Caramoor is an 81-acre former country estate where art and music enthusiasts Lucie and Walter Rosen built an Italianate-style villa and gardens to entertain their friends from around the world. In 1946, the Rosens opened their property as a performing arts center, which hosts seasonal concerts, historic house tours, educational programs, and other outdoor affairs and performances. And now for the first time in more than 30-years, guests can view the bold garments Lucie wore and treasured from the 1930s to the 1960s - the shimmering silks, elegant patterns, and vivid color palettes - and learn the captivating stories behind them.
Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts is located in the picturesque hamlet of Katonah, New York and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. If you haven’t been, Caramoor is a wonderful place where one can hear exceptional music, enjoy interesting and informative programs, and walk through beautifully maintained and historic gardens.
The Rosens built the estate and restored the grounds gradually during the 1930s, importing many architectural and decorative items from Europe. The Caramoor became a center for the arts and music following the World War II death of the Rosens’ only son.
The gardens are meticulously manicured and maintained. Some of the original gardens were planted around 1912, making them one of the oldest native features of the estate.
This is a family portrait of Lucie Bigelow Rosen and her children, Walter and Anne. This was painted in their New York City townhouse and is now displayed at Caramoor along with the green desk in the painting.
This is the Music Room at Caramoor. This room seats 170 guests and is known for its Renaissance furniture, Gothic tapestries, and stained glass elements. Depending on the time of year, the room is sometimes configured with theatre seating for views of the stage.
The Music Room is used for intimate musical performances, recitals, opera and lectures. My nephew, Christopher Herbert, performed here in 2018 with his musical group, New York Polyphony, an amazing a cappella vocal quartet that sang both early and new music.
Here are Gillian Fox, President & CEO of Caramoor and Gayle Greves, Director of Guest Experience.
This year, the main exhibit is the Rosen House Focus Tour: Inside Lucie’s Wardrobe. It offers guests an interesting look at Lucie Rosen’s fashions through the years – some of which would still look radiant today. This is an evening coat made out of Fortuny stamped silk velvet.
This evening coat is made of orange-red silk velvet with metallic embroidery and trim. Lucie loved to use bold colors and rich fabrics for her capes.
Lucie often used feather hand fans. She had them made in an array of different colors to match her clothing.
This silk satin hostess dress is flocked with velvet accents. While Lucie loved color, she often used some black for dramatic effect.
In the Spanish Alcove, a small space in the Music Room reserved for intimate gatherings and family games, were these costumes. On the left is a hand-painted Flora costume made of silk chiffon, silk organza, silk linen flowers, and metallic thread. It was what Lucie wore to the February 1924 Beaux Arts Ball, a high society fundraiser for the Beaux-Arts Architects. The costume was inspired by the painter Sandro Botticelli’s, Primavera.
Also in the Music Room, a pair of Lucie’s shoes. Shoes of this era had elongated silhouettes to emphasize narrow foot shapes. Decorative elements were also used and required snug fits to maintain structure.
Full skirts, cinched waists, and shapely bodices were characteristic of evening gowns in the 1950s. This gown shimmers in silvery gray satin.
This is one of several day-dresses on display inspired by Christian Dior’s “New Look” after the war. These dresses included floral prints, long, full skirts and fitted busts.
Here is another example of one of Lucie’s floral day-dresses.
This wine-colored evening coat features a wide-collar with a pomegranate pattern stamped in gold, a signature pattern of Fortuny.
Lucie was more fond of finding her own fabrics and having them made into dresses than purchasing ready-to-wear garments. The fabric for this gown is made from magenta silk stamped with a silver pigment by Fortuny. The actual dress is said to be made separately with a custom fitted bodice and train.
Displayed here – a two piece ensemble used for lounging and a light tiger-lily patterned shawl, a gift from designer Ethel Wallace.
This dinner dress with matching stole lined in magenta was a favorite silhouette style for Lucie. She wore versions of this in the 1930s and 940s.
The dress is displayed at the end of the Southwest Wing, which was completed in 1974. It includes three period rooms from the Rosens’ New York City townhouse and features many of the items taken from that home.
There is so much to see and learn at The Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts. A visit offers a unique blend of world-class performing arts, historic architecture, natural beauty, and now an inside look into the wardrobe of Lucie Rosen. Caramoor is open all year round. Check out its calendar at caramoor.org or stop in for a pleasant walk through the historic gardens.
Everyone is busy cleaning up at my farm after a microburst storm barreled through the region with destructive winds and rain.
It's so heartbreaking to see images of areas ravaged by any storm. Earlier this week, we were hit by a microburst - a small, intense downdraft from a thunderstorm that produces extremely strong, damaging winds gusting more than 70-miles per hour. Many roads were closed because of fallen trees and power lines. I feel extremely fortunate my farm escaped any serious structural damage. I lost a lot of trees and branches, but my outdoor grounds crew is working very hard to get things back into shape.
Here are some photos.
The worst part of the storm lasted less than an hour, but the tree damage was great around my farm.
I drove around to assess the damage early the next morning. Many trees were down.
This broken branch was caught in another tree which kept it from falling to the ground.
