I always make it a point to attend Trade Secrets every spring. On Saturday my schedule was exceptionally tight - Trade Secrets in the early morning, and then to New York City for my granddaughter's dance recital in the afternoon, but it all worked out. More than 1500-visitors attend Trade Secrets in the picturesque town of Sharon, Connecticut. The philanthropic sale draws growers, dealers, and artisans together to sell unusual plants, garden antiques, and other unique outdoor objects. Trade Secrets was developed by interior designer, Bunny Williams in the year 2000 when she conducted the very first sale to downsize her collection of plants in her greenhouse. It was a success from the very beginning and is now run at LionRock Farm. The proceeds from Trade Secrets go to the Women’s Support Services in northwestern Connecticut.
It's a wonderful sale and a very important cause - here are some photos. Enjoy.
This is Trade Secrets’ 19th year anniversary. I always like to get there bright and early on the first day of this two-day event. This year, because of all the rain over the last few weeks, parking moved to nearby LimeRock Park, so we arrived there even earlier than usual. We left my Bedford, New York farm promptly at 5:30am and pulled in to LionRock just before 7am.
With all there is to see and learn, it’s a good time and a good cause, rain or shine. At least 60-vendors from around the northeast region set-up under tents at LionRock, a 600-acre working farm often used for large events. http://www.lionrockfarm.com
The grounds of LionRock Farm, owned by Elaine LaRoche, are always so beautifully manicured. And this year, it was a beautiful day – little to no wind and highs in the 70s.
One of my favorite stops is Conifer Kingdom. It always carries a lot of wonderful specimens that I love. Conifers are any gymnosperm tree or shrub of the phylum Coniferophyta. They typically bear cones and evergreen leaves and include pines, spruces, larches, yews, junipers, cedars, cypresses and sequoias. http://www.coniferkingdom.com
I love the more rare specimens with unique and colorful cones – there were many from which to choose.
I selected these two Pinus contorta var. latifolia ‘Taylor’s Sunburst’ – a narrow, upright tree form of Lodgepole pine with short, open branching and medium-length dark green needles. In spring, it shows off fresh growth in bright golden-yellow.
These six hanging planters also caught my eye at the Dave & Bonnie Ferriss tent. I often like to buy multiples of items I like – they look so pretty displayed together. Dave and Bonnie are dealers from Lake Luzerne, New York who specialize in architectural garden ornaments, folk art, and country furniture.
Glendale Botanicals from Glendale Massachusetts also had some beautiful plants for sale. https://www.glendalebotanicals.com/
I call this Lady’s slipper orchid “Jude’s orchid” after my granddaughter – the long, hanging petals remind me of Jude’s pigtails.
Glendale Botanicals also carried some gorgeous Staghorn ferns, Platycerium. I purchased two of them.
This particular booth was run by Hillside Nursery, a small nursery, plant culture lab, and research facility in Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts. I visit this tent every year. http://www.hillsidenursery.biz
At the Privet House booth was this pretty settee. Privet House bills itself as ‘An Emporium of Home Goods, Antiques and Curiosities’. Their displays are always very pretty. https://privethouse.com
I took this photo of this interesting table with three large animal feet as its legs – so many interesting pieces this year.
Dawn Hill Antiques had this whimsical set of woodland themed plates with rabbits frolicking through a garden – much better on plates than in real life. https://dawnhillantiques.com/
McCue Gardens based in Wethersfield, Connecticut offered many young plantings – so colorful and so lush. https://www.facebook.com/mccuegardens/
This year, there were two more plant vendors than antiques vendors – a nice combination of specialty dealers who are very knowledgeable about the items they sell.
Green Bee Greenhouse is a small family-owned nursery located in Cornwallville, New York that focuses on growing vegetable starts, perennials, and shrubs including small fruits. http://www.greenebeegreenhouse.com/
In the back of one of the fields is this giant trellis planted with hornbeams.
Nearby, this installation set up by Black Barn and Topiary Design in Richmond, Massachusetts. Beautiful sights of Sharon can be seen in the distance. The town of Sharon is surrounded by Salisbury to the north, the Housatonic River to the east, Kent, Connecticut to the south, and to the west, Dutchess County, New York.
Jeffrey Henkel, a private antiques and design dealer had these faux bois planters at his tent. I love the faux mushrooms on the sides. https://www.instagram.com/jeffreyhenkel/
Judy Milne always has many large and beautiful outdoor garden ornaments and planting containers. I almost bought these peacocks, but unfortunately, they were a little too small to display near my peafowl palais.
Judy Milne has a shop called At Home Antiques and Design in Kingston, New York. She carries folk art, furniture, decorative accessories and garden antiques. http://milneinc.com/
There were many different kinds of antique planters – made from every material known, such as marble, stone, clay, and metal. Here are two that I love because of their size and shape – I purchased them both from Passports Antiques. http://www.passportscollection.com/
Passports also offered this table of canine garden ornaments – alas, no French Bulldogs or Chow Chows this time.
