Garden Photos
Every spring the flowers in front of the house bloom against the stone, and every spring people ask whether they may take a picture there: for a prom, a graduation, an engagement, a first communion, a family portrait. The answer is usually yes.
Personal photos for a special occasion are free, by request. Please ask first, with the short form below: it lets us make sure the time works for the household and that two groups do not arrive at once.
How it works
- When the spring flowers bloom. Sessions are offered only in the weeks the front garden is in flower.
- By request. Tell us the occasion, the day and rough time you would like, how many people are coming, and who is taking the pictures. We will confirm a time by email.
- 30 minutes. Long enough for good pictures, short enough that the next family gets their turn.
- The front garden only. The house, the porches and steps, the driveway and the rest of the property are not part of it.
- Be kind to the garden. Stay out of the beds, leave the flowers on the plants, and take everything you brought away with you.
- Be kind to the neighbors. Park on the street, never in or across a driveway, and keep it friendly and quiet.
- The household is not in your pictures unless they say so, and no one comes up the drive or knocks.
A suggested contribution
There is no fee for personal and special-occasion photos. We suggest $25 as a contribution toward the garden’s upkeep. Pay what feels fair; nobody is turned away.
If you would like to give, please bring cash or a check on the day.
Professional and commercial work
Personal photos are welcome whoever takes them, a friend or a photographer you have hired. Work that will be sold or published (advertising, fashion, products, stock photos, or photo-session days a photographer sells to the public) goes through film & photo shoots instead.
Ask for a time
More at the house
Halloween
The one night a year the castle is open to everyone: free, no tickets.
Friendsgiving
A Thanksgiving-season dinner for friends, especially those who are far from family or working the holiday.
Winter Holidays
The house dressed for the season, and the holidays marked with friends.
Game Nights
Small tables drawn from a library of more than two hundred board games. Newcomers are taught.
Dinner Parties
Dinners in the dining room for the household and its friends, cooked at home and shared.
Film & Photo Shoots
Short films and fashion shoots have been made here. Requests are considered case by case, through a request form.