A Busy Saturday at Hollister House Garden and Clove Brook Farm

September 13, 2019

A Busy Saturday at Hollister House Garden and Clove Brook Farm

My calendar is always filled with events and speaking engagements.

Last weekend, I made a quick visit to the picturesque foothills of Litchfield County, Connecticut to speak at The Garden Study Weekend IX Symposium hosted by Hollister House Garden Inc. and The Garden Conservancy. I was one of several who participated in a series called “Garden Visions”. During my presentation, I talked about the lessons I learned as a child while tending my family’s garden with my father. I shared my thoughts on garden design, planting, and sustainability. And I presented a collection of photos from my own gardens - at Turkey Hill, my previous home in Westport, Connecticut, at Skylands in Maine, at Lily Pond in East Hampton, and of course, at my farm in Bedford. Following the symposium, I toured the beautifully manicured English inspired Hollister House Garden and then drove back to New York for a delicious dinner with friends. It was a busy, but very interesting and funfilled day.

Enjoy these photos.

: The sold-out Symposium was held at the Heritage Hotel in Southbury, Connecticut. Here I am with the horticulturalist of Chanticleer’s Gravel Garden Lisa Roper, George Schoellkopf the owner of Hollister House Garden, and head gardener at Sissinghurst Castle, Troy Scott Smith.

: My presentation was entitled “My Life in Four Gardens.” I talked about the gardens in Bedford, East Hampton, Maine and at my previous Connecticut home, Turkey Hill. I am always very proud to talk about how I learned to garden from my father – I learned so much from him.

: I told everyone how much I love to work in my gardens and greenhouses whenever I am home. I explained that I pay lots of attention to the soil quality and constantly try to amend and improve it every season.

: This is a photo of my orchard and pool at my Bedford, New York farm. I talked about how I developed the property piece by piece, but that it is still a huge work in progress.

: I listened to other presentations – this one by David Culp, author and garden designer on “Making Meadows.”

: And Troy gave a presentation on “Re-vita-lising Vita” – focusing on Sissinghurt Castle’s Vita Sackville West’s garden. Everyone gave such wonderful and informative speeches – I took copious notes on all the presentations.

: After the symposium, we all gathered at Hollister House Garden in Washington, Connecticut for cocktails and a preview buying session for a plant sale event. The garden is located on the southeastern side of this 18th-century house. (Photo courtesy of Hollister House Garden)

: The entire property is on 25-beautifully manicured acres. This area is called the Double Border. (Photo courtesy of Hollister House Garden)

: Many hedges around the garden separate the various spaces and “rooms”. This is the “Indian Walk”. (Photo courtesy of Hollister House Garden)

: Here is Stephen Orr who moderated the Symposium. You may remember, Stephen used to work for me as garden editorial director for our magazine, Living”. He is now the Editor-in-Chief of “Better Homes and Gardens”. He and Troy stopped for this quick photo in the gardens. (Photo courtesy of Hollister House Garden)

: And here I am with George and David Culp.

: Later that evening, we drove back to New York for dinner at the home of my friend, lighting designer Christopher Spitzmiller, called Clove Brook Farm. A private garden tour of Clove Brook Farm is being offered through The Garden Conservancy September 21st. Go to the web site for more information. https://bit.ly/2ZFQh4W

: Christopher hosts an intimate birthday dinner party every year. Here I am with Christopher’s mom, Amy Mayfield, and their friend, Patrice Masri.

: Here I am with my friends Clare Potter and Memrie Lewis. You can follow both of them in Instagram @clarepotterny and @memrielewis.

: JuneBug, as she is known, prepared many of the dishes for the dinner. Here she is putting the final touches on a celeriac remoulade with grilled zucchini and little French balls of zucchini. Her Instagram handle is @brushandwhisk.

: The meal was displayed as a buffet – everything looked so delicious. Christopher sells beautiful pottery – platters, giant bowls and plates. https://shop.christopherspitzmiller.com/products/hand-marbled-dinner-plate

: In this photo – my head gardener, Ryan McCallister, JuneBug and Christopher’s boyfriend, Anthony Bellomo.

: This is the radicchio salad made by Anthony. It was inspired by the radicchio salad made at Flora Bar New York.

: This kale salad was made using greens from Christopher’s garden. Christopher also made the delicious dressing to go with it.

: This is JuneBug’s confetti corn salad.

: JuneBug made a platter of meatloaf with pickles on a fluffy bed of watercress and arugula. The meatloaf was oven roasted with red, yellow and orange tomatoes – a big hit.

: And here’s a platter of halved lobster rolls sprinkled with chives.

: And don’t forget the birthday cake. There was a chocolate peanut butter cake, a Heath Bar chocolate cake made by Christopher’s mom, and a key lime pie.