Enjoy this encore blog posting which originally ran on September 27th, 2022. It features my visit to a wonderful and historic garden.
I love visiting gardens around the country and around the world - especially when they are as enchanting and as beautiful as Wethersfield Estate & Garden in Amenia, New York.
Wethersfield was the country home of philanthropist, conservationist, and banking heir, Chauncey Devereux Stillman. In 1937, he bought two abandoned farms where he designed and developed his estate and eventually expanded the property to its current size of approximately 1,000 acres. Situated at the top of a hill with breathtaking mountain views, the home and land includes a three-acre formal garden, a seven-acre wilderness garden, a working farm, a carriage house and museum, and miles of woodland trails for hiking and horseback riding. Over the weekend, I toured the gardens and attended a lecture on Wethersfield hosted by the Institute of Classical Architecture & Art - a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting and preserving the practice, understanding, and appreciation of classical design. Wethersfield Garden is described as the finest classical garden in the United States built in the second half of the 20th century - I do hope you take the opportunity to visit it someday.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
This is the historic front gate at Wethersfield Estate & Garden. The leaded urns are topped with camels from the Stillman Family crest.
Visitors to Wethersfield Garden are able to view the property map, showing the formal garden near the main house.
Wethersfield’s Director of Horticulture Toshi Yano greets guests and thanks everyone for attending the ICAA’s Bunny Mellon Symposium.
Here, a tall limestone urn in the distance marks the boundary between the working and designed landscape. One can see the Taconic mountain range beyond.
This is the Tempietto at the Belvedere. From here, one can see distant views of the Berkshires and the Catskills. It was important to Chauncey that the design of his stately Georgian-style colonial home include sweeping views of the area.
Here, weeping beech trees are pruned into columns to mark the four corners of the East Garden. Look closely, and one can see Fuchsias overflowing from the leaded urns.
Fuchsias were among Chauncey’s favorite flowering plants. Fuchsia is a genus of tropical perennial plants that produce exotic-looking, two-toned flower blossoms.
Here is another view inside the East Garden with its handsomely manicured hedges.
This statue shows Cupid riding a dolphin in a lovely niche of shale and bluestone. The wall doubles as a rock garden filled with alpine plants.
This is a limestone finial atop a brick column at the Cutting Garden.
This is the “Schooling Field” where Chauncey would train his Hackney horses for four-in-hand carriage driving. A field that also has sweeping mountain views.
This statue is of a panned piper on one side of an arch cut into an arborvitae hedge.
This is a very well-executed ha-ha – a “blind fence,” or a recessed landscape design element that creates a vertical barrier. In the distance one can see the slight change in color toward the end of the lawn marking a four foot drop meant to keep the livestock out of the garden.
The swimming pool at Wethersfield has been converted into a reflecting pool.
The curvature of the oval reflecting pool is echoed in the steps where masses of scented geraniums fill the air with perfume.
I admired the cherub with a finger to his lips. Toshi says it suggests to visitors that “silence is golden.”
This is a living rug in bluestone and turf grass. It marks the entrance to an arborvitae allée. The Naiad fountain at the very end is by Swedish sculptor Carl Milles.
Wethersfield is filled with unusual limestone and lead ornaments – this one also caught my eye.
Urns designed by Stanford White are filled with Artemisia mauiensis, or Maui wormwood – a perennial plant native to the island of Maui with mounding, soft silvery foliage.
It also looks so beautiful in this parterre.
This is the goldfish pool at Wethersfield’s Pine Terrace. The shale retaining walls in the garden are made of stones from the farm’s historic field walls.
Sweet autumn clematis, Clematis terniflora, flows over a fence with its white fragrant blooms. The hills of the Taconic range can be seen in the distance.
This stone step mounting block shows visitors entering or exiting that the owner had horses, and in this case, a collection of riding carriages.
And this is the west side of the main house at Wethersfield, beautifully maintained inside and out. The entire property is now managed by the Wethersfield Foundation. Go to the website at Wethersfield.org to learn more about this fabulous estate and garden.
Here's an encore blog I posted after a memorable trip to Madagascar with my family earlier this year. It was originally posted on March 27th.
There is so much to see in Madagascar - it is incredibly rich in wildlife and natural beauty.
Remote and isolated, Madagascar is home to many unique plants and animals. In fact, nearly 90-percent of its wildlife is endemic to the island. The diverse terrains include volcanic mountain chains, rock formations, sharp limestone cliffs, rainforests, and beaches. My family visited Madagascar during its hot, wet season which extends from November to April. From May to October, it is cooler and much drier with temperatures dropping as low as 50-degrees Fahrenheit. Our daily excursions included walks through Madagascar's national parks, helicopter rides over the coastline, and visits with some of the local villagers. It was a trip we will be talking about for years to come.
