BETZIE BENDIS
Stone & Garden
MY STORY
Betzie was one of those little girls who started creating “environments” at an early age. Not content to just open up a card table, drape a blanket over the top, and crawl underneath…her secret places were fully furnished with found objects, and staged right down to the last detail (her favorite color of M&Ms). Only until the final touches were added would she truly enjoy her refuge to the max and, as with many creative people, she still operates in that same way. The continuous urge to create, the constant stream of ideas and impulses, the confidence to take action, the zeal to see an idea “all the way through”, taking satisfaction in a completed project…these are the hallmarks of an introspective, joyous designer who is equally at-home inspecting a tiny blossom, or lugging a pail of feed to her two bulls, Jules and Earl, or crooning a Hoagy Carmichael lyric. To Betzie, it is all an ever-changing canvas; and she enjoys reinventing both her indoor and outdoor spaces. With a deep womanly laugh, she observes: “I don’t hold back. I never have.”
For three enjoyable hours one morning in late June, we met in her garden and she told me the story of how her journey as a garden designer unfolded. Long before moving to their many-times-added-to vintage farmhouse in Ancram, Betzie, her husband (noted illustrator Keith Bendis) and son Kevin, lived in Putnam Valley. On an eventful morning, Keith left for a day in the City; and Betzie noticed an especially worthless length of wooden fencing leaning against the house. By the time Keith returned that evening, she had transformed the fence into (voila!) a cozy deck, and had staged it with lawn chairs, table, and two celebratory glasses of wine.
Her joy of creating “outdoor environments” was born, and she got into the habit of driving around and loading up the car with interesting stones that could be used for garden walls and walkways. With each masonry project she became more savvy, and started building her now-impressive-ever-growing library of reference books. Sketching is an important part of each design project as well – not only the expert drawings she presents to her clients but her own visual notations for brainstorming purposes. Once an idea appears in her mind’s eye, the flame is lit. “I just can’t wait. I want to be IN it.”
Aside from her astute knowledge of plants, she loves to be inspired by impromptu found objects and furnishings. An exotic pierced-wood Asian screen discovered in an import shop in Egremont (below) has been repurposed for her garden. It is one of many transitional openings and gateways that lead from one beautifully secluded area to the next.
Groupings of vintage outdoor furniture are staged throughout the space: Here, a curvaceous iron park-bench-for-two under a lush arbor of ivy; there, a suite of retro patio furniture with canvas cushions.
And, (no surprise) everything is constantly moved, tweaked, reconsidered and set up in different arrangements according to whim. “Always changing!” grins Betzie, with a happy shrug. Is there a different vibe when working for a client, or designing her own space? Not really, for this artist/designer who considers “Do your best” as her credo. As someone who has not only visited Betzie’s own gardens but also the installations she has created for others, I can attest her “best” is always exceptional. Her design abilities assured, she is free to delve into the emotional aspect of each outdoor setting. The “feeling” of each project, and the emotions it awakens in each client – this is what keeps her on her quest.
On the morning we met, she pulled out a handful of photos showing their Ancram home when they first moved in, approximately 22 years ago. I looked at each photo, awestruck at the transformation, as well as the dedication, time and creativity involved. What started as a sturdy house on a hill surrounded by pasture, has become a Shangri La.
After Thanksgiving each year, Betzie’s focus shifts to a life indoors. She welcomes the chance to spend time in her painting studio, which was added to their property in recent years. Plus, she reconnects with a host of women friends (who she compares to “a box of chocolates – each so different, so delicious in different ways”), and she indulges her interests in music and singing. The urge to keep changing is never far from her mind and it’s not unusual to visit Betzie’s home and find all the furnishings completely re-imagined. “Oh, well – I just HAD to try something new!” she grins.
“A Garden Party for Two:
Garden design & life lessons,"
by Betzie Bendis
Text by Lynne Perrella
Photography by B Docktor
for hammertownbarn.com