The Chalet

he Chalet is a historic 4.6-acre property overlooking Newport Harbor. When replanting the aging tree canopy of The Chalet, Dan Burns and Tom Eberhardt walked the grounds looking for telltale depressions or mounds which marked the spot where trees planted by Axel Anderson — head gardener for the estate from the late 1880’s to the 1940’s — once stood. In deference to stewards of the past, new trees have been planted in many of these spots along with “shadow plantings” next to mature trees whose lifespans are nearing their limits.

Over the past decade, the Chalet’s now carefully-tended landscape has slowly but surely recovered from a long period of benign neglect. In 2006, condominium owners gathered together to begin an ambitious restoration of the property, and since that time, an incredible variety of trees have been planted. This story of the rise, fall and rebirth of The Chalet’s historic landscape gives a striking parallel to the story of Newport’s urban forest as a whole.