Trees fell and broke stone walls.
Some of the trees were toppled by gale force winds.
And others broke close to the base, possibly by lightening.
Here’s a tree completely pulled from the ground by nature.
Carriage roads were blocked by fallen debris.
Here’s another section of wall damaged by an uprooted tree.
And another uprooted tree in the woodland. Small trees with intact roots can sometimes be saved, but sadly many will need to go.
All these uprooted trees need to be cut into manageable sections, made into wood chips and returned to the earth. I try very hard never to waste anything.
Here is another downed tree. Whenever approaching an uprooted tree or any storm related damage, be sure there are no power lines nearby.
This is a giant maple tree in my Run-In paddock. Fortunately, all my horses were safe in their stable during the storm.
Here is the crown of the tree on the ground. This will also have to be cut up in sections before it is removed from the area and chipped.
And here is what is left of its trunk.
By mid-morning, everyone on the farm was helping with clean up. Here’s Ryan straightening a young tree. I am glad it was staked and well-secured. I always stake young trees to give them added support. It was leaning, but still in good condition.
Chhiring carts away fallen branches. These too, will be put aside for the chipper.
And here’s Phurba in my trusted Hi-Lo removing sections of the tree in my Run-In.
This clean up will take several days to complete, but thankfully no other structures were damaged and everyone is ok.
And thanks to all the essential infrastructure personnel who are out there restoring power and road access around the area.
This time of year there's always something to admire in the gardens - right now, the striking, bold green foliage of my hostas.
In 2020, I planted hundreds of hosta plants down behind my chicken coops under the dappled shade of my stately dawn redwoods, Metasequoia. I first got the plants as bare-root cuttings and nurtured them until they were big enough to transplant. There were more than 700 hostas in a variety of cultivars including 'Wide Brim,' 'Francee,' 'Regal Splendor,' 'Elegans,' and 'Blue Angel.' Over the years, I expanded the beds and added more plants. Now, the entire area looks better than ever.
Enjoy these photos.
Right now, so many of the gardens are just brimming with color and energy. I tour my gardens on a daily basis. I check how much the plants have grown, how healthy they are, and whether they need more food or water. The diligence definitely pays off – just look.
These hostas are planted in a grove of Metasequoias. Hostas thrive best in partial shade and this area is perfect.
Dawn redwood trunks are eye-catching with reddish-brown, vertical, shredding bark.
It has feathery, fine-textured needles that are opposite each other and are approximately a half-inch long. Don’t confuse them with the bald cypress needles, which grow alternately. These dawn redwood needles will turn shades of red and brown before falling – it is one of the few deciduous conifers.
I also planted viburnums here. This large group of plants consists of more than 150 species. Viburnums include deciduous and evergreen specimens as well as small trees, mostly native to North America or to Asia. The leaves of viburnum range from glossy green to a dull, dark green to foliage that is thick and leathery.
But the main focus – these large leaf hostas. They look spectacular.
Before they fully open, they unfurl like this one.
Just a few weeks ago, the garden beds looked like this, with hundreds of young hostas emerging through the soil and a fresh layer of mulch.
Now they’re all showing off their large beautiful leaves. The hostas were strategically positioned and spaced, paying attention to variety, color, and growth habit.
Hosta leaves rise up from a central rhizomatous crown to form a rounded to spreading mound.
On average, hostas mature to about two feet tall, but depending on variety, they can also range from six inches to four feet in height.
Most varieties tend to have a spread between one and three feet.
Hosta is a genus of plants commonly known as hostas, plantain lilies, and occasionally by the Japanese name, giboshi.
They are native to northeast Asia and include hundreds of different cultivars.
Hosta leaf textures can be smooth, veined or puckered. Their surfaces may be matt, shiny, or waxy but are usually satiny.
Unlike many perennials, which must be lifted and divided every few years, hostas are happy to grow in place without much interference. In summer, blooms on long stalks extend up above the clumping hosta foliage.
A new variety I planted this year is Hosta ‘Red Dragon’ characterized by its shiny, bright green leaves held upright on strong red petioles. The plant features purple flowers that bloom in late summer, adding vibrant color to the garden.
Interspersed among the hostas is Hyacinthoides hispanica, commonly called Spanish bluebell or wood hyacinth – a bulbous perennial native to Spain, Portugal and northwest Africa. Each bulb produces a clump of two to six strap-shaped leaves from which a rigid flower stem grows, typically containing up to 12 to 15 hanging, bell-shaped, bluish-lavender flowers that rise from the center.
These Spanish bluebell plants dot the garden with soft color amidst shades of green.
It’s hard to miss these beautiful flowers. Dicentra is an elegant, easy-to-care-for perennial for shady gardens. More commonly known as bleeding heart, it is named for its heart-shaped blossoms that dangle from slender, arching stems. Dicentra is a great companion for other shade loving perennials such as hostas. Here it is in pink.
If you have a shady area, experiment with shade-loving plants. Hostas, with their palette of different colors, textures, and sizes have tremendous landscape value and offer great interest to any garden. You’ll enjoy them.
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