TideBrook Garden

About

You’ve probably never seen a garden like this. Certainly not within the traditional Garden Conservancy properties’ typical grandeur, opulence, and venerable histories.

This garden is every place plantable on 0.2 acre property in the Riverside, Westport, residential area. It is a sculpture. Yes, there are some classical European and Asian sculptures—statues, antique and semi- antique. But the principal and omnipresent artworks are sculpted ornamental botanicals: flowers into shrubs, shrubs into trees, trees into umbrella canopy.

Often resulting in striking shapes, profiles and color mixes, often most notably with a Bonsai effect. Some shrubs have been literally interwoven into multilayered color and texture of leaf and bloom. I think of it as a Living Botanical Oriental Rug.

The landscape elevations have been handmade over a forty year period. Most striking perhaps are the earthwork berms and trenches conformed into banks and islands, large stunning rocks and rust- stained riverstone edgings. The carpet-like weave and flow means every two to three feet a new botanical experience presents. All of this driven by the need for separation from four-wheel traffic, pedestrians of all types—for privacy, safety, sound and light control, and botanical sculpture drama.

The entire back terraced garden sits on a major brook, “Stony Brook,” down from Monroe, Easton, Weston and Old Hill Westport, which mixes fresh water twice daily with tidal backflow from the close- by saltwater Saugatuck River. Mallard ducks, swans, egrets and Canada geese frequently visit.

The original brookside and marsh property was developed by Saugatuck Sea Captain John Carver c.1832 and is in the Westport Historical Society Registry. The Captain’s cottage was restored and upgraded by renowned Westport Architect Peter Cadoux in 1985-86.

TideBrook Garden for me is a glimpse of Eden. And I hope for you also.

This garden's estimated size is .2 acres.

2026 Open Day Date: Saturday, September 19

Open Day Hours: 10am–4pm