October 23, 2015

Picking-Up the Roads at Skylands

Autumn in Maine signals a lot of maintenance work at my home, Skylands.

Because winters can be rather harsh in the Northeast, I pay very close attention to the preparations made before the season’s arrival. This includes the meticulous care of the landscape, and my many carriage roads that meander through the woods. Danish landscape architect, Jens Jensen, designed the grounds at Skylands for the home’s original owner, Edsel Ford, in 1925. Not only was the main house constructed out of pink granite, but the driveways and all the carriage roads were laid with the same finely crushed stone.

To preserve the pink granite gravel, which is very common on Mount Desert Island, I make sure it is removed, cleaned and stored before each summer season. Here are photos showing the fall process.

And, to learn more about my home, Skylands, see the July 2015 issue of Architectural Digest, and my web site at marthastewart.com.

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