An Edible Landscape • Budding Gardeners • Yummy Strawberry Recipes
NEW HAMPSHIRE HOME
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contents
66 28
42
58
34
48
features
departments
48 A Garden Where Old England Meets New England
24 Favorite Finds
74 HOMEWORK
Gordon and Mary Hayward’s magical landscape is being documented for the Smithsonian Archives of American Gardens.
28 HOME COOKING
By Debbie Kane
By Robin Sweetser | Photography by Gordon Hayward
34 Garden R x
58 An Artist’s Oasis
More than half a century after Stephen Parrish created Northcote, the painter’s detailed journals have helped facilitate his gardens’ revival.
For the Garden
In the Strawberry Patch By Mary Ann Esposito
By Andi Axman | Photography by John W. Hession
66 A Farm Carries On
Four Winds Farm in Peterborough is a multi-use property that pays fitting tribute to its owners’ legacy. By Jenny Donelan | Photography by Nancy Belluscio
On the cover: Spring flowering bulbs get the party started in Gordon
and Mary Hayward’s garden, and then the crab apples put on their show. Just over the Connecticut River in Westminster, Vermont, the garden is being submitted to the Smithsonian Archives of American Gardens, with sponsorship from the Garden Club of Dublin, New Hampshire. Photography by Gordon Hayward
Creativity in Bloom
82 INSPIRATION
A Jewel of a Kitchen By Carrie Sherman
Planting Seeds for Children
96 At Home in New Hampshire
By Robin Sweetser
By Sy Montgomery Illustration by Carolyn Vibbert
42 MASTER OF Her CRAFT
Robins’ Alter Ego
An Edible Landscape By Barbara Coles
in every issue 18 From the Editor 20 Letters From our Readers 22 On the Town
87 SPECIAL ADVERTISING
SECTION: landscape showcase
91 Home Resources 96 Mark Your Calendar!
Visit us online at www.nhhomeMagazine.com to read our digital edition, learn about events and use our resource guide. As part of our ongoing effort to support sound environmental practices and preserve our forests for future generations, New Hampshire Home is printed locally by Cummings Printing, a Forest Stewardship Council printer. USPS permit number 008-980. New Hampshire Home is published bimonthly by McLean Communications, Inc.; 150 Dow Street; Manchester, NH 03101; (603) 624-1442. © Copyright 2017 by McLean Communications, Inc. Periodical postage paid at Manchester 03103-9651. Postmaster, send address changes to: McLean Communications; PO Box 433273; Palm Coast, FL 32143
12 | New Hampshire Home
may/june 2017
Rob Karosis Photography
res ident ial commercial int erior des ign
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contributors
may/j u n e 2017 | Vol . 11 , No. 3
www.nhhomemagazine.com
Sharron R. McCarthy Andi Axman Art D irector John R. Goodwin Photo E ditor John W. Hession Asso c iate E ditor Kara Steere editorial Assistant Rose Zevos King photo Assistant Morgan Karanasios
PR ESI DENT/PU B LISH ER
Nancy Belluscio is a photographer specializing in architectural and environmental images. Originally from the White Mountains, she and her family now live and work in the Monadnock Region. She may be reached at nancy@photography-on-site.com. Barbara Coles has long reported on life in New Hampshire, first at Nashua radio station WOTW, then at New Hampshire Public Television and most recently at New Hampshire Magazine. She’s now a contributing editor for the magazine and editor of its Bride issues as well as a freelance writer for various publications. She can be reached at barbaracoles@comcast.net. Jenny Donelan is an editor and writer with a wide variety of interests, and has covered areas that include computer technology, best business practices, pets, skiing and home design. Her articles have appeared in the New York Times, the Boston Globe and numerous other publications. Mary Ann Esposito is the host of the public television series Ciao Italia, now in its twenty-seventh season, and the author of twelve cookbooks, including her most recent, Ciao Italia Family Classics. She lives in New Hampshire. Visit her website at www.ciaoitalia.com.
EDITOR
senior desi g ners
Jodie Hall, Wendy Wood contributors
Nancy Belluscio, Barbara Coles, Jenny Donelan, Mary Ann Esposito, Gordon Hayward, Debbie Kane, Sy Montgomery, Carrie Sherman, Robin Sweetser, Carolyn Vibbert, Wendy Wood regional sales m anag er
Jessica Schooley: (603) 413-5143 jschooley@mcleancommunications.com seacoast sales m anager
Tal Hauch: (617) 921-7033; (603) 413-5145 thauch@mcleancommunications.com
Gordon Hayward has been designing gardens professionally from his home in southern Vermont since 1985. He is also a nationally recognized garden writer and lecturer as well as the author of eleven books on garden design, two of which have won national awards. See more of his work at www.haywardgardens.com. Debbie Kane is a writer and editor based on the New Hampshire Seacoast. She writes about home, design, food, spirits and a variety of other subjects for regional publications and clients across New England. She may be reached at www.debbiekanewriter.com. Morgan Karanasios is New Hampshire Home’s photo assistant as well as a contributing photographer. While she was a student in Dijon, France, she took photographs throughout Europe and continues to develop her passion for photography. Rose Zevos King is New Hampshire Home’s editorial assistant. She recently received her master’s degree in history of art from the University of Glasgow. She will pursue a PhD later this year, specializing in Venetian Renaissance art. Sy Montgomery has searched for snow leopards in the Altai Mountains of Mongolia’s Gobi and tracked tree kangaroos in Papua New Guinea’s cloud forest to research her articles, films and twenty books for adults and children. For the story on page 96, she watched robins on the Hancock lawn she shares with her husband, writer Howard Mansfield, eight laying hens and a border collie named Thurber.
Carrie Sherman works as a freelance writer/editor. She also writes fiction, and her short stories have been published in the Saint Katherine Review and Yankee magazine. She lives in Kittery Point, Maine, with her husband, Terry, and their dog. She can be reached at carrie.sherman7@gmail.com. Robin Sweetser writes a gardening column for the Sunday Concord Monitor and is a contributor to the Old Farmer’s Almanac, among other publications. A former Seacoast resident, she now lives and gardens in Hillsborough. Carolyn Vibbert is a Portsmouth illustrator whose work also appears on packaging for food and wine brands such as Barbara’s, Stone Cellars and Williams Sonoma. She is represented by Freda Scott, and you can see more of her work at www.fredascottcreative.com. Wendy Wood is a senior graphic designer and photographer at McLean Communications. Her work appears in New Hampshire Home, New Hampshire Magazine, New Hampshire Business Review and other regional publications. She lives in New Hampshire with her husband and Maine coon cat. In her spare time, she designs jewelry and creates mixed media paintings. 16 | New Hampshire Home
Brook Holmberg Sherin Pierce BUSI N ESS M ANAGER Mista McDonnell Event & Mar keting m anager Erica Baglieri Business & Sales Coordinator Heather Rood D i gital Media S pe c ialist Morgen Connor VP/consumer m ar keting VP/retail SALES
e d i to r i a l Co r r e s p o n d e n c e
Andi Axman, editor
New Hampshire Home 150 Dow Street; Manchester, NH 03101 (603) 736-8056; editor@nhhomemagazine.com Subscriptions
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© 2017 M c L ean C ommunications , I nc . New Hampshire Home is published bimonthly by McLean Communications, Inc.; 150 Dow Street; Manchester, NH 03101; (603) 624-1442. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without the publisher’s written permission is prohibited. The publisher assumes no responsibility for any mistakes in advertisements or editorial. Statements and opinions expressed in this magazine do not necessarily reflect or represent those of this publication or its officers. While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in this publication, McLean Communications, Inc.: New Hampshire Home disclaims all responsibility for omissions and errors. may/june 2017
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from the editor
The Greatest Show on Earth
T
here is something so centering, so powerful about being in a garden. Surrounded by flowers and plants, I drink in the array of splendid horticultural vignettes before me. What a feast for the senses—a rainbow of colors for the eyes, sweet scents for
the nose, even music for the ears when I listen closely for honeybees buzzing from one flower to the next and birds chirping contentedly in trees. The spring garden holds a special place in my heart—the freshness of new blooms, the lush green of young leaves and the joy that we’re once again beholding Mother Nature’s greatest show on Earth in Northern New England. One garden I’ll never get my fill of is the one Gordon and Mary Hayward designed for themselves (cover and page 48). It is even more magical than the many gardens they’ve created for other homeowners, some of which we’ve featured in this magazine through the years. Located 2½ miles as the crow flies from the New Hampshire border in Westminster, Vermont, the Haywards transformed the property—along with the antique farmhouse on it—into a carefully cultivated, fabulously curated feast for the eyes. The
What a feast for
garden is so noteworthy, the Haywards have submitted it to the Smithsonian Archives of
spring garden holds
in Cornish (page 58). Designed by the artist Stephen Parrish (father of Maxfield) in the
the senses—the
a special place in my heart.
American Gardens. Gardens take a lot of work and TLC, and one that got a big dose of both is Northcote early 1900s, the garden became overgrown after Stephen’s death in 1938. But thanks to the efforts of garden designers Bill Noble and Susan Howard, Northcote has been lovingly brought back to life. Architects Rick and Duffy Monahon’s Peterborough homestead, called Four Winds Farm (page 66), is enjoying the transition that began before their tragic deaths in 2013. Today, the Monahon family is working with another family to preserve the buildings and convert the property to a working farm. In addition to appreciating a garden’s beauty, we relish its bounty. Dedicated and hard-working volunteers from the Derry Garden Club have generously given their time and expertise to the Greater Derry Boys & Girls Club to create the Derry Youth Garden (page 34). As a result, area children now know the value of working in the garden, growing their own food and enjoying the fruits (and vegetables) of their own labors. Liz Barbour of The Creative Feast (page 42) is on a similar mission when she heads to homes, libraries and businesses with a demonstration for adults about creating healthy and tasty meals that are not complicated. Many of the flowers, herbs and vegetables she uses are grown in the garden in front of her historic Hollis home. As spring transitions to summer, one of the highlights is the arrival of local strawberries— see Mary Ann Esposito’s tasty recipes for the sweet treats on page 28. Drink in the beauty of this season!
Editor
18 | New Hampshire Home
may/june 2017
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June 16, 2017 10 — 4 at the Old York Historical Society 3 Lindsay Road York, Maine
Floral Design Horticulture, Photography Conservation 20 | New Hampshire Home
Wow, a great article [A Studio of One’s Own, March/April 2017]. A hardy thank you to writer William Morgan. Combined with John W. Hession’s photos, how could you go wrong? But you went above and beyond. I even had to look up some words. It is almost scary to have someone see my intent so and expose things I was not aware of. What secrets do I have left? I especially appreciated the recognitions of the efforts at “associations it evokes” and the “whimsical seriousness.” And I loved the “predestined to rust” line.
A winning evening
The New Hampshire Home Design Awards event in January was absolutely amazing. You did such a wonderful job from start to finish, and it was an honor to be a sponsor. —Diane Dubberly, owner of Artistic Tile, LLC in Nashua
Great night at the Design Awards. Still on cloud nine. —Lisa DeStefano, of DeStefano Architects in Portsmouth
Editor’s note: DeStefano Architects in Portsmouth won an unprecedented three awards at the New Hampshire Home Design Awards in January: Excellence in Historic —Daniel Scully, of Daniel V. Scully Architects Renovation, Excellence in Renovation and in Keene Remodeling, and 2017 Home of the Year.
Partners on a mission
Our association with New Hampshire Home is so important, really bedrock, for the exposure you bring to New Hampshire’s architects and the support you lend to our awards program. It wouldn’t be the same without your presence. My many thanks to you!
Energy efficient—and beautiful
Nancy and I want to express our appreciation for the care writer Jenny Donelan, photographer John W. Hession and photo assistant Morgan Karanasios put into creating the piece on our home in Lancaster [A House That Gives More Than It Takes, March/April 2017]. Your making an extra —Bonnie Kastel, executive director of effort to learn about what we built and the American Institute of Architects (AIA) New Hampshire chapter in Portsmouth how we live resulted in your vision of the home matching our own quite accurately. Not an easy task! Who’s who Editor’s note: For contact information for the design team that worked on the renovation of Tamworth Distilling & Mercantile, the subject of Spirit Quest in March/April 2017, please visit www. nhhomemagazine.com/March-April2017/A-Quest-for-Local-Spirits.
—Tom Southworth in Lancaster
We love hearing your thoughts about the stories we’ve published, and we’re always on the lookout for homes and gardens that might interest our readers. Write to us at Editor; New Hampshire Home; 150 Dow Street; Manchester, NH 03101; or e-mail editor@nhhomemagazine.com. We look forward to hearing from you! may/june 2017
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on the town
q
w
e
Planning for the future
q Architects, builders and others—including Mark Goldstein from Milestone Engineering and Construction in Concord (left), New Hampshire Home Editor Andi Axman (center) and American Institute of Architects New Hampshire (AIANH) Executive Director Bonnie Kastel—gathered at the New Hampshire State Library in Concord for the March AIANH chapter meeting. w AIANH board President Sheldon Pennoyer (right) moderated a panel discussion on pending legislation affecting architects with state Senator Jay Kahn from Keene (left) along with state Representatives Carol McGuire from Epsom (second from left) and Ivy Vann from Peterborough. e Head librarian Michael York (far right) led tours of the historic building. Photography by John W. Hession
A capital idea
InTown Concord—which helps promote the city as well as enhance its business environment, cultural activities and the appearance of its historic downtown—celebrated its annual achievements in March at Phenix Hall. The historic building is owned by Mark Ciborowski (center), who was joined by Concord-based artist Melissa Miller (left) and InTown Concord Executive Director Michelle Motuzas Johnson. Photography by John W. Hession
Contemporary artists’ new works
Among those attending the February opening of two new contemporary exhibitions at the Currier Museum of Art in Manchester were Jonathan Gourlay (left), communications manager of the MacDowell Colony in Peterborough, and New Hampshire Home contributor Jenny Donelan. Deep Cuts: Contemporary Paper Cutting is on view until May 21, while New Hampshire artist Soo Sunny Park’s BioLath, featuring sculptural forms that have transformed the architectural space of the Putnam Gallery—can be seen through August 6. Photography by John W. Hession 22 | New Hampshire Home
may/june 2017
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New Hampshire Home | 23
favorite finds
for the garden
Attract bees and butterflies to your perennial garden with Echinacea ’Salsa Red’ coneflowers. Churchill’s Garden Center in Exeter • (603) 772-2685
www.churchillsgardens.com
Water your potted plants in traditional European style with this galvanized oval watering can.
