Create a Garden Defined By Your Style

gardenThere’s something to be said for the remarkable gardens that take your breath away. Have you ever experienced one? These are gardens that combine unique design attributes with a flawless choice of plants to accent the garden’s style. To create a garden of your own that resembles this deluxe level of detail, now is the time for you to begin your brainstorming! Here are a few tips to help you get started.

Begin by drawing up a site plan. This is where your brainstorming efforts are put to paper! Sketch out ideas for plant beds, borders, and any accents you might like to have.

Next, choose the right plants. First think of your favorite plants. Chances are, since your favorite plants reflect your personal style, they will probably suit your garden style well. Also consider the textures, colors, blooming periods, and shapes of these plants, ensuring that they complement each other well.

Finally, head to Marvin Gardens and choose some design elements to showcase your plants. Our urns, planters, and trellises to name a few, are an ideal way to finalize the style of your garden.

For more garden inspiration, plan a trip to Marvin Gardens early! Contact us by calling 203-544-2020 today.

Think Outside of Your Garden Box!

With just one visit to our shop here at Marvin Gardens, you’ll notice something a little different. Unlike traditional landscape stores and garden centers, Marvin Gardens is ripe with bold, innovative ideas for your home garden.

 landscape

There is much more to creating a stunning landscape than having a green thumb. Though flowers and plants provide a lovely backdrop, for a truly remarkable home, your outdoor scenes should be expressive of your inner creativity. Bringing in old items and finding new ways to use them, or in finding something new to repurpose, we can create a new product – a new landscape that is worth boasting about.

 chairs

That’s why our team at Marvin Gardens searches high and low for unique, special pieces for your home. In designing this way, your home becomes a true representation of your individual style and something no one else can imitate.

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For closer look at our unique and blended garden style, stop by our shop or browse our photos at the Marvin Gardens Facebook page!

Summer Croquet in New England

Aaaah, summertime. There’s nothing quite like it—and definitely nothing like a New England summer. While those Florida folks have their palm trees, water parks and flop flops, oh my, those of us here in good old Wilton have our sun dresses, Sperry’s boat shoes and light evening jackets. And when it comes to Connecticut pastimes, there’s got to be croquet on the lawn. The age-old game has been around since the early 1800s and involves hitting plastic or wooden balls with a mallet through hoops embedded into the grass playing court.

Marvin Gardens recently came across some fun photos on Habitually Chic chronicling the game being played by pop culture greats throughout history on a variety of breathtaking lawns. Take a look at a few of our favorites! What’s your favorite summer pastime?

George Harrison and John Lennon
Betty Grable playing croquet
Fairfield Croquet by Slim Aarons 1991
Olivia de Havilland
Louis Jourdan and friends by Slim Aarons
Croquet Lawn
Darryl Zanuck at Howard Hawks house by Slim Aarons 1955
The croquet lawn at Winston Churchill's old home.
Princess Diana

Photo Credit: Habitually Chic

A Home Inspired by French Châteaus

While enduring this extremely hot summer and longing for an escape to the French countryside, we came across a beautiful home inspired by Paris in Veranda Magazine. When the owner of the home wanted to add a Parisian feel to her beach side home, she went to interior designer Betty Burgess, who is known on the West Coast for her classic European style. The California residence features a soft palette of blues, greys and creams with black and chocolate accents gives the home the rustic charm of an old French château while still complementing the home’s West Coast location. We loved that Burgess used many of the homeowner’s antiques and art work to complete the look with a personal touch.

Take a look at some more images from Veranda that we also found inspiring.

We’d love to hear from you, what did you think about the Paris-inspired home?

Photos: Veranda | Photography by Roger Davies

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A Closer Look at a Quaint Townhouse

When it comes to sophisticated traditional design, Marvin Gardens just can’t get enough. We recently took a look at some photos from an installment in the latest edition of Architectural Digest of a townhouse renovation and we absolutely fell in love. According to AD, the residence is Thomas Jayne’s 19th-century home in Philadelphia. Take a look of a few of our favorites below form the spread!

