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Text by Mary Forsell •
Styling by Sunday Hendrickson •
Photograph by Matthew Millman
Trust your eyes: It’s not a mirage. “We set out to build a typical English
Tudor Revival house, the kind that was popular in this country in the 1920s,”
says Betty Lee, a garden designer in Palo Alto, California. “But after I read an
article on English timber-frame houses, I decided to go for an authentic
Elizabethan look.” She and her husband, Peter Fortenbaugh, contacted the
respected UK company John Nethercott, which specializes in period architectural
joinery for castles and historic estates dating from Renaissance times and
earlier. He soon arrived on the scene and took measurements for doors, floors,
and architectural ornaments—all to be made using real English oak. Almost
five years later, the illusion is complete. “I’ve had a lot of English visitors
stop by,” Betty says, “and they always tell me they feel right at home.
(a) An Elizabethan knot garden off the conservatory. (b) Detail of a spring
wreath by Marina Gilboa of Marina Artiste. (c) Three-year-old Pippa with a
bouquet for Mom. Behind her is an English oak door with hand-forged hinges. “The
light fixture is an antique from Bath, England,” Betty says.
(d) Lemons grow all over the grounds. (e) Secret spot in the cottage garden. (f) Betty among
her climbing roses. Flowers peak from the end of April through early May.
(g) Fragrant crimson tea roses scale the fruit “tunnel,” an ingenious arch
made of metal poles entwined with roses, apples, and pears. The family often
dines here.
(h) The cottage garden in the front yard is a prime spot for cocktail parties. “I
keep a butler’s stand outside at all times so I can bring out a tray of food or
drinks and have an instant table.”
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