Terrain • www.shopterrain.com
Serve orioles, catbirds, tanagers, woodpeckers and other birds their favorite fruit with this double-sided orange feeder.
Duncraft in Concord • (888) 879-5095 • www.duncraft.com
Gaze at the stars or admire the view with this bronze telescope— an elegant work of art with twenty-first-century optics that also functions as a sundial.
Work the soil in borders or pots with this hand-crafted, lightweight Royal Dutch hand hoe.
Cole Gardens in Concord • (603) 229-0655 • www.colegardens.com
Add a stylish touch of color to your containers with Ball Seed’s Petunia ‘Night Sky’.
Wentworth Greenhouses in Rollinsford (603) 743-4919 www.wentworthgreenhouses.com
24 | New Hampshire Home
may/june 2017
Photography courtesy of Ball Horticultural Company
Telescopes of Vermont in Norwich, Vermont • (617) 292-5155 www.gardentelescopes.com
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favorite finds
for the garden
Protect your face from the sun’s harmful rays with this fully lined paisley cotton sun hat.
Womanswork • www.womanswork.com
Treat yourself—or your favorite gardener— to a Green Thumb Gardener’s Organic Gift Set.
Badger Balm in Gilsum • (603) 357-2958 • www.badgerbalm.com Grow a productive garden in a small space with a VegTrug™ Patio Garden. Gardener’s Supply Company in
Burlington, Vermont • (800) 876-5520 • www.gardeners.com
Bedford Fields in Bedford • (603) 472-8880 www.bedfordfields.com
Add eye-catching color and texture to your garden, terrarium or container with succulents such as these hens and chicks. Edgewater Farm in Plainfield
Gibson’s Bookstore (603) 224-0562 www.gibsonsbookstore.com
Watch the star-shaped, periwinkle-blue flowers of Amsonia ’Storm Cloud’ blossom atop this wide, mounding perennial that’s new in garden centers this year.
Rolling Green Nursery in Greenland • (603) 436-2732 • www.rollinggreennursery.com
(603) 298-5764 • www.edgewaterfarm.com 26 | New Hampshire Home
may/june 2017
Photography courtesy of Proven Winners
Grace your home’s spring landscape with a Bower and Branch pink flowering dogwood, an heirloom tree native to the eastern United States.
Learn about the strangerthan-fiction science of the plant world in How Plants Work by Linda Chalker-Scott.
Residential Commercial Landscape
Meredith, NH New London, NH 603.526.6200 boninarchitects.com •
•
B AA &
Home cooking with
mary ann esposito
In the Strawberry Patch Strawberries aren’t just naturally sweet and juicy— they’re high in nutrients and one of the best foods you can eat.
S
trawberries are, without a doubt, one of the most beloved and versatile of all berry fruits. For me,
one of the heights of the short season is
tromping through lush strawberry fields with basket in hand, looking for that “undiscovered patch,” then crouching down on bended knees to pluck that first perfectly ripe berry and pop it into my mouth. A long awaited and sheer pleasure! I look for berries that are the deepest shade of red with no white tips (which is an indication that they are not the most flavorful). And I make sure to pick the berries with their stems so that juice is not lost. While I am judiciously gathering the berries, my mind is conjuring up old and new ways to use them: strawberry rhubarb pie, strawberry tart, strawberry jam—those are popular and familiar. But what about using strawberries for main dishes, such as a delicate sauce for grilled fish or a surprise ingredient for a creamy risotto? Although strawberries from afar are available all year long, for my money, it is worth the wait for local strawberry farms to open—usually mid-June in New England but so often dependent
already picked baskets of berries for you
compotes, cobblers and pies. But one of
on the weather. Roadside signs invite us
to take home.
the best options? Fill a bowl of strawber-
to come “pick your own.” This is a great
Strawberries are very perishable. Once
ries and enjoy the fruit of your labor. Dr. William Butler, a seventeenth-
family activity and teaches children a
picked, they should be rinsed, dried, and
valuable lesson about where our foods
consumed or used in recipes immedi-
century English writer said it best when
come from. Choosing to get our foods
ately. Refrigerating them for more than a
it comes to my fondness for strawber-
as close to home as possible says we care
day is not good because a cold environ-
ries: “Doubtless God could have made
about clean, sustainable and local food.
ment affects the flavor. If you are freez-
a better berry, but doubtless God never
ing them, they will be good for sauces,
did.”
Farmers’ markets also burst with
NHH
Text and food styling Mary Ann Esposito | Photography by John W. Hession 28 | New Hampshire Home
may/june 2017
Summer Salmon with Strawberry Salsa
Ser v es 4
Refreshing is the only word for this dramatic salmon dish with a strawberry salsa that has summer eating written all over it. Who knew strawberries lent a delicious complement to fish? 1 cup diced strawberries 1 red plum, diced 1 peach, diced ½ cup diced mango Juice and zest of 2 limes 1 tablespoon maple syrup ¼ teaspoon salt, plus more for seasoning 2 tablespoons minced fresh basil 4 six-ounce pieces salmon fillet Pepper Olive oil 1. Mix the fruit, citrus, maple syrup, ¼ teaspoon salt and basil in a bowl. Let stand at room temperature at least 30 minutes before using. 2. Season salmon fillets with salt and pepper. Heat a skillet over high heat; add a film of olive oil; reduce heat to medium high. Cook the fillets skin-side up for 3–4 minutes, depending on thickness. Carefully turn over and cook skin-side down for 1 minute. 3. Transfer each fillet to a dinner plate and top with some of the salsa. Recipe courtesy of Mary Ann Esposito
Strawberry Ice Cream Neapolitan Style
M a k es 2 q ua r t s
Cool and intense-tasting strawberry ice cream with a velvety feel is a perfect treat! 2 cups water 1½ cups sugar 2 pints strawberries, washed and hulled 1 teaspoon lemon juice ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract 2 cups heavy cream
1. Pour water into a 1-quart saucepan; stir in sugar and bring to a boil. Cook for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and cool the syrup. 2. M ash the strawberries, press them through a sieve and add them to the syrup with the lemon juice and vanilla. Blend in the cream. Pour into a bowl or baking pan, and freeze. Recipe courtesy of Mary Ann Esposito
www.nhhomemagazine.com
New Hampshire Home | 29
Home cooking
with mary ann esposito
Glazed Strawberry Tart
M a k es o n e 9 - o r 1 0 - i n ch ta r t
If there is one dessert that defines strawberry season, this is it. A delicious play of a crisp-sugar-cookie tart crust and juicy glazed strawberries makes this a winner every strawberry season. 1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. In a large bowl, cream together 1/3 cup of sugar and butter until light. Beat in flour, ¼ teaspoon salt and half-and-half until mixture is moist. 2. Press the dough into a 9- or 10-inch tart pan with a removable bottom, making sure to also press the dough up the sides. Bake for 15–20 minutes, or until crust is golden. Cool to room temperature. 3. When ready to fill, carefully remove the bottom of the tart shell and place the tart with its base on a serving dish. Line the tart shell with whole, stemmed and dry strawberries, keeping them upright and choosing the same size berries. Slice 8–10 strawberries in half horizontally and fill in the gaps between the whole berries, keeping them upright. Set aside. 4. Chop 1 cup of the remaining whole strawberries and place in a small pan; add 1 cup of water and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to medium and press on the strawberries to release their juice. Strain the mixture through a fine mesh strainer, pressing on the pulp to extract the juice. Discard the pulp. You should have about 1 cup of strawberry liquid. Pour the liquid back into the pan. 5. In a small bowl, mix 1 tablespoon of cornstarch and 1/3 cup of sugar. 6. Off the heat, add the cornstarch and sugar mixture to the strawberry liquid. Return to the heat and bring to boil while stirring. Lower the heat to medium and cook, stirring constantly until the color changes from light red to deep wine red and the mixture thickens. Remove from the heat, stir in a pinch of salt and the almond extract. 7. Using a silicon pastry brush, dab the glaze over the strawberries in the tart, allowing the glaze to fall in between the strawberries. Refrigerate for several hours. 1 cup sugar, divided ½ cup butter, room temperature 11/4 cups all-purpose flour 1/4 teaspoon salt, plus a pinch 2 tablespoons half-and-half At least 3 quarts of whole, stemmed strawberries
Stuffed Strawberries
1 cup water, plus 2 tablespoons 1 tablespoon cornstarch, plus 1 teaspoon ¼ teaspoon almond extract 1 cup whipping cream ½ cup coarsely chopped strawberries
8. Mix 1 teaspoon of cornstarch and 2 tablespoons of water together until smooth. Add the cream and 1/3 cup of sugar, and whip until thick. Whip in the chopped strawberries. 9. When ready to serve, serve the strawberry cream with the tart.
Recipe courtesy of Mary Ann Esposito
Ser v es 6
I like to use the largest strawberries I can find to make these elegant stuffed strawberries. Serve them on a silver tray! 12 colossal strawberries with their stems 2 ounces semi-sweet chocolate 2 ounces white chocolate ½ cup mascarpone cheese, softened 2 tablespoons sugar
1. Wash and dry the berries, but do not stem them. 2. Melt the semi-sweet chocolate and white chocolate in separate bowls and keep warm. 3. Cut 1/8 inch off the stem end of each strawberry and reserve. With a small spoon, hollow out the pulp from the stem end of each strawberry and place the pulp in a bowl. 4. To the pulp, add the mascarpone cheese and sugar, and beat the mixture until smooth. 5. Fill a pastry bag with the mixture and pipe some into the cavity of each strawberry. Replace the stems and place the strawberries on a serving tray. 6. Use a small fork to drizzle some of the semi-sweet chocolate and white chocolate over the strawberries. Recipe courtesy of Mary Ann Esposito
30 | New Hampshire Home
may/june 2017
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Home cooking
with mary ann esposito
Risotto con Fragole (Strawberry Risotto)
Ser v es 4
Fruit-flavored risotto is made in some parts of Italy in alta cucina (gourmet cooking) restaurants. When I made my mother strawberry risotto, her skepticism turned to raves. Wild strawberries work best, but local, in-season berries are fine, too. I have also made this with blueberries. 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided 1/4 cup finely chopped leeks 1½ cup Arborio rice 2/3 cup dry white wine 4 cups hot chicken broth, divided 1 cup chopped strawberries or blueberries, plus several whole berries for garnish 1/2 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese 1. Over medium heat, melt 4 tablespoons of butter in a heavy saucepan. Add the leeks and cook until they are soft and translucent. Add the rice and stir until it is well coated with the butter. 2. Add the wine a little at a time and stir continually until it is absorbed. Once you have used all the wine, add ½ cup of broth, stirring until it is absorbed. Continue adding the broth ½ cup at a time. Stir continuously for about 20–25 minutes or until the rice is cooked but remains slightly firm. 3. Remove from the heat and stir in the berries. Add the remaining butter and cheese. Garnish with whole berries and serve immediately. Recipe courtesy of Mary Ann Esposito
Picking Your Own Strawberries In June, Mary Ann Esposito heads to Butternut Farm in Farmington to pick her own strawberries. “Not only do I enjoy the freshest and most delicious strawberries I can find,” Esposito says, “I also love supporting the local farmers who grow them.” Butternut Farm, named for the tall tree behind the farmstand, is owned and operated by Giff Burnap and his wife, Mae. Since acquiring the former dairy farm in 2005, they have almost doubled its size, and offer an extensive list of produce that includes blueberries, cherries, raspberries, strawberries, peaches, nectarines, plums, apples and pumpkins. There are more than twenty other pickyour-own farms that grow strawberries throughout the state. To find one near you, go to the New Hampshire Farms Network’s website. Be sure to check the farm’s website first or give a call to confirm that picking is happening that day. Butternut Farm (603) 335-4705 www.butternutfarm.net
New Hampshire Farm Network www.newhampshirefarms.net 32 | New Hampshire Home
Above: Giff Burnap (second from right), owner of Butternut Farm in Farmington, and Debbie Leach (right), wait on customers. Left: Morgan Karanasios, who is New Hampshire Home’s photography assistant, picks some strawberries at Butternut Farm to enjoy after the shoot. may/june 2017
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New Hampshire Home | 33
garden rx
Planting Seeds for Children Members of the Derry Garden Club share their expertise and enthusiasm for growing food with young people.
O
ne in three American children is overweight or obese. According to the American Heart Associa-
tion, a wide range of health problems
that usually aren’t seen until adulthood
are being seen in children with obesity; psychological effects include low self-esteem, negative body image and depression. In response, Arthur McLean, director of the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Derry, worked with the Derry Garden Club to apply for a grant from the Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Foundation in 2008. The team envisioned encouraging healthy eating by developing an on-site vegetable garden. The plan was successful and Blanche Garone, of the Derry Garden Club, has been spearheading the project since 2009. She developed a garden guide covering basic garden tasks; the idea was for garden club volunteers to use the guide and keep the project going. “The purpose of our program is to introduce the children to gardening, encourage tasting, show them where food comes from, teach them how to use it and get them outside,” Garone says. Jackie Dempsey, garden club member and co-chair of the Youth Projects Committee with Garone, is responsible for delivering mini-horticulture lessons. “They are really just some fun facts about the different vegetables and fruits that we are growing,” Dempsey says. “Both the adults and kids have learned some pretty interesting tidbits about various plants.”
Bayley Clifford proudly holds one of the cabbages she helped to grow in the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Derry Youth Garden.
By Robin Sweetser | Photography by Wendy Wood 34 | New Hampshire Home
may/june 2017
Top: A well-organized shed is essential. Everyone is responsible for taking care of his or her own tools. Above right: Gardens are full of surprises, especially when a ten-foot-tall sunflower grows from a small seed! Above left: Keira Masella and Tyler Krajcik show off the eggplants they harvested with Derry Garden Club member Carroll McCartin. Lower left: Pumpkins and squash are enthusiastic growers, producing huge rewards at the end of the season.