The drawing room is furnished with a custom-made sofa and chairs upholstered in silk and a camelback sofa covered in a Clarence House damask. Rembrandt Peale’s portrait The Odalisque hangs over the mantel. The curtains are made of a silk faille from Claremont.
A custom-made runner stripes the staircase.
An Italian rococo secretary from Foster-Gwin stands in the drawing room.
Fluted columns separate the drawing and dining rooms; the chandelier is Italian Empire.

If you’re n the Wilton, CT area and interested in creating a cozy transformation like this in your own home, contact Marvin Gardens today!

Photo Credit: Pieter Estersohn via Architectural Digest

Bring a Touch of the Outdoors Inside with Beautiful Living MOSStiles

Talk about a fresh idea! Marvin Gardens recently came across this innovative and sustainable wall décor known as MOSStiles from by Benetti Stone Philosophy that basically allows you to decorate any area of your home from the walls to lampshades to tabletops and everything in between. The tiles come in a variety of colors and are almost completely maintenance free. What a neat way to liven up the interior with little to no effort at all!

From Inhabitat:

These modular living tiles come in 12 different shades and are virtually maintenance free needing no watering, fertilizer or even direct sunlight, maintaining their lush appearance relying only ambient humidity alone. Like a living wallpaper or even art, MOSStiles will brighten up your space with living plants.

Would you decorate your interior with these lush little tiles or are the out of the question for your digs? We want to hear your thoughts! Check back with Marvin Gardens regularly for all things gardens and design-related form around the web!

French Farmhouse Luxury: Oui, s’il vous plaît!

It’s officially summertime which means many folks all over the continental U.S. are hustling and bustling with sunny holiday plans. But if you’re like the growing number of Americans who will choose to stay close to the home front for the summer this year, you’ll have to enjoy the globe’s offerings vicariously through photos and illustrations. Marvin Gardens would like to spoil you with a few of our favorite pretty pictures from a quint and cozy 18th-century farmhouse in Province, France known as Le Mas de Baraquet. Recently featured over at Habitually Chic, these pictures are originally from UK House & Garden Magazine and depict tranquil gardens designed by Dominque Lafourcade and her husband Bruno Lafourcade. Aaah, the site of these lush gardens just screams, “Won’t you visit us in France, please?!” What are your summer vacation plans?




Photo Credit: UK House & Garden Magazine

Make Walls Come Alive with Urban Metallic Wallpaper

When it comes to wallpaper, there’s an infinite supply of patterns, colors and textures to choose from. This new Urban Metallic collection by Carnegie Fabrics can now be added to the list. We found these wall coverings on Design Milk.

The Midas pattern is sure to add sparkle to any space. At first glance, this pattern would be fitting in either a bathroom or a dining room that often accomodates lots of guests.

Midas wallpaper pattern
Photo Credit: Design Milk

This deeper, more serious bubble pattern is known as Helics. The darkness of this print is appropriate for a quiet room like an office. It might also work for a dining area where quiet meals are held.

Helics wallpaper pattern
Photo Credit: Design MilkThe Glint pattern, a wall of endless colorful stripes, gives off a light, happy aura. This is perfect for a kitchen. Photo Credit: Design Milk

Which of these three wallpaper patterns do you like the most? Leave a comment and let us know!

The Comeback of Chesterfield Sofas

The term chesterfield means couch or sofa in Canadian. Over in Europe a Chesterfield is identified by a plethora of buttons and a low back. The great thing about a Chesterfield sofa is that whether you dress it up or down, it’s going to look fabulous. Period. Take a look at what we found on the Belle Maison blog.

In a goldenrod shade of yellow, this butter soft leather Chesterfield can fit into a feminine or masculine setting.

Sofa
Photo Credit: Belle Maison

This black Chesterfield boasts feminine flair as it’s dressed up with a mini coffee table and a rug.

Sofa
Photo Credit: Belle Maison

It doesn’t get much better than this. A golden and velvety Chesterfield against a bright plum backdrop.

Sofa
Photo Credit: Belle Maison

Turquoise Chesterfields surrounded by polished wooden walls creates a formal yet stylish setting.

Sofa
Photo Credit: Belle Maison

A plush white Chesterfield adorned with touches of navy and midnight blues is ultra chic.

Sofa
Photo Credit: Belle Maison

What do you think of the Chesterfield style? Leave a comment and let us know!