Pondside Nursery from Hudson, New York was another great tent to visit. I got several plants here for the farm. http://www.pondsidenursery.com/
Hammertown Barn is a longtime Trade Secrets vendor. This year, they had these fun pillows and benches. https://hammertown.com/
Trade Secrets is also a nice source for unusual outdoor antiques such as these metal blue agaves from Marvin Gardens. http://marvingardensusa.com/
One of the vendors I always stop to see is master potter, Guy Wolff. His tent is always filled with beautiful pots. Guy’s shop is in nearby Bantam, Connecticut. http://www.guywolff.com
I am always happy to see Guy’s pottery – everything he makes is so beautifully handcrafted in his studio.
I have been using Wolff pots for many years. Guy has been on my television shows, and his pottery has been featured in my magazines, on my web site at marthastewart.com, and on this blog. http://www.themarthablog.com/2015/12/a-visit-to-guy-wolff-pottery-in-bantam-connecticut.html
At the Marston House tent, I loved this large plant stand. Marston is located in Wiscassett, Maine. http://www.marstonhouse.com
Some of the vendors were from other states. Hoffman & Woodward is located in East Berlin, Pennsylvania. They displayed many interesting and more utilitarian objects for the home and garden such as these shears and handmade pruners.
Here is a basket of dibbers for planting seeds and bulbs.
When buying items at Trade Secrets, everyone is assigned an ID number, which is then tagged on each purchase and taken to a holding area for pick-up at the end of the visit. This very organized system makes it convenient for patrons to continue shopping. It is always so nice to see how much people buy for this great cause. Trade Secrets benefits Women’s Support Services, an organization which offers free confidential assistance to victims of domestic violence. http://www.wssdv.org
All my plants and other purchases are ready to be loaded onto the trucks. Ryan carefully places each item into the truck and checks it off the list to make sure we got everything we bought.
Fortunately, we had two trucks to carry all my purchases. We put one heavy planter in each and strapped it securely. All the plants filled in the rest of the space.
Somehow, I always know just how much I can buy in order to fit it all into the vehicles. Everything arrived home in great condition. Once everything is back at the farm, it is organized by type in front of my gym garage and given a good drink of water.
It’s always so much fun at Trade Secrets where I always find new and unusual specimens. I can’t wait to start planting.
It’s always important to keep up with lawn maintenance chores, especially during this time of year when everything is growing so quickly.
Here at my farm, my outdoor grounds crew is busy edging the interior carriage roads, so they look crisp and clean. Edging the lawns can be done manually with a variety of spades, but depending on the size of the yard, it can become quite time-consuming. Rotary edgers, powered by gasoline or electricity, reduce the time it takes to complete this job. These machines feature a spinning blade that cuts through turf as the edger is pushed along the grass border. We edge the roads with a Little Wonder Power Edger. It works really well for creating that beautiful, smooth edge.
Enjoy these photos.
My farm sits on 153-acres of land that includes four miles of gravel covered carriage road. Over the course of the year, grass and weeds grow where the road meets the lawn, so it’s a good idea to edge the roads regularly. My outdoor grounds crew started this task ahead of the season’s first spring entertaining party.
This Little Wonder gas powered edger is such a useful tool – it is a single purpose machine used to make good, crisp lines along the edges of garden beds and lawns.
The blade is several inches long and cuts a very clean edge. Here it is protected by a metal cutter head that can also prevent some of the debris from flying.
The blade’s cutting depth can be adjusted from a lever near the handlebar of the machine. It can cut up to four inches deep.
When using the edger, Chhiring keeps both hands on the handle at all times when it is running. Here he is guiding the machine slowly along the carriage road, keeping the blade tight against the paved surface, so it cuts through the earth.
And the crew always wears safety equipment including this helmet with a shield and additional ear muffs. It is so important to protect the face from any flying debris.
Chhiring uses twine and a sod staple to mark perfect lines wherever the carriage roads are straight.
He lines up the twine where the edger should go.
Here is the twine pulled taut indicating where the edger needs to pass.
Then Chhiring lines up the edger’s blade and continues to edge along the road.
Chhiring also listens to the edger to guide the speed. The machine works harder when cutting through the turf and is generally quieter when it finishes.
It is easy to see the finished edge from behind as Chhiring walks along the carriage road.
Here is the finished line made by the edger. This task can also be done manually with a spade, but with the number of roads that need edging around my farm, it is a lot easier to use our Little Wonder.
Once a section has been edged, pull up any existing vegetation between the cut edging line and the lawn. The crew likes to use garden paddle hoes for this job.
A basic paddle hoe has a six-inch blade on a 52-inch wooden handle attached with a goose-neck for better alignment. The hoe has a blade that easily draws the soil out from the edge.
It looks so clean – see how the hoe has pulled out all the unwanted, overgrown grass and weeds?
The roads are about 12-feet wide, which is what it should be after any overgrowth is removed.
After a section is complete, Fernando uses a soft rake to remove all the debris from the road. This is also a good time to check for any weeds that have grown and pick them up.
In general, power edgers are very easy to use – just line up the edger blade on the turf side of the road and turn it on. This gas powered machine requires one to pull a cord to start the motor.
Here’s Pete edging another area in front of my flower cutting garden. The important thing is to focus on staying in line with the turf – one of the biggest problems among homeowners is that they go too low and ignore the line they are following.