Dempsey features a different veg-
Club members also talk to the kids
pollination and why our pollinators are
etable each week; talks about where in
about nutrition; teach how to plant
so important,” Dempsey says. “The kids
the world it was first grown, what type
seeds and nurture the growing plants;
seem to comprehend and remember
of vegetable it is, how it is planted, and
and show how to harvest the produce.
much of what is discussed—maybe it's
a little about how it is cooked and used;
“Sometimes, I throw in some simple
the fresh air or that they are witnessing
and, if appropriate, offers samples for
science—like what phototropism is and
the principles of nature in the garden.”
tasting.
how and why it works, or principles of
www.nhhomemagazine.com
Garden club members help the New Hampshire Home | 35
garden rx
Many hands are needed to get the garden started. Volunteers work closely with the children, letting them have fun and get dirty while teaching what a successful garden needs.
children learn about good and bad bugs in the garden, where only organic methods are used. “The children find this fun,” says Susan Davis, a volunteer and garden club past president. “We teach them how to pick off the bad bugs. They get especially excited about hunting for the tomato hornworm—a huge green thing that either fascinates or repels them. The worm is the same color as the tomato leaves, and their young eyes are sharper than ours!”
Cultivating young minds The gardening program is open to any child enrolled in the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Derry. In the summer, three hundred children can be in attendance so participation in the garden may be limited by the desired ratio of between three and five children to each adult, depending on the chore for that day. Often the children are invited to help in the garden by age group. Sometimes the experienced older kids act as guides for the younger ones. “The kids are usually in the garden weekly,” Garone says. “Although during planting season, Derry Garden Club members—from the left, Blanche Garone, Corinne Safron, Wanda Desaulniers, Edith Nunn and Jackie Dempsey—put in many volunteer hours at the Derry Youth Garden. Even though it is hard work, they all say they get a lot of joy out of it. photography courtesy of deede loffler 36 | New Hampshire Home
it might be more often and weather is always a factor.” It takes many willing volunteers to may/june 2017
Derry Garden Club member and co-chair of the garden project Blanche Garone is at the garden almost every day. Here, she explains the finer points of planting to some budding gardeners.
keep things running smoothly. Derry Garden Club members are notified by email about the day, time and activity planned. During the school year, the time is set for late afternoon after
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homework is done. In the summer, work begins at 9 a.m. before it gets too hot. Club members also try to take advantage of early release days and school vacations. “Blanche and I are at the garden doing something just about every other day,” Dempsey says. “A thirty-footby-sixty-foot garden is a big garden to maintain. Fortunately, we don't do it alone. We have a core group of Derry Garden Club volunteers who help out every week with the kids in the garden. On some occasions, we have had more than thirty kids working in
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the garden at one time.”
It takes a village At the start of the project, the Derry Rotary Club helped the garden club members clear the site, which is located in front of the Boys & Girls Club, and Rotary Club members continue to provide assistance as needed. Husbands of the garden club members—along with Derry police www.nhhomemagazine.com
Commercial | Industrial | Residential 603-525-3794 | OurTownLandscaping.com New Hampshire Home | 37
garden rx
and Derry firefighters—have helped with particularly tough tasks. The Derry Garden Club, which is also a member of the New Hampshire Federation of Garden Clubs as well as the New England Region and National Garden Clubs, Inc., donates money to the program. “We develop a wish list in late winter and want to grow what our gardeners will eat,” Garone says. Local growers give the garden club members a discount, and one of the members has donated seeds and plants he started. Manure for the garden is also donated. When more funding is needed, the Boys & Girls Club may apply for a grant; the garden club has received a grant in the past from the New Hampshire Master Gardeners Association.
Healthy habits take root Garden-based nutrition-intervention programs have been shown to increase fruit and vegetable consumption. Garone frequently whips up some tasty treats made from produce harvested from the garden. “Because our garden is pesticide free,” Dempsey says, “we cut up samples of many of the vegetables just picked from the garden and allow the kids to munch as they pick. For some of our young gardeners, it might be the first time they have tasted an orange cherry tomato or raw green beans or snap peas. Zucchini brownies and strawberry sorbet are favorites every summer.” There are two peach trees near the side entrance; some blueberry bushes were planted behind the garden shed. The garden is home to flowers as well as fruits and veggies. Once the produce is picked, it is placed inside the entry for parents to take home. At the end of the growing season, the club does a tasting meal showcasing the food they have grown.
Top: The lush growth in this well-tended plot is proof that the gardening lessons learned by the children are taking root. Above: Produce is picked, washed and made ready for distribution to the families. For some kids, this is the first time they have tasted some of these fresh vegetables. 38 | New Hampshire Home
A garden of hope “I feel like our program is very successful,” Garone says. “The young gardeners enjoy themselves and gardening, and the may/june 2017
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New Hampshire Home | 39
garden rx
Angelina Martinez (left) and Skyla Theriault picked some tomatoes to share at lunch. This is the kind of “fast food” the project is hoping to encourage children to eat.
volunteers also get joy from working
struggle to involve the older youth,”
sharing their enthusiasm for gardening,
with the children.”
Garone says. “It seems as they get older,
Derry Garden Club members are plant-
gardening isn’t so cool anymore. They
ing seeds that could blossom into a
the children in the garden. Regardless
do remember working in the garden,
lifelong love of gardening and nature in
of their age, they do accomplish a great
as they have mentioned to me and the
children who might otherwise not have
deal. Most are very willing and eager
other volunteers. With that in mind, we
been exposed to these ideas.
to learn and help,” says club member
hope that eventually they will become
Kaye Nugent.
gardeners again.”
“It is very rewarding working with
Derry Garden Club President Suzanne
McLean has seen the positive effects
“Our hope is that we are creating a positive, memorable gardening experience for our kids,” Dempsey says, “that
Dustin gets a kick out of volunteering
in kids who have worked with the Der-
they will appreciate the importance and
at the garden. “I am a senior citizen,
ry Garden Club. “The kids love working
value of growing food, and that they
and I love going to the Boys & Girls
outside in the garden, and they develop
will become responsible future stewards
Club and teaching the children about
great relationships with the volun-
of the earth.”
gardening. They get so excited about
teers,” he says. “Many of these kids live
planting a seed and then picking
in apartments, and are not exposed to
what they have grown!” she says.
gardens or fresh vegetables. It is amaz-
“The children are very proud that
ing to watch them interacting with and
they can bring the veggies home to
learning from the Derry Garden Club
their families.”
volunteers.”
Some kids have been involved every
Experience is the best teacher, and
year, while others move on to differ-
program participants are able to learn
ent activities as they get older. “We still
where food comes from first hand. By
40 | New Hampshire Home
NHH
Resources
Boys & Girls Club of Greater Derry (603) 434-6695 www.derrybgclub.org Derry Garden Club www.derrygardenclub.org Derry Rotary Club www.derryrotaryclub.com New Hampshire Federation of Garden Clubs www.nhfgc.org New Hampshire Master Gardeners Association https://extension.unh.edu/Master-GardenerVolunteers/NHMGA may/june 2017
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Six offices serving the White Mountains, Central and the Lakes Region of NH www.nhhomemagazine.com
New Hampshire Home | 41
Master of Her Craft
The garden in front of Liz Barbour’s Hollis home is part of what she calls her “edible landscape”—vegetables and herbs mostly, but the flowers are edible, too. Barbour uses them all in her culinary arts business, The Creative Feast.
An Edible Landscape Liz Barbour
creates beautiful— and delicious—
dishes with what she grows.
A
tulip in your salad? Pansies in your
healthy, tasty meals without too much fuss.
crêpes? Sure, says Liz Barbour, you
Although Barbour—with a background
can do that and more. “The possibili-
in catering and work in the restaurant
ties for using flowers in food are endless. They
industry—offers a number of different programs,
add wonderful color and flavor to a dish, and
it is the garden-themed ones she most loves.
make meals much more interesting.” It is a message that Barbour carries to
In the program, she uses slides to show what’s possible. There are begonias (“a
cooks in the community—both aspiring
lovely, lemony flavor”), daylilies (“sweet and
and experienced—as part of her business,
savory”), tulips (“a very fruity taste”), Rosa
The Creative Feast. She packs up her butane
rugosa (“on the sweet side”), peonies (“pretty,
burners and the ingredients for the recipe of
but not much flavor”), lavender (“wonder-
the day, and heads to homes, libraries and
ful in gin”) and dandelion greens (“good for
businesses to demonstrate how to create
you”). And that’s just to name a few.
By Barbara Coles | Photography by John W. Hession 42 | New Hampshire Home
may/june 2017
Edible landscape
the property and zoning restrictions,
All that would be taken out to allow for
Many of the flowers—as well the herbs
the two-thousand-square-foot house
the kitchen expansion.
and vegetables she uses—are grown in
couldn’t be expanded. But there was
a garden Barbour created in front of her
space between the kitchen and the
the design. At Vintage Kitchens in
antique Cape in the historic district of
back of the house taken up by a powder
Concord, she found owner/designer
Hollis. The garden is in front because
room and small TV room with an oddly
Sue Booth, who had experience work-
the property is small, just one-third of
placed shower sitting to one side of it.
ing with older houses. “She under-
Barbour knew she needed help with
an acre, and the back is shadowed by tall pine trees. Plus, Barbour says, the road is quite close to the house and, with two young children, she hoped the beauty of the garden would slow the traffic down. “It worked,” she says. To keep it working, Barbour offers a fresh view each spring by changing her window boxes and the content of the garden. In the back of the house, what Barbour calls her “edible landscape” is extended with a raised patio that holds washtubs with cherry tomatoes, baby greens and more. When she brings the bounty from her garden into the kitchen, she lays it on a white towel and allows her version of pest control to happen—“the bugs just crawl off,” she says. No need for chemicals of any sort. She uses only organic fertilizer, which is especially important when you’re growing flowers to eat.
Making their house work Her kitchen is just what you would imagine for a sophisticated cook— beautifully designed and decorated with an upscale stove as well as lots of room for preparation and storage. But it wasn’t always so. When Barbour and her family moved into the house, which was built in 1744, the kitchen was small: twelve feet by five feet. “I couldn’t even open the door of the refrigerator all the way,” she says. “Also, the cabinets were built by someone who was not a cook. There was no storage space whatever.” To accommodate her business—and her family’s meals—the kitchen had to be bigger. Because of the constraints of www.nhhomemagazine.com
Liz Barbour offers cooking programs in homes, libraries and businesses for both aspiring and experienced cooks. Her goal is to help people create meals that are both tasty and healthy. New Hampshire Home | 43
Master of Her Craft
A Creative Feast from Liz Barbour
Gremolata Potatoes Ser v es 6
Gremolata is a traditional Italian herb paste that is a simple combination of five ingredients: parsley, garlic, lemon, Parmesan cheese and extra-virgin olive oil. With its bright, citrusy flavor, gremolata transforms ho-hum recipes into amazing dishes! Here I’ve combined gremolata with thinly sliced potatoes and roasted them to create a tasty side dish. It’s simple, delicious and gorgeous! ½ cup loosely packed, chopped, flat-leaf parsley Zest of 1 lemon 2 small minced garlic cloves ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil ½ teaspoon Kosher salt 1 pinch pepper, freshly ground 8–10 Yukon Gold potatoes 1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Spray 12 standard muffin cups generously with nonstick cooking spray.
This lamb dish is one of many inspired by Liz Barbour’s garden. It’s featured in her newly released cookbook, Beautifully Delicious: Cooking with Herbs & Edible Flowers (see photo below).
Lamb with Mint Sauce
Ser v es 4
Lamb and mint sauce are the perfect pairing of flavors for a spring dinner. Harvest plenty of mint from your garden to create this bright green sauce that has no resemblance to the traditional sweet mint jelly. The fresh flavor of the mint sauce complements the richness of the lamb beautifully. I love this sauce so much that I drizzle it on chicken, fish as well as steamed, raw or roasted vegetables. I know you’ll love it, too. 2 (8 rib) lamb racks (about 1½ pounds each) Kosher salt Pepper, freshly ground ¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons canola oil, divided 2 tablespoons rice vinegar 1 teaspoon sugar ½ cup loosely packed, chopped, fresh spearmint ½ cup loosely packed flat-leaf parsley
1. Preheat the oven to 425°F. Pat the lamb racks dry with a paper towel and cut each rack in half. You can leave the racks as they are or you can create “Frenched” rack of lamb by trimming the fat and meat from between the ribs. Sprinkle the lamb with salt and pepper. 2. Heat a large, ovenproof sauté pan with 2 tablespoons of oil until hot, but not smoking. Place the lamb racks in the pan with the rib side up. Sear the meat for 3 minutes or until browned. Turn the racks over and place the pan into the oven. Cook for 15 minutes for rare or 20 minutes for medium rare. Remove the lamb from the oven and allow to rest, tented with a piece of aluminum foil, for 10 minutes. 3. To prepare the sauce, combine the remaining oil, vinegar and sugar in a blender with the chopped herbs and pulse until puréed.
Recipes courtesy of Liz Barbour 44 | New Hampshire Home
4. Cut to separate the chops and serve with mint sauce drizzled on top. Serve extra sauce on the side.
2. Combine the parsley, lemon zest, garlic, Parmesan cheese, oil, salt and pepper in a bowl, and set aside. 3. Peel the potatoes and slice them thinly (about 1/8 of an inch) using a sharp knife or mandolin. Add the potato slices to the gremolata and toss to coat. I use my hands to be sure to coat the potatoes evenly. 4. Stack the potatoes to fill each muffin cup over the rim by about ½ inch. Press the stacked potatoes down firmly. Bake until the tops and edges of the potatoes are browned, and the centers are tender when pierced with a fork—about 35 to 45 minutes. Remove the potatoes from the oven. 5. Cut around each stack with a sharp knife and remove it with a spoon. Serve hot. Note: These can be made one to two days in advance and reheated, covered, in a 300°F oven for 20 minutes, or until heated through.
