Mikel Folcarelli and John Gwynne, Little Compton, RI

“When you pass through a hedge or open a door, an unexpected whole world is revealed on the other side. Gardens should be fun.”

MIKEL FOLCARELLI and JOHN GWYNNE

Little Compton, RI

John Gwynne trained as a landscape architect and is a designer of exhibits that bring people closer to nature; Mikel Folcarelli is an independent global brand designer. Together, they created Sakonnet Garden, an exotic cottage garden embedded within a native coastal-fields landscape. Sakonnet is an ongoing experiment in design, scale, and plantings, an experiment spanning many decades. The acre-size main woodland garden is subdivided into a series of fourteen spaces separated by high windbreak hedges and stone walls. Each space has its own mood and horticultural objective. The whole has been described as an outdoor folly.

In 2010, John and Mikel began participating in Open Days and have created a convivial garden fair atmosphere for guests and invited outside vendors, all of whom celebrate the transformative power of gardens. Admissions also help support local wild meadow restoration efforts.