Newport -- Bellevue House

The Colonial Revival Newport cottage was designed by architect Ogden Codman Jr. for his niece Martha circa 1910 with gardens designed by Achille Duchêne. The 3.7-acre property is enclosed in brick walls, with historic specimen trees that predate the mansion; it is a certified Level 1 arboretum with more than 50 cultivars. There are 12 garden rooms, several follies, more than 60 monkey-themed artifacts, and numerous references to Pomona, the goddess of the orchard and abundance as well as Pomona College, the owner's alma mater. The owner describes his gardens as the narrative of himself and his family with spaces for history, celebration, storytelling and reflection. Garden rooms with water features include the American renaissance water garden with layered borders on either side of a rill, an Oriental water garden with a red Chinese Chippendale style footbridge modeled after the design of Englishman James Paine, an Arts and Crafts garden and south pool with a lotus fountain and other stylistic nods to Sir Edwin Lutyens, and another pool on the east side of the property with cabanas and a pavilion of pleasure used for family gatherings. Features remaining from the original designs include a 5-sided lattice gazebo, an excedra in the same style as Edith Wharton's, and a pergola. A 20 -foot square tea house added in 1926 replicates the 1793 Derby summer house designed by Samuel McIntire. Additional follies and outbuildings that have been added in the 21st century include a summer house and a ground level cupola, with plans for a greenhouse/library that will be accessible to the public. The rhombic-shaped property is organized by crossing axes; the north-south axis starts at the gazebo next to the outer wall, dropping to the tea house and tea house allée with another gazebo marking a crossing point. Other garden rooms include pollarded hornbeam, a sprawling beech that shades the moss garden, a kitchen garden, and a keyhole garden. The classic formal style of structures and plantings contrasts with contemporary statues and bronzes, some of which were designed by or depict family members; one sculpture is named "The Social Contract". Persons associated with the garden include: Martha Codman (former owner, 1907- ); Jane Pickens Langley (former owner, 1964-1992); Marcella McCormack (former owner, 1995-1999); Ogden Codman Jr. (1863-1951) (architect, 1910); Achille Duchêne (1866-1947) (landscape designer); Sidney Fiske Kimball (1888-1955) (teahouse architect, 1926); Jon-Paul (JP) Couture (garden designer/architect); Ronald Lee Fleming (garden designer, 1999- ); Horus Khut (gardener, 2014- ); Kidder Gowen (gardener, 2014- ).