The cookbook companion for Barbour’s programs, Beautifully Delicious: Cooking with Herbs & Edible Flowers, is available at www.thecreative feast.com.
may/june 2017
P ORTSMOUTH ATH C OMPAN P ORTSMOUTH B B ATH C OMPANY
stands their appeal,” Barbour says.
“And I felt she knew how to add to
the history of the house, rather than erase it.”
S
A
Part of adding to the history was
to make sure the kitchen wasn’t, as Booth puts it, “discordant.” Booth
didn’t want it to “overpower the scale
L
of the old house.” She didn’t want it
“too modern or too fake-y old.” Booth
S
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www.PortsmouthBathCo.com
www.PortsmouthBathCo.com
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wanted it “current, but compatible.” Barbour agreed.
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Colorful windowboxes adorn Liz Barbour’s Hollis home.
Booth and BarbourBath also felt was &itKitchen
Product Specialists: Suggestions outdoors and allow inKnowledgeable natural light. Product Assistance Two existing floor-to-ceiling, paned Quality Products ∣ Refreshing Ideas important to tie the kitchen to the Thoughtful windows made that possible once
the TV room and powder room were
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removed.
The space where the powder room had been became a full-size pantry, with shelving that Barbour says is “one-can-deep so I don’t lose things in the back of the cabinet.” Almost all the storage in the kitchen is in the lower cabinets and antique wooden center island, a
Bath & Kitchen Product Specialists:
Thoughtful Suggestions Knowledgeable Product Assistance Quality Products Refreshing Ideas
Independent, Local Small Business:
100 West Road, Portsmouth, NH 03801 ph: 603.436.1401 |fax: 603.431.3958 (a division of Standard of New England, LLC)
“found” piece with an added hinged table and stools that can be used for meals. Adjacent to the island is a primitive wooden cabinet that came www.nhhomemagazine.com
New Hampshire Home | 45
Master of her Craft
A “found” antique wooden cabinet acts as a center island in Liz Barbour’s kitchen, which was remodeled to accommodate her family and her business with help from Sue Booth of Vintage Kitchens in Concord. The hand-painted, wide-pine floor ties the kitchen to the keeping room/dining room.
from Barbour’s family, providing yet more storage. Above it is the beautiful
hood can handle all Barbour’s cooking. Next to the kitchen is a keeping
the cookbook clubs where she prepares something she’s never cooked before.
stained-glass window that had been
room/dining room with an open hearth
It’s all part of her aim to “demystify
above the sink in the original kitchen;
fireplace (yes, Barbour has cooked
the cooking process” so people feel
the other side of it can be seen in the
there), but the two rooms needed a
comfortable enough in their kitchen
entryway.
better connection. “You want the con-
to cook there often and to cook healthy.
The only cabinet above the Carrara
nection,” says Booth, “but without
marble countertops is an antique wood-
seeing the whole kitchen from the
en one that holds Barbour’s glassware.
dining room.” This was accomplished
“I didn’t want to have upper cabinets
by running the counter to a struc-
that would take away the light and the
tural post between the rooms, leaving
airiness of the room,” Barbour says.
the space above the counter open. A
The focal point of the kitchen, ap-
backsplash was created for more visual
propriately enough, is the stove, which
separation and to keep any kitchen
combines a classic look with contem-
mess out of view.
porary features. The forty-three-inch
The two rooms are also connected by
Aga Legacy six-burner gas stove has
the patterned painted floor, done by Rich
three electric ovens, each with separate
Addonizio of Old World Finishes in Mason.
controls. Barbour says, “That way I can
A light-hued paint was used to make the
cook things at different times and at
rooms seem bigger and brighter.
different temperatures.” Behind the stove is the same marble
Fruit of the labor
as the countertops, but cut and arranged
Barbour continues to build her busi-
as subway tiles. The commercial-grade
ness, adding new programs, such as
46 | New Hampshire Home
NHH
Resources
Artistic Tile (603) 886-1920 www.theperfecttile.com
Baron’s Major Brands (800) 350-2499 www.baronsmajorbrands.com Beautifully Delicious: Cooking with Herbs & Edible Flowers By Liz Barbour www.thecreativefeast.com Capital Tile & Marble (603) 226-0233
James Williams Construction (603) 889-0413 www.jameswilliamsconstruction.com
Just Lights (603) 578-9482 • www.justlights.com Old World Finishes (978) 807-8564 Rumford Stone (603) 224-9876 www.rumfordstone.com
The Creative Feast (603) 321-5011 www.thecreativefeast.com Vintage Kitchens (603) 224-4763 www.vintagekitchens.com
may/june 2017
Building. Done. Right.
(603) 279-4045 www.haywardandcompany.com
Mike and Julie Hayward, owners of Hayward & Company
LindaCloutier 603-964-2959 Linda Clough–Cloutier, CKD www.nhhomemagazine.com
Kitchens &Baths
611 Breakfast Hill Road Greenland, New Hampshire www.lindacloutier.com New Hampshire Home | 47
A Garden Where
Old England Meets
New England
The post-and-beam gazebo is a visual magnet in Gordon and Mary Hayward’s garden. These two long borders were inspired by the gardens at Hidcote, near where Mary grew up in England. 48 | New Hampshire Home
may/june 2017
Gordon and Mary Hayward’s magical landscape near their late-eighteenth-century farmhouse is being documented for the Smithsonian Archives of American Gardens. By Robin Sweetser Photography by Gordon Hayward www.nhhomemagazine.com
New Hampshire Home | 49
G
Garden designers Mary and Gordon Hayward come
work to make it livable again, and it took Mary and Gordon
from two different worlds. She grew up in England in the North
more than a year to clean up the yard, removing truckloads of
Cotswold Hills on a 140-acre farm across from the famous Hid-
scrap metal, tearing down a rotting barn, burning brush and
cote Manor Gardens. He is from northwestern Connecticut and
dead trees, and hauling out junk cars. “There was an old Nash
grew up on a family farm with a 38-acre orchard and 100 acres
Metropolitan that had been sitting in one place so long, it had
of woodland.
a maple tree growing up through it,” Gordon remembers.
Although Mary and Gordon hail from opposite sides of the
While deep in the throes of clearing brambles and trash
Atlantic, as the children of farmers, they share a love of gar-
from the property, Gordon had a visit from his mentor, land-
dens, the natural world and hard work. Over the years, Mary
scape designer Howard Andros from nearby Walpole. Andros
and Gordon have designed many landscapes for others—all
pointed out the connection between the front door of the
the while developing and tending their own piece of ground
house and an old apple tree 250 feet away, saying simply,
located 2½ miles as the crow flies from the New Hampshire
“That’s an important line.”
border in Westminster, Vermont.
Setting the scene
The Haywards ran a string from the threshold of the door to the tree, marking out the sightline, and eventually built paths and gardens along that line. “Every subsequent straight
Mary and Gordon purchased their 1½ acre property—once
path in the entire garden runs parallel or perpendicular to that
part of a dairy farm—in 1983. The eight-room farmhouse with
stringline, providing coherence,” Gordon says.
attached barn was built in the 1790s and had been in the
When designing a garden, the Haywards start with the
Ranney family for generations until the Haywards bought it.
paths. “Paths furnish the internal structure of the garden and
Suffering from years of neglect, the house needed some major
draw us into rather than around the garden,” Gordon says.
50 | New Hampshire Home
may/june 2017
The Haywards’ property is a labor of love. In 1983, they could see beyond the junk cars, brambles and neglected house (below) to a vision of what their property could become (left). Many years of hard work later, their home and gardens are shining examples of what two people who share a common goal can achieve.
Feast for the eyes When visiting this carefully laid out and cultivated space, you
buffering the view of the road, and off to left, in the distance,
are immediately drawn in to a journey of discovery. There are
you can just catch a glimpse of a gazebo.
so many interesting plant combinations, striking architectural
Down the steps and across the lawn is the crab-apple
features, enticing paths, beautiful views and welcoming gar-
orchard, a nod to Gordon’s background. Two beds with six
den rooms that the space seems much larger than 1½ acres.
trees each are cut into the lawn and underplanted with hardy
Two clumps of Japanese whitespire birches at either end
geraniums—an idea borrowed from a garden the Haywards
of a yew hedge pay homage to the two stumps of old sugar
visited in England. The crabs blossom first—white ‘Prairie
maples that were cut down long before the Haywards moved
Fire’, pink ‘Sugar Tyme’ and dark pink ‘Adams’—followed by
in. This entry garden has peonies, ligularia, ‘Firewitch’ pinks,
the geraniums in blues and pinks. The trees hold onto their
Hakonechloa grass, alliums and a ‘Red Sentinel’ Japanese maple
bright red fruits, adding color to the winter garden until cedar
for color. A deciduous weeping European larch now grows out
waxwings come to gobble them up. Spring bulbs along with
of one of the old maple stumps, and hens and chicks nestle in
other perennials—including ajuga, epimediums, hellebores
the other one.
and viola—add to the show.
A break in the yew hedge opens onto wide stone steps with
The brick path beckons, leading to a circular center where
pots of annuals on each side, leaving no doubt this is the place
a tall pedestal is topped with a sculpture bearing the face of
to begin the garden tour. From the top step, you can take in
the Argonaut, Jason. Upright black locust poles outline the
the crab-apple orchard and your eyes are drawn to the gar-
circle and mark the bisecting paths that divide the garden into
den beyond, marked by upright yew pillars and a brick walk.
four quadrants. The tall posts form a colonnade, or topless
To the right is a garden that runs the length of the property,
pergola, further defining this space from a distance and fram-
www.nhhomemagazine.com
New Hampshire Home | 51
Right: There are four seasons of interest in the Haywards’ garden. Spring flowering bulbs get the party started, along with early blooming perennials that include hellebores and epimediums. Then the crab apples in the mini-orchard put on their show.
ing views into other parts of the garden and back toward the house. Vines—including gray-leaved moonvine (Lonicera reticulata), orange-red honeysuckle ‘Major Wheeler’, pink Japanese hydrangea vine (Schizophragma hydrangeiodes ‘Roseum’) and white wisteria ‘Aunt Dee’—coil around the poles, adding fragrance to the air and color to the dark bark. Each quadrant has an evergreen shrub along with deciduous shrubs with colorful foliage, such as Tiger-eye sumac, purple smokebush, yellow-leaved locust and Japanese maple ‘Bloodgood’ for contrast. “Plants choose their neighbors,” Gordon says. The perennials in each bed—including astilbe, actea, goatsbeard, globe thistle, pulmonaria, valerian,
trained over bent steel rods leads to the ga-
balloon flower, phlox and daylilies—provide
zebo. “The peastone path underneath the
even more contrasting colors and textures.
tunnel emphasizes the transition from one
Exiting the brick walk garden, we come
area of the garden to another,” Gordon says.
to the old Macintosh apple tree Andros had
Located near the southeastern corner of the
pointed to. On the right, granite posts mark
property, the ten-foot-by-ten-foot gazebo
the beginning of a path into the woodland
provides a destination and a resting place. It
garden. The Haywards unearthed a dozen of
is built from oak and hemlock beams with a
these posts when clearing the property, and
cedar shake roof, allowing it to blend in with
like to use them to mark transition points in
the woodland garden behind it. Views of the
the garden and honor the past of this farm.
gardens and over the fields are framed by
Dappled shade with occasional pools of
its timbers.
sunlight, this area is full of shade-tolerant
To the east, a mown path leads from
shrubs, including hydrangeas, viburnums,
the gardens three hundred feet through the
daphne, rhododendrons and witch hazel. Dry
meadow to three pin oaks. The Haywards
shade under the limbed-up maples is planted
planted them in honor of three oaks that are
with tiarella, Phlox stolonifera and divaricata,
growing in the center of the village of Ebring-
sedums, and ajuga. Moister sections are home
ton where Mary grew up.
to hosta, astilbe, bleeding hearts, cinnamon
Looking north from the gazebo, there is a wide grass path with ninety-foot-long bor-
ferns and double white trilliums. A stone wall marking the boundary line
ders on each side that were inspired by the
runs along the south side of this garden,
gardens at Hidcote where Mary once worked.
but the Haywards have since purchased the
“An English garden can be defined as an in-
10-acre meadow on the other side.
formally planted garden within a firm linear structure,” Mary says.
Views from the gazebo
Waves of perennials and shrubs—many
Back to the apple tree, a tunnel made from
with dark red flowers or foliage to echo the
purple-leaved
color of their front door—flow down the bor-
beech
52 | New Hampshire Home
saplings
that
were
may/june 2017
Left: The summer garden segues into daylilies, daisies, asters, Joe Pye weed, bee balm, phlox and ligularia in the long border, along with many other plants that provide layers of texture and color. Below, right: In autumn, colorful Korean and Japanese maples as well as ‘Wildfire’ tupelo contrast with underplanted shrubs—such as fothergilla and dwarf evergreens— to light up the garden. Below, left: Winter is the longest season in the garden, so the Haywards paid close attention to vertical elements such as fences, evergreens, clipped hedges, and trees with unusual bark or that hold their fruit until spring. Structure is exposed in winter, and this garden is all about structure.
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New Hampshire Home | 53
Right: Rather than fight their site by trying to plant a garden over the shallow, matted roots of these trees, the Haywards paved the area with bluestone and created a shady spot for outdoor dining. Facing page, top: The Haywards set a Haddonstone sculpture of John Tradescant—the first royal gardener to come to the New World in the early 1600s—against the sixteen-foot-high arborvitae hedge that creates the east wall of the herb garden.
ders with shorn boxwood, marking the corners. In the left border, two steps up lead to a bluestone paved nook with comfortable seating sheltered by a curving beech hedge and three English hedge maples. These are shorn to keep them in shape and add a formal touch to the area. “Throughout the garden, we enjoy the pleasing contrast of shorn trees and hedges next to exuberant natural forms,” Mary says.
