokovo’
Helleborus hybridus Lenten Rose
*Hydrastis canadensis Golden Seal

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Kalimeris integrifolia Beauty Aster
Kalimeris yomena ‘Aurea’ Variegated Beauty Aster
Kirengeshoma palmata
Ligularia dentata ‘Desdemona’ seedling
Ligularia stenocephala ‘The Rocket’
Macleaya cordata Plume Poppy
Mazus reptans
Nepeta sibirica ‘Souvenir d’Andre Chaudron’ Catnip
Nepeta x faasenii ‘Six Hills Giant’
*Opuntia humifusa Prickly Pear Cactus
*Penstemon hirsutus ‘Pygmaeus’ Beardstongue
Perovskia atriplicifolia Russian Sage
Phlomis russeliana Jerusalem Sage
Polygonatum odoratum ‘Variegatum’ Solomon’s Seal
Pulmonaria longifolia ‘Roy Davidson’ Lungwort
Salvia x nemorosa superba ‘East Friesland’
*Sanguisorba canadensis Canada Burnet
Sanguisorba tenuifolia ‘Atropurpurea’ Burnet
Saruma henryi
*Silphium perfoliatum Indian Cup

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Stachys byzantina ‘Helene von Stein’ Lamb’s Ear
Thymus praecox ‘Evergold’ Golden Thyme
Tricyrtis hirta ‘Miyazaki’ Toad Lily
Tricyrtis latifolia
*Vernonia crinita Ironweed

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**Vernonia noveboracensis New York Ironweed
Veronica incana Woolly Speedwell
**Veronicastrum virginicum ‘Album’ Culver’s Root
**Veronicastrum virginicum ‘Fascination’

________________________________________________________________
KEY
*U. S. Native
**Dutchess County Native (Indigenous)
This is a report from Horticultural Design, Inc.’s Plant and Image Database.

Sources include:
Magee and Ahles (1999) Flora of the Northeast, A Manual of the Vascular Flora of New England and New York, University of Massachusetts Press, Amherst.

USDA NRCS (2007) U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service, http://plants.usda.gov