Here's an encore blog I originally posted after a memorable visit back to Turkey Hill, my former home in Westport Connecticut, in June of 2017.
I am so happy to share photos with you from my very special visit to my former Connecticut home.
Over the weekend, I traveled about 30-minutes to nearby Westport and to Turkey Hill, the place I called home for more than 30-years. I was invited there to lead a tour and to speak at a fundraising event for Positive Directions, a community-based, not-for-profit organization offering alcohol and substance misuse prevention and counseling services. Casey Berg, the current owner of Turkey Hill, is a member of the Positive Directions Board. Of course, I was thrilled with the opportunity and excited to see how my old home had changed. As many of you know, Turkey Hill was a dream place for my family and me. I learned so much from all the work we completed there - all by ourselves, without the use of outside contractors. We restored the home, built new structures, developed the landscape and designed the gardens and borders. Turkey Hill was my original farmhouse and my first 'laboratory', where my ‘empire’ began. It's been featured in my magazines and on my television shows. I would not be who I am today without the vast knowledge I gained at Turkey Hill.
The Berg family made what I started even better - the home and the gardens look amazing. I am so happy this special place is in their care. Here are some images from my wonderful visit. And please tell me what you think about Turkey Hill's evolution in the comments below - I'm excited to hear from all of you.
Here I am with Casey Berg, who moved to Turkey Hill with her family 10-years ago.
I love how much this antique farmer’s home has evolved over the years. When I first heard about this house, I learned it had once been an onion farm. It was on two acres, and had a few large trees. There was no garage or barn, just an old picket fence and an unkempt yard. My husband and I did a ton of work to create what became my “laboratory”.
As part of the tour, I hosted a special Facebook LIVE to show the evolution of Turkey Hill. Here we are at the front entrance.
Inside the foyer, we saw several photos of Turkey Hill. This picture is of my garden shed down by the barn.
I laid the wide path of antique brick that leads to the cherry tree – one of a dozen we received from Japan. And I planted a broad allee of boxwood on both sides. The boxwood shrubs still look great.
This purple beech tree was definitely not this large when I planted it. It was a gift to my husband, Andy, for his 40th birthday. It looks so majestic now.
And, I built the roof for the well. We did so many things without the use of any contractors. This home was where I experimented and learned. My husband and I did lots of excavating and sculpting of the land – we also constructed a barn, a chicken coop, and a garden shed.
This indoor porch is also the same – with all the wonderful glass doors. I painted Turkey Hill the color of drabware – the Bergs chose a similar and very pretty color as well – it matches the landscape so nicely.
Here is a view of the home from the far end of the pool. The new pool at my Bedford, New York farm, was inspired by this pool.
Here is the pool from the other end – so serene.
This hornbeam hedge allee is new to me – I love it. It is a nice addition to the garden.
At the end is a simple sitting area under the shade of a beautiful apple tree.
And this is the flower garden. In the center is an armillary sphere – a model of objects in the sky consisting of a spherical framework of rings that represent various features of astronomy.
The garden still has a many pretty flowers and colors – the poppies, and alliums, and irises. When I designed the gardens, I considered structure, texture, and varied plant material. It is so full and gorgeous.
Here is another stunning floral border.
Much of the pool area has not changed – I love all the layering of the foliage – everything has just grown so much over the years.
The iron arches were originally made by my brother. The Bergs kept them and just painted them a different color. I love all the pathways and all the grass – everything is so lovingly maintained.
Here is another beautiful arbor leading into another garden.
Here is the orchard, located beyond the garden and pool on the way to the barn.
This is my first gardening book, “Martha Stewart’s Gardening: Month by Month”, published in 1991. The Bergs keep it on a table in their den.
The Bergs connected the carriage house to the main house. This den is part of that new addition.
Here is the old fireplace in my kitchen – one of seven in the home. I spent so much time stripping this of all the old paint – it was so great to see again. On the left side is a dutch oven, which still works.
This wall of cabinets was part of Turkey Hill when I lived here – my goal was to have enough space for all my entertaining dishes and silverware.
This is a view looking at the back of the house with the expansive porch.
Here I am joined by Casey, and the Bergs’ architect, John Fifield, of Fifield Piaker Elman Architects, PC. John did such a fine job melding the old with the new – and borrowing the exterior details and proportions to form the existing house so it feels like it was always there.
Here I am with landscape architect, Chris Kusske, of Kolkowitz and Kusske. He did a fabulous job with the gardens. Chris said his goal was to make Turkey Hill more usable for the Bergs while respecting the existing garden beds.
Here is Levi, who started working for me in 1982. He continued to work at Turkey Hill after I moved to Bedford, and has kept all these gardens looking so amazing over the years.
As we continued the tour – many visitors arrived. Look closely and you can spot my longtime publicist and dear friend, Susan Magrino.
And, I am sure you all recognize Laura. She started working for me here at Turkey Hill – she loves this property so much. She came for this special tour. On the ledge is my four-month old puppy, Empress Chin – she is growing into a gorgeous Chow Chow.
Here is Levi working in the flower garden.
I showed guests this special tree – can you see why it is so special?
If you look closely, these branches connect from the trunk to a heavier, older limb, and actually keep it from breaking. I have never seen a tree like this.
This is Jose – he helps Levi with all the gardening. Does he look familiar? His brother is Wilmer, who works at my farm.
After touring the gardens, we walked passed the hedges toward the shed and barn.
Here is my old garden shed – it is where I said something very special – do you know what phrase I coined in this structure?
This is Lynn Abramson, chairman of the Board of Positive Directions, a community-based, 501(c)(3) not-for-profit located in Westport, Connecticut. It is the primary provider of alcohol and substance misuse prevention and individual counseling services. She welcomed everyone for attending and spoke a bit about the organization.