The rock garden In clearing the property, the Haywards found a mound of stones forming a ramp three feet high, fifteen feet wide, and thirty feet long. As part of the old farm’s sugaring operation, the ramp enabled horses to pull a wooden vat of sap up, where gravity fed the sap into an evaporator for making maple syrup. Gordon and Mary found the crumpled metal evaporating pan nearby. Instead of trying to remove the rocks, the Haywards honored the past by leaving the rocks and creating a shady rock garden over them. By adding boulders to the sides, Gordon and Mary made terraces, filled them with soil, and planted dwarf evergreens, a Korean maple, spireas, white heather, lamium, clematis, sedums, ferns, hosta and heucherella.
The herb garden A set of steps leads down from the rock garden to a classic New England four-quadrant herb garden, which was built in relation to the twelvefoot-by-eighteen-foot
former
tobacco-drying
shed that now serves as a garden shed. Each of the four beds is edged in Korean boxwood. An English armillary stands on a pedestal in the center, and the paths between the plantfilled beds are paved with peastone. More herbs are grown in terra-cotta, long tom pots. Gordon and Mary added a grape arbor to the east side of the shed and paved underneath it with fieldstones, providing a spot for a bench. 54 | New Hampshire Home
may/june 2017
Above: Mary Hayward recently drew this plan of the garden as part of its submission to the Smithsonian Archives of American Gardens. Left: Homeowners and garden designers Mary and Gordon Hayward have an office in the hayloft of their attached barn. Gordon designs gardens for others, gives lectures on gardening, wrote for Horticulture magazine for twenty-five years and is the author of eleven books. The couple also lead garden tours in the United States and England. www.nhhomemagazine.com
New Hampshire Home | 55
Right: In the pool garden, green and white kuma bamboo grass provides an appropriate background for a statue of Buddha. The pond was created on the base of an abandoned silo. The moss-covered center stone is a two-hundred-year-old marble wellhead. Facing page: A bas-relief of Vappa—the Roman goddess who told growers when it was the perfect time to harvest their grapes to make the best wine—hangs on the garden shed under the grape arbor. Below: Gerry Prozzo, a friend of the Haywards who has since passed away, carved this image of the Green Man—who symbolizes the place where plants and people meet—into the eight-foot stump of a dead butternut tree.
Grapes and clematis grow up the posts, while a climbing hydrangea clings to the shed wall and sprawls over the roof. A viburnum hedge blocks the view of the house and barn, adding to the sense of enclosure; metal gates mark the points of entry. Leaving the herb garden, swing right along a free-form lawn and through a gate where mature trees shade the twelve-footby-twenty-four-foot dining area. A teak table and chairs are set up on the bluestone-paved terrace. The rock garden makes up one side of this spot, its lower retaining wall doubling as a useful sideboard. A black ceramic bust of Hero by English sculptor Patricia Volk overlooks the dining area from the rock garden. Recirculating water bubbles into and over the sides of a cast concrete bowl, adding the peaceful sound of water.
More to see An antique English staddle stone—similar to ones Mary’s father once used to support ricks of drying grain harvested from his fields—stands at the entrance to the spring garden. Originally a shady garden planted under wild plum trees, this area is now in full sun since the plums were broken by heavy wet snow in 2012 and had to be removed. This meant extensive replanting in 2013. A stepping-stone path leads to a wooden bridge over a low spot that is planted with spring bloomers—including daffodils, primrose, bleeding heart, trollius and rhododendrons. But other plantings—including yarrow, hollyhocks, asclepias, foxglove and asters—have made this more of a garden for all seasons. The path winds around under a ‘Donald Wyman’ crab apple back to the central lawn path. A path of large stones leads to a forty-foot-by-eighteen-foot oval of lawn called the Dell. From here, we reach gardens that were developed around the old barn foundations. Up a set of steps, marked with rusty milk cans, is the well-worn, eightfoot-by-twenty-five-foot concrete milking parlor floor where six stanchions once held the cows each morning and evening during milking. Now thyme, sedum, and hens and chicks grow from the cracks and grooves the Haywards filled in with compost. To the east is the old calf pen area, located four feet below the parlor. A new path leads into this wet corner bounded by the foundation walls. Here the Haywards grow viburnums, willows, ‘White Swirl’ Siberian iris, daylilies and primroses. 56 | New Hampshire Home
may/june 2017
have also purchased an 8-acre field across the road where they have their vegetable and soft fruit garden, very similar to the one Mary’s mother tended. All 18 acres of meadows are protected by the Vermont Land Trust.
An eye toward the future Now the Haywards are working to have their garden accepted by the Smithsonian Archives of American Gardens. “Mary and I spent two months documenting the garden with maps and To the west, down a few steps from the parlor, is the pool
plans, photographs, a twenty-four-page plant list of around
garden. Kiwi vines grow on chains strung between locust posts
one thousand plants and one hundred pages of magazine
on the south side of the path and tall emerald green arborvi-
articles about the garden,” Gordon says. “The goal of the sub-
taes form a hedge on the northern boundary.
mission is to be so complete in your report that the garden
Beds filled with shade-loving plants—including fothergilla,
could be replicated any time in the future.”
astilbe, hostas and darmera—lead to a pool surrounded with
The Garden Club of Dublin, New Hampshire, is sponsoring
low perennials, such as ajuga, ladies mantle, European ginger
their submission. The purpose of the Smithsonian archive is to
and blue woodland phlox. The pool was built on the base of
document historic and contemporary gardens for researchers
an old silo that the Haywards uncovered while cleaning debris
and the public today and in the future.
from this area. They covered the sixteen-foot diameter con-
If you get a chance to visit this exquisite property, you are
crete bowl with sand and a pond liner, and ringed the edges
sure to come away with ideas for your own garden! This sum-
with stones that were soon moss-covered. A statue of Buddha
mer, the Haywards will hold an open garden tour on July 22
keeps watch as water bubbles up through the two-hundred-
and 23 to benefit Westminster Cares, a local group that works
year-old Danby marble wellhead in the center of the pool.
with seniors and disabled adults.
NHH
Arborvitae and a row of Fothergilla gardenii provide a background and screen this serene area from the road. Shade for a seating area near the back of the barn is provided by large maple and ash trees, a Phellodendron amurense given to the Haywards by gardener Kristian Fenderson from Alstead, and a tree lilac Andros gave to them thirty years ago as a seedling. The last stop on our tour is a stone wall–enclosed, grassy paddock area at the back of the house. In another nod to Mary’s past, the Haywards had three topiary sheep made to “graze” here, a reminder of her family’s flock. The Haywards www.nhhomemagazine.com
Resources
Bunker Farm (802) 387-2333 • www.thebunkerfarm.com
Garden Club of Dublin, New Hampshire • (603) 563-7762
Hayward Gardens (802) 387-4766 • www.haywardgardens.com
Inspired Gardener (603) 399-4354 • www.inspiredgardener.com
Smithsonian Archives of American Gardens www.gardens.si.edu Vermont Land Trust (802) 223-5234 • www.vlt.org
Walker Farm (802) 254-2051 • www.walkerfarm.com
Westminster Cares (802) 722-3607 • www.westminstercares.org New Hampshire Home | 57
Oasis An Artist’s
Photography courtesy of Dartmouth College Library
Stephen Parrish’s home and garden in 1906 (inset) show the lily pool on the left and the greenhouse to the right. The current owners removed the vinyl swimming pool that took the place of the lily pool and replaced that with lawn; they also converted the greenhouse to living space. 58 | New Hampshire Home
may/june 2017
Noted for their beauty, Stephen Parrish’s early twentieth-century gardens in Cornish have been revived—thanks, in part, to the painter’s detailed journals. By Andi Axman | Photography by John W. Hession www.nhhomemagazine.com
New Hampshire Home | 59
T
The gardening bug has bitten many of us, and one of its
nish, both for its beautiful countryside as well as the artists
more noteworthy quarries was landscape painter and etcher
with homes and gardens there. This community included
Stephen Parrish. He fell in love with the pastoral beauty of Cor-
painters Thomas Dewing and Maria Oakey Dewing; sculptor
nish when he visited landscape architect Charles Platt, who was
August Saint-Gaudens; and landscape architect and painter
his student and had a summer house there [see The Evolution of
Charles Platt. Stephen’s more famous son Maxfield followed
a Notable Landscape in New Hampshire Home, May/June 2016]. In
his father a few years later, and built a house, studio and
1893, Stephen bought eighteen acres near the Platts and built a
walled gardens nearby. Platt helped define the style of gardening in Cornish, rec-
house on the property he named Northcote. Stephen spent the next ten years working on the gardens
ognized as one of this country’s most beautifully landscaped
that were “considered by many to be the most distinctive of
towns in the early part of the twentieth century. His style
all the gardens in an artists’ colony that was becoming known
blended Italian classicism with Colonial Revival-inspired pe-
for gardens,” says garden designer Bill Noble of Norwich, Ver-
rennial plantings. Houses were closely connected to gardens;
mont, who was hired in 1989 to bring Northcote’s gardens
indoor-outdoor areas framed the view; gardens were laid out on axes. As in Tuscany, the building sites in
back to life.
Cornish were challenging. “The genius of the
In the years after Stephen’s death in
Cornish gardenmakers was their under-
1938 at age ninety-two, what had been
standing of the landscape,” Noble says.
an open, sunny hillside had become a
“Their gardens were an outgrowth of
shaded woodland. The flowerbeds he had so lovingly nurtured were over-
the site, not only accommodating
grown with shrubs. Near Stephen’s
existing apple trees but also using
studio, the area he called The Bou-
the materials at hand, such as local
levard was “a tangle,” Noble says.
stone and native white pine.” From 1893 to 1910, Stephen
In the late 1960s, after the Parrish family sold the property, a
kept a detailed garden journal. His
vinyl swimming pool had taken
notes include information about the weather, birds, each day’s ac-
the place of the sunken lily pool then, Noble wrote in a 1992 article on Northcote, “cascading annuals and clusters of blue Otaksa hydrangea reflected
Taken between 1880 and 1890, this photo shows Stephen Parrish in his late thirties or early forties, at the height of his etching career before he moved to New Hampshire.
plant lists (including what did well) as well as correspondence about gardening and clippings. Stephen also included notes about what he painted and who came to
on the surface of the lily pool and then up through the colorfully planted raised beds border-
tivities, purchases for the garden,
visit. His niece, Anne Bogardus Parrish, continued
ing the steps and out across a small orchard of apple trees on
to live at Northcote after her uncle’s death; when she died in
the lawn.”
1966, she left her uncle’s garden journals to Dartmouth Col-
Thanks to the current homeowners, Bob Gordon and Marjorie Mann, and the efforts of Noble and his colleague Susan
lege. “Northcote is the best documented of all the Cornish gardens,” Noble says.
Howard in East Thetford, Vermont, the grounds of Northcote
Noble says that one entry in Stephen’s journal, from July
have been brought back to life. “The work feels purposeful,”
2, 1903, is telling: “Painting in studio all day. Have taken it up
Howard says. “We are perpetuating Stephen Parrish’s vision
again after years of neglect.” That was because he’d spent the
through the loving stewardship of Bob and Marjorie. This
majority of his efforts during the preceding ten years creating
makes Northcote a fascinating place to work.”
his gardens. Not only did his garden garner local attention—it
The beginnings of Northcote
was photographed and written about in House and Garden, The Century Magazine and Country Life in America—it was also pub-
At age thirty-one, after a successful business career in Phila-
lished in two influential garden books, Guy Lowell’s Ameri-
delphia, Stephen began studying etching and painting. His
can Gardens and Louise Shelton’s Beautiful Gardens in America.
work was well received, and he exhibited in New York, Boston
Garden plans appeared in a number of publications. Stephen
and Philadelphia as well as in London, Paris and other cities
did many paintings of the garden, and Maxfield took many
in Europe.
photographs.
One passion Stephen could not indulge in Philadelphia,
Among the projects Stephen undertook was planting a
though, was his love of horticulture. So he was drawn to Cor-
hemlock hedge that led from the stable to the house. A Lom-
60 | New Hampshire Home
may/june 2017
Photography courtesy of Dartmouth College Library
that Stephen built in 1903. Back
Stephen Parrish’s painting (above) and the photograph (near left), which could have been taken by Maxfield Parrish, show the pergola that was added as an extension of the house and the lily pool. Neither the pergola nor the lily pool exist today.
Stephen Parrish’s painting called Garden Steps at Northcote (far left) was painted after 1907, when the artist had given up etching and turned to oils. The photograph (lower near left) shows him seated while painting at the steps that lead to The Boulevard in his garden. The photo was probably taken around 1902 by Maxfield Parrish. Photography courtesy of Bob Gordon and Marjorie Mann
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New Hampshire Home | 61
bardy poplar at the corner of the house marked its formal entrance. The house—with its porch, pergola and greenhouse— enclosed the garden on three sides. A low wall and hedge ran along the fourth side. Vines grew on the house and pergola, and raised beds overflowed with trees, shrubs, bulbs, perennials and annuals (Stephen grew annuals in his greenhouse). Other plants found homes in tubs and terracotta pots. Azaleas, tree peonies, clethra, roses and hydrangea were planted throughout the beds. Peonies, iris, delphinium and phlox added color, while annuals—such as alyssum, nasturtium, centaurea and asters—filled in the spaces. “On this garden canvas framed by the architecture of the house and its attachments, Stephen painted in broad swaths of color against the flattering textures of wood, stone and sheared foliage,” Noble says. In 1903, Stephen removed two of the rectangular flowerbeds in order to build a nine-foot-wide, round, sunken lily pool. He eventually removed the water lilies from the pool because they interfered with the reflection of the garden on the water’s surface, Noble says. Beyond the house, Stephen planted hundreds of deciduous trees and shrubs on the hillside; as they grew, he cleared paths through their branches. Not only did this protect the landscape from westerly winds, but it also screened the two studios from the house. Pines were planted down the slope and were eventually topped, which created a tall ground cover. From various nurseries, Stephen ordered large quantities of trees and shrubs to plant for hedges, windbreaks and orchards; he also transplanted shrubs from the woods. In a five-year period in an area of the garden he called The Boulevard, Stephen built a series of masonry walls and stairs into the hillside. Here, shrubs and perennials were planted together in a style different from that in the flower garden. The setting can be seen in Stephen’s painting, Garden Steps at Northcote, on page 61. Also in this part of the garden was a weather-beaten old pine tree whose branches stretched across the path. Stephen built a circular wooden bench near this tree, and would bring out a table to enjoy tea or supper—along with sunsets and views of the Vermont hills.
