A Secret Garden Tour

When garden designers Gayatri and Jerome Rocherolle crossed paths with Michael Steinhardt, it was not an auspicious occasion. The prominent hedge fund manager, art collector, philanthropist, and well-known Bedford resident had stopped by the Rocherolle’s Stamford nursery, Shanti Bithi, with his architect in tow. He immediately fell in love with a prize bonsai specimen and offered to purchase it.

“It wasn’t for sale and we didn’t want to sell it,” Gayatri recalls. “Michael came in two or three times because he wanted it for his New York City apartment terrace. It wouldn’t have survived, so we turned him down. I think he was surprised, but it was the last time we were able to really say ‘no’ to him.”

Incredibly, that awkward moment blossomed—quite literally—into one of gardening’s most successful collaborations. The Steinhardts engaged Jerome to prune some maple trees on a mostly barren slope opposite their home. Although they were already working with an English garden designer, Judy Steinhardt, Michael’s wife, thought that Jerome’s expertise with bonsai and Japanese design might enable him to do something compact yet memorable with this one confined space. He did—and more assignments followed in rapid succession.

The project grew as the Steinhardts gradually acquired additional parcels of land and expanded their gardening ambitions. A grow-in menagerie of exotic fauna (white peacocks, spider monkeys, zebras and water fowl) kept pace with an ever-expanding collection of exotic flora. The Rocherolles built habitats for the creatures and established “experimental” beds with specially prepared soil for Michael’s alpine flowers and other rare plant specimens.

To document both the garden’s development and the couple’s own fascinating story (Gayatri’s father, Lester Avnet, was a high-flying businessman and patron of the arts whose collection included works by Monet, Lautrec, and Vuillard, among others), Gayatri wrote The Landscape Diaries: Garden of Obsession (Ruder Finn Press, 2006).

“We’ve all been learning as we’ve gone along,” Jerome says. “At the Steinhardts’ garden, we let nature be the guiding force. Things look natural even though there are thousands of plants. It’s a botanical garden because we’ve been able to take all these plants and naturalize them. Everything is labeled because we wouldn’t remember where we put things, yet it’s not a chaotic confusion—it’s beautifully harmonious.”

Today, 21 years since they first began work on the project, the Rocherolles and Steinhardts take great pride in one of Westchester’s and arguably, the nation’s, finest private gardens. Thankfully, the Steinhardts have been generous about sharing this treasure. On the days that it is open to the public, typically under the auspices of the Garden Conservancy, a national nonprofit that sponsors tours of private gardens across the United States, the Steinhardt garden is one of the most visited of all the gardens. (For more information on The Garden Conservancy, its mission, and its 2008 Open Days schedule of garden tours, visit www.gardenconservancy.org.) From the moment the gates open at 10:00 a.m. until they close again at 3:30 p.m., 1,500 to 1,800 people will come to walk the grounds, experiencing this living masterpiece the way the designers intended.

“It’s not a garden that you sit in,” Gayatri explains. “You’re meant to walk through it. The pine needles that line the paths are fragrant and quiet. Walking allows you to observe all the changes that make each visit to the garden unique. We’re very privileged be-cause we’re there at that one moment when the light hits the flowers and trees and it’s so full of change, especially in the spring. Every day is different.”

Although no static medium can faithfully reproduce the living, vital beauty of a garden, The WAG is privileged to offer this exclusive, guided tour.

Creating Your Own Legendary Landscape

The Rocherolles offer their advice for growing a great garden

• Just say “no” to junipers. “I don’t like junipers,” says Jerome. “They’re mass-produced and aesthetically disappointing.”

• Think beyond the house’s foundations. “I feel bad when I see a new house with new plantings right up against the house. It looks stiff and the owners probably have no idea how big those plantings are going to get.”

• Look for plants that would grow naturally on your property. “We like to incorporate both indigenous plants [i.e., plants that are native to a particular locale] and naturalized,” says Jerome. “You can always mix in unusual things, but be true to the soul of the place.”

• Be patient. The Rocherolles deplore “instant gardens” where homeowners will buy old, established trees and plant large specimens in order to create the illusion of a mature landscape. “The planting of these giant trees is sad,” says Gayatri. “A big tree has found its spot and that’s where it should remain. Gardens need time to evolve.”

• Prepare the soil before you plant. “Soil preparation is key,” says Jerome. “Be aware of the soil’s pH. In this area, the soil is typically acidic, so you have to adjust the soil’s acidity when you plant. Also, make sure the soil is well-drained.”

• Plant in the light. “When the tag on a nursery plant says ‘shade,’ they mean ‘filtered light,’ ” says Gayatri. “Nothing survives in deep shade.”

• Garden fearlessly. “Don’t be nervous or afraid to experiment—there’s nothing that’s really ugly in nature,” says Jerome. “When people spend a little time to make the outside beautiful, it’s a great thing. It’s an opportunity to reconnect with the earth, a meditative hobby and occupation.”