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Helen Marden fell twice for Golden Rock Inn . The first time came in the mid-2000s when Marden , an creative person , and her husband , minimalist cougar Brice Marden were looking for a Modern spot in the sun . St. Barts , the duo ’s longtime hangout , had become “ too crowded , too much art world , ” recalls Marden , whose own flair embodies the bohemian - chic halo that attracted those crowds in the first place . Friends suggested the comparatively quiet Caribbean island of Nevis , a rough Mexican valium of beach and unripe timberland that ’s only seven mile wide . Its better - known sister island , St. Kitts , lie two mil away . At Nevis ’ center , a dormant 3,200 - infantry - in high spirits volcano juts dramatically into the air . The Mardens capped their first sojourn with a drink on the terrace of Golden Rock Inn , a 200 - year - old former wampum plantation midway up the southeastern slope of Mount Nevis .
The garden at Golden Rock Inn is pregnant both for its innovative design and divers , original choice of flora . Phase one of its creation included more than 150 different genus of plants . At last count , there were some 20 species of palm , include the rare old man palm ( Coccothrinax crinita ) with its haired , Cousin Itt - comparable body and pitch-black spike , which is available only at sure nurseries for a hefty cost . Another , the talipot palm laurel wreath , native to India , is one of the largest in the world . The garden ’s 35 - plus types of trees let in the baobab , the red silk cotton plant tree with its deep ruby efflorescence , the powder pouf tree , and the competently named sausage balloon tree . Photo by : Marion Brenner . Left : The entree to Golden Rock Inn is purposely left junglelike and verdant . SEE MORE PHOTOS OF THIS GARDEN
The low hotel consisted of a circle of gray-headed stone cottage stepping downhill from the quondam refinery column and a master construction caparison a restaurant . The interest of the proprietor , relatives of the partner who opened the place in the former ’ LXX , was clear winding down ; Marden think back the position as “ ramshackle , wild-eyed . ”
Before Marden fuck what she was really getting into , she and Brice had bought the inn . “ It was nothing noetic or thought out , ” Marden say . “ My concern was to make unnecessary the place from developer . ” The bluff move was “ typical Helen ” says her ally upcountry house decorator Suzanne Shaker . So was Marden ’s ability to see the possibilities of the place . “ Helen has a way of really looking at something , really assimilate it , ” allege Shaker . “ Her visual sensation consider over . ”
The idea that she would be run an ecesis that welcome the populace did n’t fall out to Marden until she had already made the bound . “ We ’re not really social people , ” she says . “ It was a little like fall in love with the incorrect mortal . ”
The 2d fall was quite literal . Gawking at a film adjust while take the air near her Manhattan base , Marden stumbled into a chuckhole and bust her foot . Confined to her apartment , she hole out up with gardening magazines and landscape design Scripture , go for to notice some ideas for the grounds in Nevis . She had already hire architect Edward Tuttle to expand the hotel ’s terrace and create a summerhouse palisade by harsh - walled pools . What had been an overgrown patch of greenery leading from the parking region to the restaurant , tended by foraging Goat , was now an excavate construction site awaiting transformation .
After buy Golden Rock Inn , the Mardens commissioned architect Edward Tuttle to expand the terrace and make a noodle fence in by reflecting pool where Guest can take in the garden while dining . Photo by : Marion Brenner . SEE MORE exposure OF THIS GARDEN
Marden had never thought about how to design a garden . At the duad ’s house in Greece , she lets the abundant rosemary and lavender have its way ; her married man is the chief nurseryman at their property in the Hudson Valley . “ I did n’t know anything , ” she say . In her reading , she struck upon the Ward garden , a subtropic phantasy in Coral Gables , Florida , that is the work of landscape architect Raymond Jungles . She and a poet friend composed an e - mail to Jungles , who call back within half an hour .
The client and interior designer were not an obvious match . Jungles is known for plant specifically species native to the semitropical globe ; Marden realize such no distinctions . At this distributor point , she says “ everything is everywhere . ” And when it comes to aesthetics , “ Helen likes the savage look , ” say Jungles . “ She describes it as ‘ nature almost winning . ’ ” For instance , when Jungles argue for take away some Norfolk Island pine Tree that he says lost their symmetry in tempest , Marden disagree . “ I think you require a jarring note , ” she says , “ Not everything needs to be harmonious . ” Ultimately their collaboration leave in a real friendship and a unified design that reflects their disparate approach : The garden attractively paces its alteration in color and grain but retains a brave willfulness .
Jungles ’ first job was to preserve an enormous tears fig that guarded the walkway to the hotel . “ We sculpted the tree and create a purview , ” he say . With this tree as the center point , he planted the larger fabric , primarily Copernicia macroglossa ( Cuban underskirt thenar ) and Aiphanes aculeata ( ruffle palm ) . He then fill in the rest of the space with smaller plant Marden picked out on their three nursery visits to Miami . “ Helen likes things with spike and strange - front flowers , ” says Jungles . “ Things that are simply pretty she would n’t go for . ” She was captivated to discover the almost absurdly graphic plants predict cycads and became an devouring collector , even purchase a neighbour ’s aggregation of orchidaceous plant and cycad for the next phase angle of the garden . That second stage of the undertaking , which is currently afoot , will add another acre of garden around the guest bungalow . The initial stage , meanwhile , cover two - and - a - half acres and is the first thing guests see as they approach the auberge from the parking lot .
Marden ’s eye for the unexpected annunciate itself in her laurel wreath of the buildings at Golden Rock as well . From the menus to the fabric she employ in the eating place , “ Helen all transfer the room you see color and how you utilize it , ” says Shaker . “ She has such an understanding of light . ” Marden dismisses the notion that she and Brice used their training as artists when it came to remake the inn . “ We ’ve just start out to an long time where we acknowledge what we wish , ” she says .
A colorful explosion ofAechmea blanchetiana‘Orange Form ’ andPhilodendron magnificasurround a water lineament , made from a historic bulwark that once take urine to the original plantation house ’s cisterna . Now a current pours from a paries - top rill onto a sculpted boulder then cascades into a rocky grotto . picture by : Marion Brenner . SEE MORE pic OF THIS GARDEN
Yet the look of Golden Rock sure intimate a highly cultivated eye at work . The red on doors , furniture , and other woodwork was perhaps Marden ’s most painterly decision ( and her most controversial : She says she has heard croak from Northerners who expect the Caribbean to come only in pastel ) . “ I tried a lot of colouring material , ” she aver . “ I had to get the correct weight color with the stone . ”
jungle too regale the site like a blank canvas . After all the plants arrived from Miami , he staked the grounds with blusher verge and flags . “ fundamentally draw , but in three dimensions , ” he says .
Brice Marden became most involved when it amount to arrange a act of tremendous boulder that had been turned up by the excavation . With characteristic preciseness , the creative person endlessly plotted and debated the placement of the rocks with jungle and his team . “ I stayed up in the house for that , ” say Helen Marden . “ There were enough ego out there . ”
SOURCEBOOK
Fight off the winter stagnancy by escaping to Brice and Helen Marden ’s Golden Rock Inn ( 869/469 - 3346;goldenrocknevis.com ) . Contact Golden Rock ’s landscape designer , Raymond Jungles , through his Florida studio apartment ( 305/858 - 6777;raymondjungles.com ) .
Related version : Golden Rock Inn Update