Here is a section of carriage road before it was edged.
Pete slowly lines up the edger again and continues to edge along the road.
And here is the same area after the debris has been raked away. The task of edging miles of road takes several days to complete, but I think you’ll agree it is well worth the effort.
And then Pete and the crew move on to the area in front of my Winter House. It is a good idea to do this at least once a year to keep on top o the overgrown grass.
And here he is edging the road by my Party Lawn. Keep going Pete – the roads look great! What outdoor chores are you tackling this weekend? Let me know in the comments section below!
Earlier this week, I hosted a special dinner gathering at my home for a group of business colleagues and associates. My friend, Chef Pierre Schaedelin from PS Tailored Events, and I planned a delicious menu for 16. The first course was English pea risotto, followed by soft shell crab meuniere, with carrot puree and asparagus from my garden. The dessert was a mouth-watering rhubarb and strawberry shortcake using rhubarb also grown right here at the farm. It was the most delectable meal and a lovely spring evening.
Enjoy these photos.
After several days of rain, we finally got perfect springtime weather. Here is a view of the large paddock from my terrace parterre – you can see two of my handsome Friesians in the distance.
Inside, I was busy preparing for dinner in my Brown Room. Here I am removing the big antique hurricanes from the long dining table – they are beautiful, but a bit too tall for comfortable table conversation.
When setting up for a party, I always choose the dinner plates and serving platters early, so I am sure I have enough for all the guests and all the dishes being served. It’s okay to use dinner plates from different sets if you’re expecting a large group – use coordinating colors and your table will look great.
If using cloth napkins or tablecloths, be sure to iron them in advance.
I also pulled out the silverware and placed them on a towel in a small bin to carry them to the dining table for setting – so much easier than carrying by hand.
We also prepared the salt and pepper dishes ahead of time. I like to use several small dishes for salt and pepper that can be placed within easy reach down the length of the table.
Meanwhile, inside my Flower Room kitchen, my friend, Chef Pierre Schaedelin from PS Tailored Events, is busy preparing the asparagus from my garden – such beautiful thick green and purple stalks. He cut all of them to the same size – this is part of the “mis-en-place” – meaning “set in place”. It refers to having all the ingredients prepped and ready to go before cooking.
Chef Pierre also likes to trim an inch and a half off the bottoms of the asparagus stalks. He says it takes some time to do every one, but it makes for such a pretty presentation.
Pierre brought these gorgeous sweet strawberries for our dessert.
I also wanted some puff pastry straws to serve my guests, so Pierre made two trays of these poppy seed “straws” made using an all-butter puff pastry.
I was also baking inside my Winter House kitchen. Here, I am sprinkling sanding sugar on top of the White Lily light and fluffy biscuits for our shortcake.
This quick snapshot was taken just before I put the biscuits in the oven.
For this dinner, I decided to use these fun cabbage placements for our table setting.
They look great under the more formal white dinner plates and napkins.
When setting a table, always face the knives inward. If you use antique monogrammed flatware, notice the monogram is only on one side – the monogram is seen only when the knife is facing the right direction.
Our table is coming together nicely. Faux bois tapered candles and round etched glass vases are added for the centerpiece – you will love what I put into the vases.
Here are the biscuits – hot and fresh from the oven.
These vases are from Terrain, a garden center and eatery in Westport, Connecticut. Using several vases placed along the table filled with colorful flowers is an easy way to decorate a table.
Doesn’t the table look stunning? Lilacs are growing so wonderfully here at the farm right now, so Ryan gathered several bunches and I arranged them in the glass vases. They add the perfect color to our green and white palette.
Here is a view from above. We also placed a few small pots of Chinese money plants, Pilea peperomioides, next to the lilacs. These plants always attract a lot of attention. My dinners include a menu printed on off-white card stock with a small illustration of the great sycamore tree, which is the symbol of my farm, Cantitoe Corners.
Guests were asked to arrive at 6pm. We served drinks from my lower terrace parterre before I led the group on a walking tour around the farm.
Here is the first course – a delicious English pea risotto with Maitake mushrooms. The mushroom is commonly known among as hen of the woods, ram’s head, and sheep’s head.
And here are the soft shell crabs ready for plating. These were cooked a la meuniere – lightly dredged in flour before being quickly sautéed for no more than two minutes per side.
Pierre and sous chef Kevin Cutuc plate the asparagus and carrot puree at the large counter in my Winter House kitchen.
Look how beautiful – each guest got two soft shell crabs with their vegetables. The finishing touch – a drizzle of brown butter caper sauce.
Here is a view of the plate at the table – everyone loved it, and there were absolutely no leftovers!
Our dessert is also perfect – fresh rhubarb and strawberry shortcake. Rhubarb grows so well here at the farm – it is tart yet sweet and delicious in all kinds of desserts as well as savory dishes.
The rhubarb compote was utterly delectable. We also used fresh whipped cream. It was a great dinner had by all. Please look at my Instagram page @MarthaStewart48 for additional photos from the dinner. I hope this post inspires you to do some spring entertaining this weekend.
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