A Marriage of Gardens and Architecture

The two art forms come together to create splendor in Jaffrey.

August 21, 2025

Robin Sweetser, John W. Hession, Photographer, Morgan Karanasios, Photographer,

“Gardens and architecture are the same thing,” says homeowner Nan Quick. Her nephew, who often house-sits when she is away, says the house is like a temple without the religion.

Nan Quick describes her house in Jaffrey as a livable garden pavilion. Built in two stages, the white wing was finished in 2005 and the black wing in 2019. Each is 1,000 square feet and together they form an L-shape. Planning for the future, Quick designed the new wing to be an accessory dwelling unit, complete with its own kitchen and bath. As for the two colors, she says, “Black minimizes the size of the addition and is a good backdrop for plants.”

“Gardens and architecture are the same thing,”
says homeowner Nan Quick. Her nephew, who often house-sits when she is away, says the house is like a temple without the religion.

A private, 1,000-square-foot raised terrace garden fills the space between the two wings, linking them together. “This garden had to be nice from all angles,” she says, “even when looked down upon from an upstairs window.” It is cleverly paved with two colors of granite to lessen the brightness and give the effect of a cloud passing overhead. Planting beds are made from Corten steel, and peastone covers the paths. “Gardens and architecture are the same thing. I can’t separate them,” she says. “There has to be unity.” Lines of sight from every room are linked to features in the gardens and landscapes surrounding each wing.

The water garden room is a neutral space that marks the transition from one wing to the next and is the main entry point to the terrace. With radiant heat under the white granite floor, potted palms and ferns, and two wall fountains, it is a warm, moist space that Quick says acts as a whole-house humidifier. “Since I’m stuck indoors for five months of the year, I wanted to hear water inside — and not from a leak in the roof!” she says with a laugh.

Terraforming the Site

The original white house was perfect for her needs, but Quick felt like it was not “part of the place” until she added the new wing. “It took 20 years to figure that out,” she says. “You can’t rush good design.”

After her divorce, Quick — a travel writer — could have relocated anywhere in the world but chose to stay in Jaffrey near friends and family. Her brother offered her several parcels of his land and she picked the one with the south-facing slope. It proved to be a challenge. “I ended up becoming a self-taught civil engineer,” she says, smiling. A watershed for Mt. Monadnock, the land was swampy and full of nasty invasives. “We found out just how wet it was when we started digging the foundation for the white house,” she says. “Over time, the hill was reshaped, creating levels that weren’t there originally. Now it has proper channels for rainwater to flow and do no damage.” An 8-foot-deep culvert fed by nine
French drains never stops running.

Instead of mud, when digging the foundation for the black wing they found rock — lots of rock. “It was full of boulders and glacial scree,” Quick says. “My choice was paying to have it taken away or doing something cool with it, so I created a park for myself.” The rocks were used to line a 100-foot-long, curved walkway leading to a stone circle overlooking the newly dug, heart-shaped pond she calls a “sky mirror.” Several of the boulders make natural throne-like seating and there is a built-in stone fireplace. When the walkway’s solar lights come on at night, it creates what Quick calls “a serpent of light.” Surrounded by conservation land, the pond meadow is often visited by local wildlife. “I feel I made the site healthier by reforming it,” she says. “When animals congregate here, I know I did the right thing.”

Adaptability

Late-season blooms, including hydrangea, take center stage in the terrace garden, where a combination pergola and bench — designed by Quick — sports a curved copper top, echoing the curved eave over the living room bump-out window, directly opposite, in the new wing.

“Drainage rules everything,” Quick says, “and when the yard springs a leak, it’s time for another French drain.” Once, after a heavy rain, water made its way down the hill to the front entry and leaked into the basement. The lawn had to be excavated to add a new French drain to divert the water away from the house. “It wasn’t a great loss; the grass was always sparse,” she explains. Instead of another lawn, she opted for a low-maintenance combination of dwarf conifers and ornamental grasses. “It’s the smartest garden I ever designed,” she says. “From July onward, when I’m in the great room, the calamagrostis looks like lace curtains are hung outside the windows.”

“When looming pines in the backyard became house killers, they had to go,” she says. It created a sunny spot with great, well-drained soil where she is establishing a wildflower meadow. “The new wing, which was dark and shady before, now has plentiful morning light,” she explains.

Windows flood the front of the house with light. The fireplace screen, depicting elements from English gardens Quick has visited,
was handpainted by Jaffrey artist Holly Alderman.

Unable to find the perfect garden furniture, she designed her own and had it made by a Massachusetts blacksmith, launching a new business venture. “It is a huge pleasure to know that, if I can’t find something, I can design it and there are excellent craftspeople and artisans that have the skills to make it.” The collection includes colorful, powder-coated metal tables and seating that is comfortable without cushions and can be left outside year-round. She placed chairs along the paths where she felt the need to sit, all with a good view of the garden. Shades of purple and blue are favorites and they often echo the colors of nearby plants. She says there is always a salvia or veronica in bloom from the end of May until a killing frost. “A garden should express its maker,” Quick says. “Even though it is artificial, it needs to be in harmony with the genius of the place.”

If you would like to see more pictures of this project and read some of Quick’s armchair travel diaries, check out her website, nanquick.com.