Lessons From Gordon Hayward: Garden Rooms and Democratic Design

June 6, 2019

On this day, dear readers, the gardening cognoscenti of Westminster have been granted a most delightful opportunity.

This very evening, from half-past six until eight o'clock, the esteemed Gordon Hayward shall grace the Westminster Institute with his presence, delivering what promises to be an illuminating discourse titled The Intimate Garden.

Mr. Hayward, alongside his devoted wife Mary, has spent no less than thirty-six years cultivating a garden of remarkable distinction around their ancient farmhouse—a venerable structure that has weathered more than two centuries of New England's capricious seasons.

What distinguishes their horticultural achievement is not merely its beauty but its seamless integration with both domicile and surrounding landscape, a harmony that eludes so many amateur gardeners who approach their plots with more enthusiasm than vision.

The audience shall be treated to a visual journey through their garden's fourteen distinct "rooms"—a concept that transforms the outdoors into an extension of one's living quarters, rather than a separate realm entirely. How clever!

As Mr. Hayward himself declared with refreshing candor,

"It's a practical lecture. We both have our feet on the ground and a shovel in our hands."

One must note that Mr. Hayward's talents have not gone unrecognized in prestigious circles. The Garden Club of America—that most selective of horticultural societies—bestowed upon him an honorary membership just this past May. Such recognition comes not as a surprise but as a confirmation of what those in gardening circles have long known: his expertise, cultivated over more than three decades of professional garden design, is exceptional.

His credentials speak eloquently of his dedication: eleven published books and more than seventy articles gracing the pages of gardening publications. Such prolificacy is rarely matched even among the most dedicated garden writers!

The roots of Mr. Hayward's horticultural passion, it seems, were nurtured in the fertile soil of his family's orchard in New Hartford, Connecticut. Alongside his two brothers, he learned the rhythms of tending to apples, peaches, and pears—surely the most poetic of tree fruits.

Reflecting on this formative period, Mr. Hayward shared,

"We worked as a family in the orchard for nine months of the year. Then for three months, from late summer into fall, people came to our barn to buy fruit.

Our parents greeted everyone, engaged with everyone, and accepted everyone—there was no judgment of social class.

I carry with me the openness and acceptance of their world, traits that have influenced how I interacted with students when I was teaching, and with clients when I became a garden designer."

How refreshing to discover that Mr. Hayward's approach to garden design is informed not merely by aesthetic principles but by the democratic values instilled during his orchard upbringing!

Perhaps this explains the accessible charm of his gardens, which invite rather than intimidate—a quality sorely lacking in many designed landscapes that seem to demand admiration rather than offering enjoyment.

Westminster's gardeners would be most unwise to miss this opportunity to glean wisdom from one who has dedicated his life to the art of garden-making. One suspects the Institute shall be quite full this evening—sensible gardeners recognize when rare knowledge is being offered.