Starting Point: Petersham Nursery

A commercial project, currently, has multiple narratives.  Sited in a historic building, the master plan includes antiques vendors, pop-up shops (my suggestion), restaurants, garden shop, entertainment, private event weddings/parties, a resident gardener for livestock & potager for supplying the kitchen (my suggestion).  Goats are needed for this job.  Tethered in a new spot daily, Jamaican style, to control kudzu & mimosa seedlings, you know this one is my suggestion, later they can be on the menu, pasture fed goat curry.
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At the front of the site is a section of 1-story granite with several entries boarded up, soon, opened with glass doors, and a nursery bursting with at least a plant or gardenesque antique you must have.  For the nursery I've suggested box lunches for sale, the restaurant is in another section of the building, close by, and quite stunning, even now, ahead of renovation.
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For the nursery, there is only 1 template, (in my mind) Petersham Nursery.  Perusing online materials for Vision Questing the myriad layers of my section of the project, exterior cohesiveness, grading, parking lots, are not 'romantic' lets take a photo yet, Petersham was a greater delight than expected.  Owners of my project have decades of success in the hospitality industry, among other credentials.   I know they'll pull from Petersham's success, and stamp their own country/continent success onto it.      



The ubiquitous Welcome Table, above.  Well done, their ubiquity never tires.



In the greenhouse, above.  Part of a team, it will be interesting to see our finished product.  Of course my Vision Questing letter to the team included choosing a color trinity for the exterior, and fonts for signage outside.  Going 'blind' into this at the moment, I have not seen the marketing expert's choices.  I know their work, and know I'll adore their choices.



Have used this pic, above, before on my blog.  Unaware it belonged to Petersham.  At the front end of my garden design career, 3 decades ago, I did not like the garden style, above.  Then the decades of traipsing Europe studying historic gardens.  Learned, after studying at Great Dixter, the garden design style, above, is well trod for centuries.  Of course I've used this template !  Not merely because it is delightful, more, it is low maintenance with visual beauty 24/7 year in/out.  Simple.
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Aside from the landscaping, above, the architecture we are working with has sections of amazing similarity.  A long blank wall, in our project, red brick- 1 story- flat roof, with a strip of soil 2' wide and a sidewalk 3.5' wide, by the street, I've designed espalier pear trees underplanted with herbs/bulbs/self-seeding annuals.




Pic, above, Petersham Nurseries.

Hope chickens can be apart of this project.  4 years, now, having my first chickens, and they've been marvelous everyday.  Dowager Duchess of Devonshire has nothing on me when it comes to loving my chickens.  Excepting, she had them decades & decades longer.  Ironically, it's the client hiring me for this job, I did their residence, whose chickens first educated me about chicken keeping.



Pic, above, here.
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I worked at a propagation nursery-garden center-florist for several years in the 80's.  Love the carts we had at both garden center & florist.  This commercial project must have a cart at the nursery !  Painted 1 of the trinity colors, in my proposal.  Touring dozens of historic gardens across Europe, the garden cart was at several.  Another garden design idea to copy, commercial/residential, manor house/gardener's cottage.



Pic, above, here.

2 garden carts, above.  Reminds me of Susanne Hudson's maxim, Dinky is Stinky.  Overdose on a theme is mine.
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More about this project soon, The Potager.
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Garden & Be Well,   XO T
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Susanne called recently, she's flying to Connecticut & driving straight to Bunny Williams house for  a garden sale & tour.....    Told Susanne she must take zillions of pics, and call me everynite once she got into bed.
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Another recommendation for our project, it must have lodging.  B&B is fine.  A destination food/shopping venue in USA different than England, distances much greater.