Jon Carloftis

Last spring, while visiting Lexington, Kentucky, I took a day excursion to Rockcastle River Trading Company after reading of it in a gardening magazine. Met by a gorgeous allee of Bradford pear trees, I wandered the pastoral gardens and structures of the Carloftis family, e.g. blacksmith shop, carriage home, one-room schoolhouse, nestled riverside. Plantings indigenous to the area combined with arbors, pergolas, containers and ponds can be observed. I purchased from the on ground gift shop, First a Garden, by Jon Carloftis. Mr. Carloftis is a home-grown gardener and part-time resident here on the property as well as Bucks County, Pennsylvania who spent some time landscaping rooftop garden spaces for Manhattan residents prior to producing his first book. Featured in the book are many of the outdoor gardens and interiors of these structures as well as many of his projects in NYC and Pennsylvania.

This week I obtained the second of his books, Beyond the Windowsill. Mr. Carloftis presents an uncomplicated yet pleasing to the eye mix of plants, rural antiques and contemporary furnishings. Although I keep only a small number of houseplants (gardening is an outdoor sport for me!), I am enjoying the photographs which serve as an inspiration to me.

Escaping from the commotion and chaos of the day, these serene and bucolic gardens certainly deserve a stopover if you are in this locale. And, his books are worthy of a visit also!