Here are more photos, enjoy.
Once we arrived in Madagascar, we boarded a helicopter to Miavana, where we stayed. Our guide and photographer, Marlon Du Toit, took this photo as we viewed the incredible landscapes. (Photo by Marlon Du Toit)
Separated from mainland Africa and India during the Mesozoic Era, Madagascar has been nicknamed “land that time forgot” because of its biodiversity.
The sunsets from the Miavana piazza are breathtaking. (Photo by Marlon Du Toit)
Here is a view through the palm trees. One could see for miles and miles in all directions.
Here I am in front of a defunct lighthouse. While many lighthouses still stand and serve as visual aids, modern electronic navigation now plays a larger role in maritime safety.
Here is a view looking up from the inside of the lighthouse.
Miavana is an island resort located off the northeastern coast of Madagascar. I drove around it on this off-road vehicle – one loop took a couple hours with stops.
One this day, the children went scuba diving. They are very skilled swimmers and love the water. And although they were still too young to get officially certified, they did a great job and saw so much while underwater.
Our daily excursions started from the helicopter. Here is a view of one of the villages. Madagascar is among the world’s poorest countries. Day-to-day survival depends largely on natural resource use such as harvesting seaweed, drying it out, and then exporting to other countries.
This village is named Ampisikinana. Everyone was so friendly. The official languages of Madagascar are Malagasy and French. (Photo by Marlon Du Toit)
I took photos of this classroom. The village children love their school and keep it in such good condition.
This is one of the first animals we saw while in Madagascar – it is a Madagascar day gecko. These geckos can grow quite large – up to a foot long.
Madagascar is home to more than 345 species of reptiles. This includes about half world’s 150 or so species of chameleons. Chameleons are small to mid-size reptiles that are known for their ability to dramatically change colors.
On one of our walks, we saw many Golden-crowned Sifaka lemurs. Here is a family with one lemur mother carrying her youngster. These lemurs are known to be some of our planet’s rarest primates.
Like all lemurs, these Sifaka lemurs are found only on the island of Madagascar. Unfortunately, lemurs are extremely endangered – and largely due to human infringement such as deforestation and hunting.
The eyes of the Sifaka lemur are captivating – although our cameras zoomed in for views, we were able to get pretty close to these amazing creatures.
My granddaughter, Jude, who was 11 years old during this trip, drew this lemur during an art class – she loves the animals and is a very talented artist.
Suarez Baobab trees are found in pockets across the landscape in Madagascar. Bats like to make their home in these trees. They are also responsible for pollinating the white flowers that bloom mostly at night.
Here is another view of the baobab tree. It is a succulent, which means that during the rainy season it absorbs and stores water in its vast trunk, enabling it to produce a nutrient-dense fruit in the dry season.
One of the many dishes we enjoyed was my grandson’s tuna – caught, cleaned and dressed by Truman himself. We were all so proud of him. It was delicious. Here is his grilled tuna served with salted collar steaks.
Marlon also took some amazing drone photos. This is of the clear beaches along the coastline. I hope you also saw all the photos on my Instagram page @MarthaStewart48. It was a lovely trip to Madagascar filled with wonderful memories for me and my family. (Photo by Marlon Du Toit)
Here's a blog I originally posted in June of 2022 on an interesting exhibit at the Lyndhurst Estate not farm from my Bedford, New York farm. If you're in the area, check out their current display focusing on the history of Lyndhurst - open until October 15th, 2023.
A striking exhibition marking the evolution of women artists over the course of 300-years is now on display at the Gothic Revival Lyndhurst Estate in Tarrytown, New York.
Presented inside both the Lyndhurst mansion and in its exhibition gallery, this extraordinary "Women's Work" show features more than 125 works including approximately 50 contemporary pieces mainly created after 1970 by mostly American women artists from diverse backgrounds, placed in conversation next to historic antecedents from the 18th and 19th centuries.
Here are photos of a selection of items included in the exhibit, which is on view now through Monday, September 26th.
The “Women’s Work” exhibit was curated by Lyndhurst’s Executive Director Howard Zar, Nancy Carlisle of Historic New England, and Rebecca R. Hart, an independent contemporary art curator. The show displays historic examples of domestic handcrafted items alongside objects made by contemporary women artists who incorporated the same artistic traditions in their practices.
Many of the pieces are presented in this exhibition gallery on the Lyndhurst grounds. The groupings are intended to show the wide breadth of techniques used to create the pieces over time.
