Garden Writing:

Leeann is a member of the Garden Writers Association (GWA) and has written garden book reviews for New Jersey’s Two River Times (www.tworivertimes.com) and The Wall Street Journal’s Weekend Book Review (www.wsj.com). She has written about gardens, garden history, and garden trends for a variety of media including the New York Botanical Garden’s quarterly “Garden News” and the Monmouth county Art Council’s “State of The Art” – the only arts newspaper covering Monmouth County. She was the garden columnist for M.A.R Magazine. Leeann has also researched and produced the Victorian Garden design “How-To” for Atlantic Highlands Historical Community outreach. Leeann provided research material to contributor Arthur Melville Pearson about landscape architect Nathan Barrett for inclusion in the first book devoted to the legends of American landscape design: Pioneers of American Landscape Design authored by horticultural hero, Charles A. Birnbaum, FASLA National Park Service Historic Landscape Initiative and Robin Karson, Library of American Landscape History.   Barrett was a landscape architect who designed American gardens throughout the country, notably Naumkeag in Massachusetts and Pullman, Ohio.   Of particular note to Leeann was his work in the Garden State – he designed station grounds for the New Jersey Central Railroad for a little over five year. Not surprisingly, his work with George Pullman and his estate in Elberon, New Jersey led to other spectacular work in Monmouth County.  His noteworthy landscape designs include extant estate gardens in Rumson: Rohallian, and another -- that in a kismet kind of garden magic was the previous home of one of Leeann’s dearest garden design clients, Maria Steinberg.  This garden was featured in the annual Two Rivers Garden Tour in 2009 (fundraiser for the Jacqueline M. Wilentz Comprehensive Breast Center at Monmouth Medical Center www.sbhcs.com)  As described in the garden tour guide, “… juxtaposition was a defining Barrett design characteristic … he had a penchant for contrasting the formal against the natural.  Based on the Greek ideal of proportion, Barrett employed elements such as rectangular terraces, garden rooms, and classic Doric columns to create his masterpiece so many years ago.”   Leeann’s garden history research for Pioneers highlighted Barrett’s profile and his landscape design work for New Jersey train stations and his work for Mr. Pullman that, ultimately, landed him the opportunity to design the first planned industrial town, Pullman, Ohio.

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