Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be an estate gardener? Perhaps you’ve visited the Biltmore Estate, Longwood Gardens or other private estates that are now open to the public. I once worked as a groundskeeper on an estate near Princeton, New Jersey owned by J. Seward Johnson, a founder of consumer product giant Johnson & Johnson. The Lawrenceville estate was his gift to her, called “Jasna Polana” (Polish for “bright clearing”), designed to evoke the palaces of the European nobility. I recently toured Jasna Polana, to see how it has changed in the fifty years since I was last on the property.

Source: New York Times October 09, 2024 23:52 UTC