Garden Study Weekend 2025
Garden Study Weekend Symposium
September 6, 2025
Hollister House Garden Study Weekend brings together some of the most important voices at work today in the fields of horticulture and garden design for a weekend of learning, inspiration, and networking. This year we are honored to welcome another extraordinary panel of speakers.
Garden Study Weekend 2025

The High Line: Wild by Design
The High Line is arguably one of the most famous public gardens of the 21st century, exemplifying and introducing the concepts of the naturalistic, four season garden. Designed by Dutch garden designer and nurseryman, Piet Oudolf, the gardens are a testament to resilience, growing on an elevated, reclaimed former railway, 30 feet in the air with primarily only 18" of soil, while providing much needed greenspace to the west side of Manhattan.The High Line first opened in 2009, and 16 years later the garden continues to evolve, with several new Piet Oudolf gardens opening in the next year. Join Senior Director of Horticulture, Richard Hayden, for an exploration of the stewardship techniques that his outstanding team of horticulturists employ, the programmatic opportunities that arise from an audience that includes over 6 million annual visitors, and the priceless and continuing collaboration with whom the New York Times has called the greatest living landscape designer, Piet Oudolf.

What do You Mean I'm Not a Perennial? Native Shrubs and Trees for Perennial Companionship
Most folks are familiar with the concept of the mixed border - perennials, annuals, shrubs and evergreens blended together in a seamless composition. It sounds good in theory, but transplanting this concept into a real garden is more difficult than it seems. Not all woody plants mix well with perennials and annuals for many reasons including different soil and fertilization needs and incompatible growth habits. However there are a number of native shrubs and small trees that mix wonderfully with herbaceous perennials and annuals. In this talk, Bill Cullina, a recognized authority on North American native plants and the F. Otto Hass Executive Director of the Morris Arboretum of the University of Pennsylvania, will profile his favorite fifty "natural mixers," focusing on native woody plants that bring, form, texture, color and wildlife to the perennial garden.

Enchanting Edens: revising and Reimagining Twelve Historic Gardens of Timeless Beauty
Joann Vieira, statewide Director of Public Gardens & Horticulture for the Trustees of Reservations, will lead us on a journey through twelve extraordinary historic pleasure gardens that were once exclusive retreats for influential families in the early 20th century. Today, they are carefully preserved, rejuvenated, and shared as prime examples of historic trends in plant collecting and garden design. This lecture will offer a rare glimpse into their rich past and exciting future, showcasing how contemporary gardens—guided by historic sensibilities—complement the original designs with modern plant palettes. Joann will explore the effects of time on these gardens, and how it has softened their edges. Accompanied by stunning images of the gardens, this talk promises to inspire a renewed appreciation for the blend of history and innovation in garden design.

The Story of Hollister House Garden : A classic English garden on a Connecticut hillside
George Schoellkopf will tell us how forty-five years ago on a fateful trip to England, he became infatuated with English gardens and returned to America determined to make an English garden of his own. A serious concern was how to design a complicated English garden that would harmonize and not seem out of step with the spirit of the simple 18th century Connecticut farmhouse he had recently purchased. The choice of plant material was another significant challenge since New England winters are too cold for many of the plants that luxuriate in the milder English climate. Only by trial and error did George determine which plants worked, and which ones didn’t. In this illustrated lecture George will take us on the adventure of designing and creating the garden we know today and talk about his decision to preserve this special garden for the future.

Moderator
Todd Forrest is Arthur Ross Vice President for Horticulture and Living Collections at The New York Botanical Garden. He oversees the team of managers, curators, and horticulturists who steward the Garden’s natural landscapes, plant collections, gardens, and glasshouses and develop its celebrated horticulture exhibitions. An advocate for historic trees and forests in urban landscapes and public gardens, Forrest is the primary author of Gardening with Nature at The New York Botanical Garden (available April 2025) and contributed essays to The Magnificent Trees of The New York Botanical Garden, The Trees of North America: Michaux and Redoute’s American Masterpiece, and Ancient Trees: Portraits of Time.
Schedule of Events
Heritage Hotel
522 Heritage Road
Southbury, CT
8:00 AM – Registration and light continental breakfast
9:00 AM – Morning session opens
12:00 PM – Lunch and shopping at Hickory Stick Bookshop
1:00 PM – Afternoon session opens
3:30 PM Symposium concludes
Hollister House Garden
300 Nettleton Hollow Road
Washington,CT
4:00 PM – Cocktails, music and a very special Silent Auction
at Hollister House Garden, Washington, CT,
ALL RESERVATIONS INCLUDE
SYMPOSIUM with light continental breakfast and lunch
GARDEN PARTY following the symposium
Patrons $1,000
(includes invitation to Friday night dinner honoring our
speakers, reserved seating at the symposium, the Garden Party, Sunday Garden Tour and a $700 donation to Hollister House Garden)
Hollister House Garden Members $300 (Symposium and Garden Party)
Garden Conservancy Members $300(Symposium and Garden Party)
Non-members $350 (Symposium and Garden Party)
A block of rooms has been reserved at the Heritage Hotel at the special rate of $155 per night (+occupancy tax and resort fee). To take advantage of this rate please telephone the hotel directly at (203) 264-8200 and mention Hollister House Garden.
Thank you to our generous event sponsors
