The Newport Cottage & Garden You'll Want To See This Summer

You know how some people get a big kick out of referring to the Newport Mansions as summer cottages? Well, there's an actual (adorable) summer cottage on Bellevue you've probably motored right past. And who could blame you? I mean once any of us even approaches that postal code, we tend to get all starry eyed over the sights and stories of the opulence of the Gilded Age. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but The Flower Cottage 

The Flower Cottage at 463 Bellevue Ave in Newport, RI

dating back to 1870 is a must see on your next walking tour of the Bellevue Ave Historic District. Or another reason to embark on one this season.

Back in the day, 1870-ish thru the early 1900's, a florist named John M. Hodgson who became super famous for designing incredible arrangements for the glitterati of Gilded Age Newport - kind of the Flowers By Semia or John Orton of his day if you will - used the Cottage as his storefront. There's a movie script in there somewhere with big name playing Hodgson of course, but I digress.

A Few IG's Of The Summer Cottage

Anywho, by 1921 the Cottage was converted to a private residence. The good news is that over the many years, it's been well maintained and updated, enviably so. I know this because it happens to be available for summer rental and I was scrolling pics of the 5 bedroom, 5.5 bath interior and back patio online the other night. So, if you happen to have an extra 20K lying around, or come into a lottery win or windfall inheritance at some point in the not too distant future, add it to your Summer 2019 or 2020 living your best life list. In the meantime, you can also ooh and aah over it via real estate sites based in RI and beyond.

Photo Credits: Top photo by PattyJ.com; additional photos from Instagram