Connecting to history After Stephen’s death, his plantings grew unchecked. Shrubs overwhelmed the garden; the pine hedges he sheared every June grew to seventy feet in height; the great old pine tree was reduced to a rotted stump. But the masonry walls and stairs of The Boulevard remained, as did the other stone walls near the house. Although the perennials in the flower beds were overtaken by other plants, Stephen’s journal with his detailed plant lists, along with photographs and paintings, provided an invaluable record of what had been there. When Gordon purchased Northcote in 1984, there were no 62 | New Hampshire Home
may/june 2017
Left: The parapet wall that leads to Stephen Parrish’s studio was rebuilt according to its original design as determined by photographs and existing similar walls. Lower left: Stephen Parrish sits on a bench on the garden side of the house. Photography courtesy of Dartmouth College Library
Lower right: This garden plan for Northcote was measured and drawn for House and Garden’s September 1901 issue. Photography courtesy of Dartmouth College Library
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New Hampshire Home | 63
The terraced garden near the house includes the flowers shown as insets, from the left, Hemerocallis ‘Hyperion’ (daylily); Echinops ritro (globe thistle) in the foreground and Monarda didyma (beebalm) in the background, with Phlox paniculata (garden phlox) in the middle; Lilium ‘African Queen’ (trumpet lily); Astilbe chinensis ‘Superba’ (astilbe); and Dahlia ‘Cafe au Lait’ (dahlia).
flowers growing in the garden. A vinyl swimming pool stood where the lily pond had been (Gor-
presence” at Northcote, reinvigorating the gar-
don replaced that with lawn early on). There were
dens near the house and near The Boulevard,
some of Stephen’s paintings in the studio, and the
repairing brick and stonework, and clearing out
former owners had left a copy of Stephen’s jour-
what had become overgrown. “We needed Bill’s
nal. The real work began when Mann came into
expertise to figure out what to do and how to do
Gordon’s life a few years later. “She knew North-
it,” Mann says.
cote’s history and realized immediately there was more to the gardens here,” he says.
Before he began, Noble did his homework. At Dartmouth, he found Stephen’s garden journals,
One day in 1989 while visiting the nearby
plant lists and correspondence with nurserymen,
Saint-Gaudens estate, Mann heard Noble lecture
along with Maxfield’s photos of the garden. “Even
about the garden restoration work he was doing
though we knew we weren’t going to fully restore
there—he had started in 1986 by restoring the
the garden, I wanted our work to be informed,” No-
pine and hemlock hedges, and was then working
ble says. “The journals helped me understand what
on the flower gardens. “When I came home, I told
Stephen was after and what materials he used.”
Bob I was going to call Bill,” Mann says.
64 | New Hampshire Home
Mann says Noble soon became a “constant
From these journals, Noble created plant lists
Coincidentally, just before receiving her phone
that would make the flower garden feel like Ste-
call, Noble had given a lecture at the Arnold Arbo-
phen’s, but could be adapted to the changed land-
retum, at Harvard University, on Saint-Gaudens’
scape and be easily maintained by Gordon and
gardens and showed a slide of Northcote. “A
Mann. “Northcote had become a challenging site
woman raised her hand and said she knew the
for a garden,” Noble says. “The surrounding Nor-
owners,” Noble says. “Marjorie had called at the
way maples robbed the garden of moisture and
perfect time.”
shaded it for half the day. Some of the Cornish may/june 2017
plants refused to work, and others got too gangly.
Howard says. “He studied what did well, and made
We knew we couldn’t plant big trees and tackle
choices that were both artful and horticulturally
projects we couldn’t keep watered.”
sound. Stephen’s eye as a painter made this gar-
Initially, Noble was still working full-time at
den more than a collection of plants. Bill—with
Saint-Gaudens, so he brought in other gardeners
his keen sense of design and knowledge of histo-
to help him. One was Sue Howard. “She has been
ry, was able to interpret—which makes Northcote
the mainstay of the garden ever since, overseeing
still an outstanding garden today.”
Left: Bill Noble and Susan Howard stand on the steps leading to The Boulevard. Right: On The Boulevard, a Fuchsia ‘Gartenmeister’ growing in a pot guides the eye toward Stephen Parrish’s studio.
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its maintenance and evolution with the help of two part-time gardeners,” Noble says. Every year, Howard brings Noble back for a consultation. “I love this garden’s connection to history,” Howard says. “I often think of Stephen Parrish and how he’d approach things. I try and nurture his vision, as well as address Bob and Marjorie’s love for the property and the specific needs of their life here today.” Howard also loves the collection of plants in the garden, and has been experimenting with woodland ground covers and various other plants—both native and historical—that can tolerate the site’s conditions. “Stephen Parrish was a plantsman and an artist, and he also experimented with his plantings,” www.nhhomemagazine.com
Resources
A Place of Beauty: The Artists and Gardens of the Cornish Colony by Alma M. Gilbert and Judith B. Tankard. Published by Ten Speed Press, 2000 Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University (617) 524-1718 www.arboretum.harvard.edu
Bill Noble Gardens (802) 649-3821 • www.billnoblegardens.com Dartmouth College, Rauner Special Collections Library (603) 646-2560 • www.dartmouth.edu/~library/rauner Garden Conservancy (845) 424-6500 www.gardenconservancy.org
Italian Villas and Their Gardens by Edith Wharton, with illustrations by Maxfield Parrish. Published by Rizzoli in 2008
Northcote: An Artist’s New Hampshire Garden by William Noble. Published in the Journal of the New England Garden History Society, Fall 1992. Susan Howard (802) 299-8585 • pyrus.hort@gmail.com Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site www.nps.gov/saga/index.htm
New Hampshire Home | 65
photography by john w. hession
Duffy (left) and Rick Monahon were architects, preservationists and active members of the community whose efforts made a profound impact on the Monadnock Region. 66 | New Hampshire Home
may/june 2017
A Farm Carries On Four Winds Farm in Peterborough is a multi-use property that pays fitting tribute to its owners’ legacy. By Jenny Donelan | Photography by Nancy Belluscio
www.nhhomemagazine.com
New Hampshire Home | 67
R
Above: The Shingle-Style house at Four Winds Farm contains many pieces of art and furniture that belonged to the Monahons. Far right, top: A high ceiling, bright walls and plentiful natural light make for a cheerful dining space. Far right, bottom: Exposed timber framing makes a graphical statement in many parts of the house, which was designed by the Monahons.
Rick and Mary “Duffy” Monahon were architects and active
preservation,” says Jennifer Goodman, executive director for
members of the Monadnock Region community, where their
the New Hampshire Preservation Alliance.
passions for architecture, historic preservation and land conserva-
In a major way, however, the Monahons’ legacy lives on
tion affected the area profoundly. Together or separately, Rick and
at Four Winds Farm, the Peterborough property they called
Duffy were responsible for preserving or restoring many buildings
home. Under the auspices of farmers Dan and Ruth Holmes as
around the region, including the Dublin Lake Club, the Temple
well as their daughter, Carrie Dumas, and her husband Bryn
Town Hall, the Gregg Free Library in Wilton and the Peterborough
Dumas, the approximately 350-acre property is being con-
Players barn. Rick, in particular, spent many years working to
verted to a working farm. (In fact, it had been a working farm
preserve historic Harrisville, a mill town.
many years earlier, but not in recent decades.) Goats now
In January 2013, the Monahons died in a car accident,
graze in reclaimed pastures, and pigs and chickens grace the
leaving friends, family, neighbors and colleagues bereft not
grounds. Many kinds of produce are grown at Four Winds
only of the couple’s gregarious personalities, but their efforts
by Brittany Dooling and Michael Reardon, who live on the
to shape a better place in which to live. “They were as deeply
property and operate The Mad Radish CSA (community-
immersed in advocacy for the arts and conservation and farm-
supported agriculture) on the farm in the summer and fall
ing and planning—and grassroots activities—as they were in
months. Year round, local residents can visit the farm store
68 | New Hampshire Home
may/june 2017
An agricultural transition
The property’s transition to a farm began even before the Monahons passed away. Duffy kept a few sheep and was interested in restoring the apple orchard on the premises. “Duffy had always dabbled in a little farming,” says Duncan Spencer, Duffy’s son by a previous marriage. “And food started to become an issue in her mind. She was concerned about global food production.” Rick and Duffy’s daughter Sophia Monahon recalls a trip to
France when she was young, where she and her parents visited cider makers to learn about their craft because the Monahons were interested in learning to make cider. The Monahons (and also the Holmeses) were charter members of Slow Food Monadnock (an organization promoting local food) and used to host slow-food dinners in the Studio at Four Winds Farm. Duffy’s interest in local food dovetailed with the type of farming (local, small scale) the Holmeses had been doing. Duffy was interested in returning the property to a working farm, and she had been talking to dairyman Dan Holmes about farm techniques for some time before she passed away, and the Holmeses and the Monahons had already struck up a grazing agreement. Dan and Ruth had been operating a dairy out of the Sunnyfield Farm property (owned by Crotched Mountain Rehabilitation Center) on Route 137 in Peterborough for more than ten years. But when funds for subsidizing the dairy operation for Crotched Mountain were no longer available, the Holmeses and their livestock had to look for a new farm. That is how, about three years ago, the Holmes family ended up signing a forty-year lease with the Monahons’ descendants and began working the farm. According to Sophia, the agreement was made quickly. “The Holmeses felt like the right people,” she says, “and it also felt like the right thing to do because my mom was adamant about things like taking care of the apple trees and having animals on the land. We all felt like we had my parents’ blessing in working with the Holmeses’ business.” on the property to buy local meat, eggs, dairy products and other groceries. The buildings, many of them of local historic significance, are also being preserved. These include the 1904 dairy barn,
“The family has been wonderful,” Carrie says. “They‘ve been very supportive of us wanting to turn this back into a working farm.”
(which the Holmeses call the Apple Barn), converted to apple
Bringing the cattle home
processing and storage by Duffy’s uncles when the farm ran
The Holmes family is currently working on bringing more ani-
an orchard operation from the 1920s to the 1950s. This is now
mals to the farm, in addition to the chickens, pigs and goats
home to the farm store and is the site of a future milk room.
that are there now. (Their sheep, horses, and cattle spend
The Studio—an 1840s barn where plays and other cultural
some time at the farm in the summer, but winter elsewhere.)
events were held during the 1920s and 1930s—is now being
Dan says he plans to move his year-round dairy opera-
used for functions, including weddings and dinner parties
tion to Four Winds in the coming months. He has already
that feature food grown on the farm. There are several rental
cleared fifteen acres of land for pasture. “We really needed to
properties, one of which is occupied by Dan and Ruth. And
bring back the soil,” he says. The way that’s done is by feed-
the hilltop, Shingle-style house that Rick and Duffy built in
ing the cattle hay on the cleared land and allowing them to
1998 is rented by short-term, seasonal guests.
walk around on it. Thus they prevent the growth of saplings
www.nhhomemagazine.com
New Hampshire Home | 69
A spacious open porch offers views of the surrounding farmland. 70 | New Hampshire Home
may/june 2017
and other brush, and also fertilize the ground.
twenty-five years and are in it for the long haul.
Another aspect of clearing involves Dan picking
He is a New Hampshire native who started farm-
up sticks and removing stumps—a slow and la-
ing in Canterbury, helping to restore the gardens
borious process. The farm also received a Natural
and farm at the Shaker Village there. She is from
Resources Conservation Grant to build a bedded
California, but has obviously taken to New Eng-
pack barn for the dairy cattle. The cattle include
land farm life. When it comes to a love for farm-
British White beef cattle and a breed the Holme-
ing, Dan says, “Either you’ve got it or you don’t.”
ses call “Monadnocks,” which are a cross between American Milking Devons and Jerseys from New
House amid the ruins
Zealand.
The history of Four Winds Farm goes back to the
A forty-year lease may seem long, but Dan and
late 1700s, when the original settlers began farm-
Ruth have been farming in New Hampshire for
ing the land. In the early 1900s, the Edward Bur-
www.nhhomemagazine.com
Top: Elements of old and new combine gracefully on the property, like the lily pool (left) and the statue of Carmen, made famous by Georges Bizet’s opera of the same name, that was given to Duffy Monahon by her mother, Mary MacNaught. Above: The Monahons deliberately left pillars from the former Manor House (which burned down in 1922) outside the new house, framing views from the house and porch. New Hampshire Home | 71
nett family (relatives of Duffy’s first husband, also named Duncan Spencer) bought the property, and built the stucco Manor House, a sunken garden, a tennis court and a children’s playhouse. The Burnett family also established a kind of “gentleman’s farm,” which included vegetables and a herd of Guernsey cattle, a modern milking complex and an early centrifugal creamery to complement Deerfield Farm, their much larger dairy operation in Southborough, Massachusetts. Early in the 1920s, the Currier family (relatives of Duffy) bought the property and owned it briefly. Marie Currier, an actress, lived there while she was building the Mariarden studio in Peter-borough, a vehicle for Shakespeare plays and other performances. Famous artists, such as actor Paul Robeson and dancer Martha Graham, appeared and taught at Mariarden. Currier put on Shakespeare plays at Four Winds before Mariarden was finished. In 1922, the Manor House burned. The Hoffman family bought the property and converted it from a dairy to an apple-orchard operation. Over the years, the property saw different uses, until in 1998, Rick and Duffy built a new, Shingle-Style house on the site of the old Manor House. The crumbing pillars of that old house were left in place outside the new home. That eight-room (three-bedroom), post-and-beam house with large windows and excellent views is very similar today to how it was when the Monahons lived there. Many pieces of their furniture (a mix of antiques and new items) and artwork are still on display. Rick’s old office on the third floor looks out to a treetop and has the feel of a tree house (though the Monahons called it “the wizard’s
Ruth (second from the left) and Dan Holmes (right) are working the land at Four Winds Farm, with help from their daughter Carrie Dumas (second from the right) and son-in-law Bryn Dumas (left). Ruth is holding Edith, the hen, while Carrie holds Mr. Fuzzy Pants, the rooster.
room”). There is a lovely open porch that uses the old
Friends of the community
Manor House pillars as visual framing elements.
