In the woods of Fairfield, near the Merritt Parkway, Geraldine Klein Robbenhaar has been creating a garden.
Geraldine called me out of the blue in May of 2020, as we were adapting to pandemic pandemonium, and her offer of a garden tour was gratefully and immediately accepted. Yes, please! Visiting her three-acre property is not a 10-minute affair, and we lingered for several hours. She was eager to share, and I think sharing my delight at each new perspective and planting was good medicine for us both during such weird times.
The gently rolling, heavily wooded landscape of this Fairfield property provides Geraldine with the basic materials to pay tribute to her favorite gardening aesthetic, that of Japan. Courtesy of retreating glaciers 15,000 years ago, boulders and stones of every shape and size are abundant and help Geraldine create a landscape inspired by her years of extended visits to Japan. She adores the stone and its interplay with plantings.
Until 2024, I’d only visited the gardens in the spring, since Geraldine spends her summers out of state. The photos herein reflect the scenes of that season. This year I made a visit in July, and saw a very different landscape (so lush, so green!). I was there to meet someone who has been instrumental in helping Geraldine realize her vision, Josemir Sousa.
Since the ’90s, Josemir has been Geraldine’s gardening partner and landscaper. Equally entranced by stone and the Japanese aesthetic, he told me tales of the two of them jockeying boulders into position. They both have artistic temperaments and agreeing on which way a rock (or boulder) should face can be tense; somewhat like rearranging furniture, but requiring considerably more effort. Once placed, the stone either sits where it is and the garden is created around it, or the growth of the garden dictates the placement of the stone.
It’s rather the same with trees and shrubs. As we all eventually discover, what we plant is likely to grow, and grow, and grow some more. One thing shades or crowds another, and a rescue is called for – either prune it or move it. On this property there are so many interesting places to move things – Josemir and Geraldine relocate things constantly.
Looking at the panorama photo below (and most of the other photos) you see the stonework composed almost entirely from rock found on the property. The stone steps that wind up a slope to the lower level of the house have a constantly shifting palette of plantings, and every day and every hour of daylight brings a different look. The house – originally a small prefab – was expanded to feature the view, with wraparound windows and catwalks to allow one to gaze out over the rolling landscape.
The early spring landscape is incredible, with every kind of wildflower you can imagine making an appearance. The soil and light (high shade) are conducive to reseeding, with clumps and strays popping up in a slow-motion tumble downhill. On the woodsier side of the property, below the wildflower hill, a forest of enormous oaks protects a field of ramps, themselves tumbling down into the damp hollow. Moss has taken a firm hold down near the river (Sasco Brook). Towering trees, meandering pathways, interesting plants, and surprises around every corner. Geraldine’s garden is an absolute delight, and I am honored to have had a peek!
– Anne Rowlands