About 100-people arrived to hear my garden talk.
It was such a beautiful day – perfect for an outdoor event. It was so nice to see such an enthusiastic and interested crowd.
I spoke about the history of the gardens -what I had done when I lived here, and how it has evolved. I also shared some of my gardening tips with the audience.
This is the chicken coop – there are no chickens in here now, but it still looks the same. When I lived here, the chicken coop was home to about 80 excellent laying hens, and roosters.
And, here are some of my current and former colleagues who joined me at Turkey Hill for the special visit.
Before I left, I stopped for a quick photo with Basil Hero, executive director of Positive Directions, and members of the Positive Directions team.
Here's a blog I originally posted in June on an interesting exhibit at the Lyndhurst Estate not farm from my Bedford, New York farm. If you're in the area, you can still catch it - it runs through the summer.
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.
We're continuing with a selection of encore blog postings this week. Here's another memorable blog from our visit to Woodbury, Connecticut. It was originally posted on September 5th, 2018. Enjoy.
If you’re ever in or around western Connecticut and love visiting small, charming towns or shopping for antiques, I encourage you to make a stop in the quaint hamlet of Woodbury.
Nestled in the foothills of Litchfield County, Woodbury is known as the “Antiques Capital of Connecticut.” This reputation was established more than 50-years ago when antiques dealers began setting up shops in the historic homes along Main Street. Now the area has more than 35 antiques stores featuring some of the best in period furniture, decor, and art. Woodbury is also filled with beautiful churches and inns, and excellent restaurants and cafes. I've been to Woodbury many times and have always enjoyed my visits there - I know you will too.
Yesterday, my assistant went to Woodbury to pick up something I had recently purchased. This is Tucker Frey Antiques, a shop specializing in 18th and early 19th century pieces. http://www.walinfreyantiques.com/
I had purchased these two antique windows from Tucker Frey, last month, at the New Hampshire Antiques Show. These windows are 300-years old.
They came from a church in Sheffield, Massachusetts. I love the shape and architecture of these windows.
Tucker’s shop has many treasures including William and Mary, Queen Anne, Chippendale, and Federal period furniture and accessories.
Here is a folk art portrait of a boy and his dog from the early 1800s.
This tabletop figure of a woman and her hat probably came from a 19th-century milliner’s shop.
Here is a beautiful antique chest with original brass hardware – everything is in such excellent condition.
Here is one of several copper molds at Tucker’s shop – this lion is quite rare. Molds were popular during the Victorian Era for both savory and sweet dishes. I have collected many molds over the years.
This is an antique pheasant weather vane mounted on a wooden stand.
Next door to Tucker Frey Antiques is Cedar Meadow Store – an antiques shop with whimsy. Owners, Veronica Martin and Jim Orsi both enjoy color, graphics, nature, and folk art. On a center of this table is a taxidermy kingfisher under a glass dome. It is early 20th century from a Natural History Museum in Italy.
This large “store” sign is original from 1850.
This is a set of Victorian nesting blocks.
And here – two Hubley cast iron Boston Terrier door stops. In front of them are modern Tatine votive candles.
Woodbury is very historic. St. Paul’s Episcopal Church sits across the street from Tucker’s shop. It was first organized in 1740.
In 1961, a new parish house was attached to St. Paul’s. The land under the parish house had belonged to the Town of Woodbury, which sold the property to the church in 1959 for a dollar.
Further down Main Street is The Elemental Garden. Unfortunately, it was closed at the time. http://www.theelementalgarden.com/
The Elemental Garden focuses on rare and authentic garden antiques, bold furnishings, and unusual decorative accessories – the walkway to the entrance was decorated with this quaint arbor.
Along the driveway are several ornamental garden statues. This is a set of four lead figures, each representing a different season, raised on large plinth blocks of limestone. They were once part of Oprah Winfrey’s personal collection.
These are covered marble mid-18th century urns hand-carved by a master Italian artisan in Marchese.
This is the Woodbury Public Library. The town’s library first opened in 1851 with a collection of 200-books. It moved to this location in 1902. In its earliest days, the library was governed by several rules including “books could be drawn on the first Thursday of each month, and three-cent fines were levied for damages such as turned down pages or ink spots.”
Not far is the Woodbury Town Hall Building.
The Red Barn Thrift Shop is the go-to place for gently used clothing, household items, books, linens.
The sign next to the door listed its hours and times. Unfortunately, this day was a Tuesday…
Next door is the Red Barn’s other building called the Parsonage Boutique, where most of the clothing items are displayed for visitors.
Wayne Mattox Antiques is a trusted source for 18th and 19th century American furniture, paintings and folk art as well as primitives and antiques with historic appeal. https://www.antiquetalk.com/
The gallery is housed in a classic Greek revival home. This handsome wooden figure sits by the front door.
Wayne has many beautiful antique weather vanes such as this cow with a beautiful patina – the green or brown film on the surface of bronze or similar metals, produced by oxidation over a long period of time.
This is a horse weather vane. A weather vane, wind vane, or weathercock, is an instrument showing the direction of the wind. They often sit atop houses or tower buildings.
This is a giant wooden antique post topper from the early 19th century.
Woodbury is also home to this charming old hardware and feed store, CL Adams Company.
Housed in a converted barn, the stalls are used for storing farm animal feed and supplies.
There are also smaller, hand-packed bags of birdseed.
Inside the store, vintage shelving holds an array of cabinet hardware.
And of course, old fashioned gumball machines for its younger visitors.
Many shops along and around Main Street are listed on the National Registry of Historic Buildings, such as the B. Bourgeois Lighting Building, a gallery of historic lighting fixtures. This structure was originally built in the late 1700s.
I hope you get the opportunity to visit this wonderful New England town – steeped in history, charm, and filled with many antique treasures.
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