The farm today is a busy place with different people growing veg-
In addition to plans for establishing the dairy and
etables, raising farm animals, and hosting events and guests. All
restoring the orchard—which probably means planting new
this activity would have pleased the Monahons, who wanted to
trees—the Holmeses have plans for a maple-sugaring opera-
share Four Winds Farm rather than keep it for themselves, accord-
tion, blueberries and possibly educational programs for lo-
ing to Sophia.
cal children. They also hope to enhance the functions of-
When her parents were alive, she says, “There was always this
fered at the Studio with more of the food grown and raised
kind of residency quality. They had interns staying here, Dem-
on the farm.
ocratic canvassers. My parents weren’t private by nature. They
“It’s an interesting point to me,” Duffy’s son Duncan says,
loved to see people skating on the pond or hiking on the prop-
“that the property was a dairy farm (Burnett), was converted
erty. They couldn’t be happier than when someone came through
to apples (Hoffman) and is now in the process of being con-
riding a horse.”
NHH
verted back to dairy (Monahon and Holmes).” “Rick and Duffy would have been totally pleased with the return of farming to the property,” says their friend and colleague Carolyn Isaak, who recently retired as executive director for American Institute of Architects (AIA) New Hampshire. “They were both really passionate about history and the environment, and about saving old buildings and re-purposing them.” 72 | New Hampshire Home
Resources
American Institute of Architects (AIA) New Hampshire (603) 501-1881 www.aianh.org Four Winds Farm (603) 731-5153 • www.fourwindsfarmnh.com
New Hampshire Preservation Alliance (603) 224-2281 • www.nhpreservation.org Slow Food Monadnock www.facebook.com/Slow-Food-Monadnock Sunnyfield Farm (603) 924-4436 • www.sunnyfieldfarm.net
The Mad Radish CSA (443) 643-5684 • www.madradishcsa.com may/june 2017
Top right: This cow will call Four Winds Farm its year-round home as early as this coming fall. Above right: A young goat enjoys a meal at Four Winds Farm. Near left: Sheep and their canine companion are already in residence at the farm.
www.nhhomemagazine.com
New Hampshire Home | 73
homework
Creativity in Bloom An annual event in Jackson features floral interpretations of various artworks.
E
very spring, Jackson’s Mountain Garden Club shares its creativity with the community through
Art in Bloom, a free event showcasing member-created floral arrangements inspired by art. Up to fifty arrange-
ments and accompanying artworks are displayed at multiple locations during the event, creating an artistic walking tour through Jackson. Art in Bloom is a highlight for garden club members, says Betsey Harding, of Jackson, event chair. “The event really brings out people’s creativity,” she says. Participants choose an artwork and use its form, colors or subject matter to inspire their floral creations. Arrangements often feature blooms from members’ gardens, or area meadows and woods, supplemented with store-bought pieces. The arrangements showcased in last year’s event are as varied as the people who created them.
NHH
Painting by Frank Libby Arrangement by Betsey Harding Betsey Harding’s work was inspired by Danforth Bay, an ethereal watercolor by Frank Libby. Her selections evoke the artist’s depictions of mist and purple-blue mountains, and include hosta, lupine, lady’s mantle and peonies, all found in her garden.
By Debbie Kane | Photography by John W. Hession 74 | New Hampshire Home
may/june 2017
Floral Arranging Tips Many Art in Bloom participants find inspiration for their work during workshops led by Jackson florist Carrie Scribner, owner of Dutch Bloemen Winkel. Here are her suggestions for creating winning arrangements: • Place freshly cut flowers in fresh water as soon as possible. • Cut at least a half-inch off stems at a sharp angle, which allows the flowers to hydrate. • Put cut flowers in shade, not sunlight. • Refresh water daily. • Be creative and use natural elements, including foliage from around your home, as well as fruits and vegetables. Scribner uses apples, blueberries, herbs, branches, dried grasses and other elements she finds outdoors. • Keep it simple: use one color in your arrangement. If you’re mixing colors, Scribner suggests limiting to no more than three colors. “It’s more visually pleasing,” she says. • When selecting a container for your arrangement, make the arrangement at least double the height of the container. • Add greenery and the most durable elements to your container first. “Start arranging with larger flowers as they visually anchor an arrangement, then you can fill in with your remaining smaller blooms, “ Scribner says. “Don’t be afraid to drape elements around your container, too.”
Photograph by Dana Clemons Arrangement by Pat Mason A photograph by Dana Clemons of a misty woodland trail inspired this whimsical fairy garden by Pat Mason of Jackson. “I decided to create something for children who come on the tour to enjoy, and I thought a fairy garden would appeal to them,” Mason says. The delicate glass container is lined with Spanish moss and soil. Mason added winter berries she found on a walk in the woods as well as lacy maiden fern. A small fairy hides near a dried mushroom. www.nhhomemagazine.com
Members of the Mountain Garden Club are shown from the left. Front row: Marge Huemmler, Debbie Bryant and Deb Holmes. Second row: Suzanne Scolamiero, Betsey Harding, Carol White and Norma Whitmore. Third row: Pat Mason, Annie Ficke, Kathy Koziell, Cal Minton and Lisa Lee. Fourth row: Milly Pereira, Susan Van Tuyl, Judith Thompson and Magie Driscoll. Top row: Deb Carney, Wendy McVey, Sheila Mosson and Len Whitmore. New Hampshire Home | 75
homework
Painting by Linda Gray Arrangement by Betsey Harding Based in the White Mountains, artist Linda Gray paints scenes of Maine and New Hampshire. Betsey Harding selected Gray’s oil on canvas Fire in the Sky #2 because “I love her work,” Harding says. Betsey Harding’s arrangement included field grasses, lady’s mantle, juniper, yellow roses and daylilies. “To me, these flowers really evoke the colors in the painting,” Harding says.
Fabric art by Jeanne M. Stevens Arrangement by Deb Holmes Deb Holmes, vice president of the Mountain Garden Club and a resident of South Gardiner, Maine, turned to family for inspiration. Her sister-in-law, Jeanne Stevens, of Standish, Maine, is a fabric artist. Stevens’s On Pleasant Pond reminded Holmes of the Maine camp her family owned. She picked up the dish for her arrangement at an antique shop and anchored her arrangement with bluetinged hydrangeas, representing sky, clouds and water. She complemented the flowers with ferns, viburnum, white native yarrow, wheatgrass and wild turkey feathers collected during a walk in the woods.
More Art in Bloom
This year’s event on June 24 showcases Mountain Garden Club member–created floral arrangements inspired by art. Up to fifty arrangements and accompanying artworks are displayed at multiple locations, creating an artistic walking tour throughout Jackson. 10 a.m.–4 p.m. Free. www.mountaingardenclub.org
76 | New Hampshire Home
may/june 2017
Cottage furniture collection
Custom wood counter tops
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26 ANNUAL KITCHEN
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With coastal influences and historic flourishes, this year’s Kitchen Tour takes you through the diverse design styles of Portsmouth’s Little Harbor neighborhood. The perfect get-together for Mother’s Day!
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Creative Ventures
gallery
Art Gallery Classes Artists at Work
A Haven for Art Lovers
homework
Painting by Nancy Keenan Baron Arrangement by Deb Holmes
bUy l lOCA Make Our Gallery Your Art Shopping Experience
Creative Ventures Gallery 28 ROUTE 101A, Amherst, NH (603) 672-2500 • www.creativeventuresfineart.com
Deb Holmes’s arrangement is based on an acrylic and mixed-media work by Nancy Keenan Baron, called Constant Companions (Baron is Holmes’s neighbor in South Gardiner, Maine). “There’s a lot of energy in her work,” Holmes says. She chose baby’s breath, pink freesia, liatris, daisies, wheat and horsetail grass to make the arrangement appear more fluid. “This arrangement is like picking a wildflower bouquet,” Holmes says.
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78 | New Hampshire Home
may/june 2017
Painting by Arne Hagen Arrangement by Magie Driscoll Romance permeates this arrangement by Magie Driscoll of Jackson, who was inspired by a painting by greeting card artist Arne Hagen, a distant relative. “I wanted to create an arrangement that evoked a romantic evening for a young woman in Venice,” Driscoll says. A string of pearls, a black straw gondolier’s hat, a pair of kid gloves, a dance card, and a small nosegay of white, pink and red roses created a romantic tableau.
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New Hampshire Home | 79
homework
Painting by Ellen Farrington Arrangement by Beverly Sarapin
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Beverly Sarapin, of Glen, selected local artist Ellen Farrington’s work because “it’s such a New England image,” Sarapin says. Inspired by the painting’s nautical theme, Sarapin used blue glass aquarium marbles to represent the ocean, and sand and shells for the beach. The focal point of her arrangement is a large pink lily, supplemented by mums and pom poms. The daisies, lupine and greens are from her flower garden.
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Resources Dutch Bloemen Winkel (603) 383-9696
www.dutchbw.com
Mount Washington Valley Art Association
(603) 356-2787 • www.mwvarts.org
Mountain Garden Club
www.mountaingardenclub.org
80 | New Hampshire Home
may/june 2017
Imagine a kitchen...
Imagine a kitchen...
Vintage Kitchens W
hether you live in an old house with original features, or plan to create something entirely new, the goal is the same: a consistent aesthetic theme and a kitchen that works — beautifully.
Vintage Kitchens vintagekitchens.com
Painting by Cecil Snow Arrangement by Deb Carney Deb Carney, of Hale’s Location, found inspiration for her arrangement at the Mount Washington Valley Art Association. Trees in Winter, a watercolor by Glen artist Cecil Snow, was propped on the floor when she visited. “I found a dead rose bush root in my garden that looked just like the tree in the painting,” Carney says. “So that’s the artwork I selected.” Carney’s simple arrangement included three plantings: the rose bush root; astilbe to represent the tall trees in the foreground of the painting; white snow drops and tufts of Elijah Blue fescue. White marble chips represent snow. www.nhhomemagazine.com
603.224.2854 24 South Street Concord, NH 03301
W
hether you live in an old house with original features, or plan to create something entirely new, the goal is the same: a consistent aesthetic theme and a kitchen that works — beautifully.
vintagekitchens.com
603.224.2854 24 South Street Concord, NH 03301
New Hampshire Home | 81
inspiration
Clean lines, sharp contrasts and finely crafted details create the classic, timeless look of this kitchen.
A Jewel of a Kitchen This beautifully
crafted room will be featured on
The Music Hall’s Kitchen Tour on May 13.
A
small kitchen is often a great chef’s
research. Then while exploring downtown
secret. Having everything close at
Portsmouth, they saw a sign for Dovetailed
hand is efficient and highlights the
Kitchens, Inc. outside the old City Hall on
need for precise organization. But it’s quite
Daniel Street and sauntered into the show-
a feat to create a small kitchen that feels
room. Soon, they were chatting with kitchen
airy, spacious and cozy while complementing
designer Scott Purswell.
both a Victorian home and an Asian aesthetic. When homeowners Ann Wissink and Doug Adams moved to Portsmouth three years ago, they took one look at the kitchen in their
“We liked his work and enjoyed talking with him,” Wissink says. “So we went from there.” A seasoned kitchen designer, Purswell built
new home. Having renovated homes before,
a team that included K & S Contracting of
the couple knew it needed
Portsmouth (Daryl Kent and Bruce Schlieper);
an overhaul. First, they did Internet
carpenter Matt Pucko of York, Maine; and
By Carrie Sherman | Photography by John W. Hession 82 | New Hampshire Home
may/june 2017
other trusted companies that Purswell has done business with for years. “Sometimes the limitation of space drives the creativity,” Purswell says.
Create a garden that’s part of your history.
“Those challenges can bring out your best work.”
Old and new The kitchen was completely gutted. A thick, curved, 1940s decorative lath made of concrete and metal swept around the ceiling’s perimeter. Taking it out was a big undertaking. Schlieper still marvels at the lath’s staying power. “Over the years, we’ve developed ways of working with that stuff,” he says. “And, in an old house like that, prep work is critical.” The original house, circa 1875, was built as a single-family home by a successful milliner, a maker of ladies’ hats and fancy goods. A major remodeling took place in 1891 with a local architect. The house went through several owners and families, each adding their
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RE-IMAGINE EVERYDAY THINGS
Homeowners Ann Wissink and Doug Adams (seated to the left) peruse programs for The Music Hall Kitchen Tour with Ashleigh Tucker Pollock, special events manager for The Music Hall (seated, right) and Scott Purswell, owner of Dovetailed Kitchens, Inc. in Portsmouth and designer of the homeowners’ kitchen. www.nhhomemagazine.com
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inspiration
crafted to create a nook in the corner.” Even mid-winter, surrounded by windows, this corner is warm and comfy. To keep an open feeling, a glass-topped table was custom-built and secured to a black, wrought-iron sewing trestle. A pendant light fixture with an oldfashioned cut-glass pattern lights the table and provides a focal point. These two elements were found by Wissink. “She has a wonderful, delicate eye,” Purswell says.
Personal touches Wissink also chose the teal blue grassA slim, twenty-seven-inch refrigerator with two freezer drawers below and cabinet fronts creates a seamless look.
cloth wallpaper. Each object in this
as Portsmouth’s Naval Shipyard ramped
carpenter and homeowners—puzzled
home—has the pleasing sense of being
up production and housing was in
over the space, what evolved was simple
curated and cherished, from the beauti-
short supply, the house played a role
and elegant. The team enhanced a door-
fully shaped copper kettle on the stove
in solving that problem by becoming
way with a framed arch. To continue
to the long-handled copper pot on the
an apartment house. For a time in
the look in the adjacent sun room, high
wall. Wissink also found the English
its history, it was known as Miller
transom windows were enlarged. The
pharmacy chest that sits in the corner.