Here from left to right: “Tile Palette” by an unknown maker used by Jane Armstrong Tucker and Celia Thaxter/Haviland & Co., “Teacup and Saucer,” Jane Armstrong Tucker/Haviland & Co., “Plate,” Judy Chicago, “Virginia Wolf Test Plate #1 for The Dinner Party,” Emily Cole, “Monarda Cabinet Plate,” “Untitled (Strawberries),” and Emily Cole’s “Cream Pitcher.”
The “Knit Wool Rug” in the foreground was made by Elvira Curtis Hulett when she was 88-years old living with Shakers in Massachusetts. It shows her attention to detail as well as the utilitarian functionality so often shown in Shaker pieces. Above it on the wall is a more contemporary work by Miriam Schapiro called “Golden Pinwheel” which was made using braided and knitted wool.
Hand stitching was the most time consuming of the skills learned by women in the 18th and 19th centuries. Aside from housework, sewing the family’s clothes and linens took up most of a woman’s daily tasks.
On the left is a quilt by renowned African American quilter, Mozell Stephens Benson in 1991. The center piece is Faith Ringgold’s “Feminist Series: Of My Two Handicaps #10.” Faith is known for popularizing the story quilt, a quilt with pictures and textures used primarily to tell a story. On the right is “Bars Quilt” made by Amish artist Elizabeth Yoder between 1870 and 1880.
This is a contemporary “Checkered Quilted Workwear Jacket” made of cotton and hand-tied yarn by Emily Bode – clothing made with modern fabrics and inspired by traditional practices.
This is called “Pantaloncini: Work No. 069” by Angela Ellsworth. These bloomers replicate those worn by 19th century women under their dresses. These garments became a symbol for women’s rights because they represented a lack of movement and the need for freedom. This piece is made using more than 50-thousand brightly colored dress pins and faux pearl corsage pins.
This is a scallop-shell-patterned needlepoint seat cushion – one of 12 made by First Lady Martha Washington around 1801, after the death of her husband, President George Washington.
In this installation, a wax figure by Sarah Gardner Gee made in the 1700s from wax, silk, linen, glass, shells, and wood, next to “Curupira,” by Shary Boyle in 2014. It shows a young women dressed in fancy clothing with fruit suggesting abundance and fertility displayed with a figure showing vulnerability and fear.
This “Dressing Gown” by an unknown maker was made between 1862 and 1864 out of wool, silk, taffeta, and cotton.
Many of the exhibit’s pieces are also displayed in various rooms of the mansion. They are loosely positioned in areas where they may have most naturally been used.
Here is a set of topsy turvy dolls in the child’s bed of the master bed chamber. The dolls are skirted figures that display a different face when turned upside-down. One made by an unknown woman in the 1860s on the left and two created by the artist Kiki Smith in 2002 – “Little Red Riding Hood” and “Owl and Pussycat.”
Contemporary artist Liza Lou created this piece in 2006. Look closely – it is made entirely with beads and aptly named the “Loo.”
Liza also made the popcorn box and popcorn in the back of this case, again all with beads. The beadwork of Northeastern Indigenous tribes has been known as an art of survival. The other pieces were likely done in the mid 19th century also using Indigenous beading techniques.
On this bed, another quilt created by one of the woman servants. Quilting was influenced by a need to provide proper cold weather bed coverings, but over time, also became a very artistic and expressive art form.
The tableau in the Lyndhurst Library features silhouette pieces by Idelle Weber, Kara Walker, and Jaune Quick-to-See Smith. Silhouettes were very popular in the 19th century as a more affordable art form compared to painted portraits. These were often done as parlor activities in the home.
Kathleen Ryan, “Bad Lemon” or “Sour Blush,” made this in 2020 out of aventurine, smokey quartz, rhodonite, calcite, quartz, labradorite, green line jasper, kambaba jasper, pink opal, citrine, amethyst, rose quartz, agate, serpentine, pink lepidolite, malachite, mother of pearl, freshwater pearl, bone, glass, acrylic, and steel pins on coated polystyrene. She was known to carve larger than life fruits into Styrofoam and then cover them with semi-precious stones and glass beads. The rotted sections of the fruit show the national economic decline during that time.
An unknown woman artist created this “Beaded Fruit” piece in the mid-20th century using synthetic beads and straight pins. The beads likely came from a kit sold to female home hobbyists during the Depression.
This is called “Murmur.” Made of wax, silk, and wire in 2009 by artist Valerie Hammond. It combines flora, fauna, and the human body in various gestures.
After the Civil War, home decorating became more common. Victorians were great fans of nature and horticulture. Below is “Floral Wreath” by an unknown artist made with wool and silk in a gilt wood frame. On top is Portia Munson’s 2012 “Morning Glory Mandala” using pigmented ink on Hahnemuhle paper.
The “Women’s Work” exhibit continues through the summer – catch it if you can. And please visit Lyndhurst – the historic estate will inform, intrigue, and inspire you.
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