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Acknowledgments
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337 Acknowledgments On one of our long drives to our summer house in Maine, during which we had memorable conversations, my husband, Frederick Morgan, commented that whenever we visited an exhibition together or traveled to a new place, I invariably made unexpected connections that threw an original light on the situation. He suggested that rather than let these thoughts dissipate over time, I should try to write them down. I began that very summer with my first garden article about the fictional garden in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The House of the Seven Gables and a synchronistic event relating to the Scarlet Runner beans that were planted there and attracted hummingbirds. I sold it to a magazine and received more mail than for any article since—everyone wanted to know where to order Scarlet Runner pole beans. Not only did Fred strongly encourage my writing career, he also served as my best editor, for no piece was submitted without his prior perusal. I owe my greatest debt to him for his generous spirit. In truth, I write for editors and learn constantly from the pleasurable give and take with them. When, after biding my time, I thought I found an appropriate topic for the New York Times, I telephoned Nancy Newhouse, then the editor of the Home section. Not knowing me at all, she requested five Polaroids and a five-hundred-word précis, and I got the assignment. To her I owe my many years as a regular contributor to the New York Times, later under her aegis as the discriminating Travel editor. She was followed at Home by Dona Guimaraes, the kind of hard marker who brings out the best 0715_FINAL_384pp.indd 337 8/10/10 1:45:08 PM a c k n o w l e d g m e n t s 338 in a writer, and who had a mind overflowing with information that stimulated ideas. At House & Garden, Denise Otis’s expertise in American gardens guided my writing about several prominent ones in Maine; at the Magazine Antiques, Allison Ledes encouraged long historical essays, especially on British and French gardens; and at Gardens Illustrated in London, the founding editor, Rosie Atkins, was a powerhouse of facts coupled with nuance, who gave me a British audience and a stint with my own column. There are many more successive editors who offered valuable encouragement, each of whom contributed to my development in a unique way. Often I made proposals, but mostly I benefited from assignments that led me literally along new paths, expanding my horizons. Although I began by writing on weekends, mornings soon took up the overflow, and on a deadline day I might never show up at the Hudson Review office at all. And so I deeply appreciate the tolerance coupled with enthusiasm that my colleagues have always shown me, especially Ronald Koury, the magazine’s managing editor for the past twenty-five years. As my writing and research files became voluminous, I engaged a series of part-time student archivists, whose assistance in maintaining order made information readily available. Among them, Suzanne Pratt, the first, and Isa Loundon, the current one, stayed beyond their student days, providing the invaluable gift of continuity. For their steadfast friendship throughout the years as good listeners and critics, a special thank-you to Susan Cohen and Emily Grosholz. By proposing this book, the landscape historian John Dixon Hunt gave me the valuable opportunity to bring order to disparate articles written for a variety of publications over many years. As a great admirer of his own manifold contributions to landscape architecture as a dedicated teacher and writer of brilliant volumes on garden history, I am indebted to him for the time and thought he gave to selecting these essays from a much larger pool. To Jo Joslyn , the University of Pennsylvania Press editor who made this book a handsome reality, and to all her colleagues, my deepest gratitude always for their understanding and expertise. And finally, to the landscape architects, owners, and overseers of the places that are the subjects of these essays, I am grateful for their gracious welcome. 0715_FINAL_384pp.indd 338 8/10/10 1:45:08 PM ...