Apartments.
team retained the counter peninsula and
“My great-grandfather was a physician,”
added a sleek induction stove.
she says, pointing out an old-fashioned
In 2015, as part of the kitchen renovation, K & S Contracting updated the plumbing and electrical as required. The next question was how to grace-
But a large, essential steam radiator that hunkered against an outside wall posed a conundrum. “We finally arrived
kitchen—and actually throughout the
medicine bottle of his with a handwritten paper prescription curled inside. She and Adams chose the oak floors
fully manage three doorways into the
at a terrific solution,” Purswell says.
because they knew the room needed to
kitchen and all those transitions.
“We used slotted soapstone for the top
be light and that the warm color would
of a radiator enclosure. A bench was
offset the white cabinets. “Scott showed
As the team—designer, contractors,
The Music Hall’s twenty-sixth annual Kitchen Tour on May 13 is set in the heart of Portsmouth’s Little Harbor neighborhood. See the latest contemporary and vintage styles created by the Seacoast’s top designers and builders. With coastal influences and historic flourishes, this year’s Kitchen Tour is packed full of diverse kitchens to provide inspiration for anyone looking to renovate his or her kitchen space, to make minor upgrades or simply to appreciate a beautiful kitchen. 10 a.m.–4 p.m. Tickets are $27 in advance; $25 in advance for Music Hall members; and $30 day-of. The Music Hall Box Office • 28 Chestnut Street in Portsmouth • (603) 436-2400 www.themusichall.org 84 | New Hampshire Home
See a range of kitchen styles on The Music Hall Kitchen Tour on May 13. This kitchen—in a 1940s home renovated in 2011—was designed by Mari Woods Kitchen Bath Home in Portsmouth. may/june 2017
Photography by greg west
Take The Music Hall Kitchen Tour
To further fine-tune the space, Purswell included touches of mahogany
just to go to the supermarket,” Wissink
on the breakfront and wine cubby.
says. “Here everything is close by.”
The room gets a seamless look from an
They’ve enjoyed Portsmouth’s res-
efficient Bosch dishwasher and a slim,
taurants, but most of all the commu-
twenty-seven-inch Sub-Zero refrigera-
nity and the many friends that they’ve
tor with two freezer drawers below and
made. Inveterate volunteers, the couple
cabinet fronts.
has become involved with the library,
Further refinements It took between three and four months to do the kitchen. Of course, Wissink This doorway into the kitchen was enhanced by the addition of a framed arch, a thoughtful detail that makes a huge difference.
and Adams made other improvements.
us a lot of cabinet options,” Wissink
once a part of the Frank Jones estate.
says. “We liked this design because
The wonderful small lions in the front
it was simple and in keeping with a
of the house were also part of the Jones
vintage look.”
estate. Now, once again, these exterior
When asked about the Asian-design
fore, we had to drive four to five miles
Strawbery Banke, Discover Portsmouth, Portsmouth Listens West End, Osher Lifelong Learning and, of course, The Music Hall.
NHH
Most notably outside: the couple restored the Victorian urns that were
details showcase a lovely home.
influence throughout their home, Wissink
The move to Portsmouth has been
explains that her mother collected Asian
a joy for Wissink and Adams. They are
artifacts. Also she and Adams have trav-
close to family and have come to love
eled extensively in Asia.
their new town. “Where we lived be-
Resources
Bosch (800) 944-2904 • www.bosch-home.com/us Dovetailed Kitchens, Inc. (603) 433-9918 www.dovetailedkitchens.com K & S Contracting (603) 964-3800
Mari Woods Kitchen Bath Home (603) 319-8910 www.mariwoods.com Matt Pucko, Carpentry (207) 363-6711
Quality Custom Cabinets www.qcci.com
Sub-Zero (800) 222-7820 • www.subzero-wolf.com The Music Hall (603) 436-2400 www.themusichall.org
Residential Design Construction Consultation Custom Building & Remodeling
DESIGN
•
BUILD
•
REMODEL
Gold
Cornerstone awards 2016
Recognizing SOUTHERNExcellence In The Building Industry
603.472.4414 • www.libertyhillconstruction.com • Bedford,New Hampshire www.nhhomemagazine.com
New Hampshire Home | 85
Handmade, where it matters most. Zone 3 Volume 32, Issue 11
March 16, 2017
Zone 3 Volume 32, Issue 11
March 16, 2017
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2017
LANDSCAPE SHOWCASE
photograph by Wendy Wood
profiles of landscape designers & Architects
Meet some of New Hampshire’s talented landscape designers and learn how they create engaging outdoor spaces. SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION
New Hampshire Home | 87
LANDSCAPE SHOWCASE Belknap Landscape Company: We turn Dreamscapes into landscapes
L
ots of companies can provide landscape design services that mirror the latest trends—but very few walk you through the experience the way Belknap Landscape Company does. With Belknap Landscape Company, your project doesn’t end when the last tree is pruned or the final lawn chair is put out. Our dozens of experienced professionals will see you through every phase of your landscape needs, from the design and build, through the first year of maintenance. With a Belknap design, not only will the look of your space be unparalleled but the service you receive will be as well. Our full-service landscape company has
been serving the New Hampshire Lakes Region since 1989 and we pride ourselves on using materials that are “naturally native” to the state. Whether those are granite pavers to match your Granite State home or stones that complement the look of your backyard, we will ensure that everything in your project has the local touch. Our team has the expertise to effortlessly create a trendy or timeless look for your property. Fire pits are a growing trend— have you seen one you liked at a home remodeling show? We can make that dream come true—we have installed nearly fifty in the last year. If you can dream it, we can make it a reality.
When you choose Belknap Landscape Company for your landscape project, you can rest assured that you’ve gained a partner for every step of the way. Our team will help you design the exact patio, outdoor kitchen or backyard space you want, and we’ll stay in close contact as we bring the design to life. Once your project is installed, our team provides a full year of maintenance and communication to sustain the Belknap experience long after you’ve held your first garden party. We provide naturalistic solutions to our clients’ landscape needs—and the personal touch to make your experience unforgettable.
Belknap Landscape Co., Inc. (603) 528-2798 25 Country Club Road Village West, Unit 101 Gilford, NH 03246 www.belknaplandscape.com 88 | New Hampshire Home
SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION
LANDSCAPE SHOWCASE DB Landscaping: creating innovative and engaging landscapes
W
hen you choose a New Hampshire vacation home, a certain caliber of automatic landscaping comes standard. Whether your property boasts leafy woodlands, sweeping vistas, or a waterfront locale, Mother Nature’s landscapes are guaranteed to impress—and db Landscaping can help you bring that same natural wow factor to your man-made landscapes. Some companies opt for concrete and other industrial materials for their landscaping installations. Not so with db. The team at db works with you to select
natural materials that blend in with your home’s surroundings. Gorgeous stone steps can complement the rocky shores behind your beach home, and the welcoming hearth of an outdoor fire pit can continue the woodsy feel of your lake house. Local materials also feature heavily in db’s work, so every element of your landscape design can reflect the natural resources of the Granite State. In addition to designing you the outdoor living space of your dreams, db Landscaping will keep the details of permitting and regulations from turning your project into a
nightmare. The team—led by trained landscape architect Dan Bruzga—has more than ten years of experience navigating the legal side of landscaping, from environmental regulations to zoning and historic preservation guidelines. With db, you can leave the legal details to the professionals. Your role is simply to sit back and enjoy your new space. Whether you need landscape design at your new vacation home, help overhauling shoddy or outdated work from a previous landscaper, or even a fresh take on the landscaping at your full-time residence, db is here to help.
db Landscaping (603) 763-6423 3 Alpine Ct., Ste. #1 Sunapee, NH 03782 www.dblandscaping.com SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION
New Hampshire Home | 89
LANDSCAPE SHOWCASE Stephens Landscaping professionals: Lakes region landscaping services
W
ith the right attention this spring, your landscape can be restored so it looks its best. Let Stephens Landscaping become your valued partner. Led by owners and brothers John and Mark Stephens, Stephens Landscaping, now in its 10th year, can see a project through from inspiration to installation. One of the few Certified Landscape Professionals in the region, company President John Stephens oversees the installation, design and permitting operations, allowing you to pursue your vision without the administrative challenges. Leave the paperwork and legal navigation in the capable hands of this University of New Hampshire Horticulture and
Business graduate, and enjoy watching your dream space take shape. As Certified Landscape Professionals, staff members are required to undertake extra training and take part in continuing education to maintain the designation that sets them apart from other landscapers. Stephens Landscaping’s maintenance programs offer seasonal services throughout the year, including cleanups, lawn mowing, mulch installation, irrigation and snow removal. If a little inspiration is needed, visit the Garden Center in Moultonborough for a diverse selection of high quality plants, perennials, annuals, seasonal decorations and gardening supplies, as well as bulk materials
including mulches, sand, loam, compost and crushed stone. While Stephens Landscaping can do it all, the team specializes in residential waterfront properties. By taking an ecological approach they help homeowners create comfortable sanctuaries that are as beautiful as they are functional and welcoming. From lighting and color to softscapes and patios, outdoor kitchens, Stephens Landscaping has a long history of excellence, renowned for its skill and years of creating proven, breathtaking results. Call to schedule a site visit to discuss your thoughts. Transforming your home’s landscape into a stunning showplace is as easy as taking the first step.
Stephens Landscaping Professionals, LLC
Stephens Landscaping Professionals, LLC (603) 707-0630 63 Whittier Highway Moultonborough, NH 03254 www.stephenslandscaping.com 90 | New Hampshire Home
SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION
resources
SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION
ARCHITECTS
Bonin Architects & Associates Located in New London and Meredith New Hampshire, Bonin Architects, serves all New England and New York. We believe in a collaborative approach to every project ensuring exceptional quality throughout the process for clients seeking a distinctive design. Our commitment is to artfully transform your vision into beautiful and timeless architectural designs. Meredith and New London • (603) 526.6200 • www.boninarchitects.com
Your home should be as hard-working as you are, yet provide the sanctuary you need at the end of the day. C. Randolph Trainor Interiors will listen to your ideas, address your fears, and keep you from wasting precious time and money. We make sure that the end result is everything you want. Randy Trainor • (603) 823-8133 • crt@crtinteriors.com
interior design
C. Randolph Trainor Interiors
Piscataqua Landscaping & Tree Service
26 Maclellan Lane in Eliot, Maine • (207) 439-2241 • piscataqualandscaping.com
Rolling Green Nursery Explore and stroll nine acres of display gardens and stone paths. We grow an uncommon palette of annuals, herbs, perennials, vines, flowering trees and shrubs, custom patio containers, and beautiful hanging baskets. We stock over 35 varieties of Japanese maples, large and dwarf evergreens. Our staff is knowledgable and passionate about plants. Visit our website for events, hours and directions. Plants, seeds, advice and inspiration.
outdoor living
Piscataqua Landscaping & Tree Service has been serving the Greater Maine and New Hampshire Seacoast area for over 35 years. As the Seacoast’s largest full-service landscape company, Piscataqua works on projects large and small, commercial and residential, to help its clients achieve beauty in landscape - from installations and plantings to irrigation and night lighting.
64 Breakfast Hill Road in Greenland • (603) 436-2732 • RollingGreenNursery.com
McLaughlin Transportation Systems Services
Moving Solutions for Every Need: • Full Service Moving • DIY or Long Distance Moves • Local • Long Distance • International • Vehicle Transport • Household Moving • Office • Retail • Corporate • Portable Containers • Secure-Sprinklered Warehouse Storage • Secure Indoor Storage • Two Acres of Secure Outdoor Storage • Professionally Trained Movers & Packers • No-Cost Estimates • Top Quality Moving & Storage since 1936. 20 Progress Avenue in Nashua • (603) 883-4000 • (800) 258-MOVE (6683) • Mcmoving.com
To advertise in this HOME resources section, contact one of our representatives: Jessica Schooley (603) 413-5143
Tal Hauch (603) 413-5145
jschooley@mcleancommunications.com
thauch@mcleancommunications.com
www.nhhomemagazine.com
New Hampshire Home | 91
mark your calendar!
may M ay 6 –7
New Hampshire Open Doors
This self-guided statewide tour showcases items made in New Hampshire. Design your own route to see demonstrations by artists and craftspeople in their studios; sample fresh products from farm stands and orchards; savor fine cuisine and wine at local restaurants; enjoy special events and cultural attractions; and spend the night in a cozy accommodation. www.nhopendoors.com
May Events at Mill Brook Gallery
The Mill Brook Gallery & Sculpture Garden opens its twenty-first season with award-winning artists from New Hampshire and other New England states, who are working in a wide variety of media and styles. 236 Hopkinton Road in Concord • (603) 226-2046 • www.themillbrookgallery.com M ay 4
Opening Reception for Group Painting Exhibit
This exhibit features Stephanie Bush, Ella Delyanis, Tamara Gonda, Dustin Knight, Soo Rye Yoo and others. Reception is 5–7 p.m. Exhibit on view through August 27. M ay 29
Ninth Annual Outdoor Sculpture Exhibit Opens
Enjoy a garden party and meet the artists. Reception is 2–4 p.m. Exhibit on view through October 23. M ay 9
Ocean Breeze is a painting in acrylic by Soo Rye Yoo.
Preservation Achievement Awards
At this annual celebration, the New Hampshire Preservation Alliance recognizes individuals, organizations and businesses in the categories of restoration and stewardship; rehabilitation and adaptive use; compatible new construction; public policy; as well as educational and planning initiatives. Concord City Auditorium • 2 Prince Street in Concord • (603) 224-2281 • www.nhpreservation.org
Spring Events at Bedrock Gardens
Built on a nineteenth-century farming property, the garden includes many structural elements such as paths, an espaliered fence, an arborvitae hedge, architecturally interesting rocks, pergolas and garden art. The beds have exceptional plant varieties, often started as seedlings, including many unusual specimens of perennials, trees and shrubs. 45 High Road in Lee • (603) 659-2993 • www.bedrockgardens.org
M ay 13
M ay 6 –7, Jun e 3 – 4
M ay 20 a n d 21
The Music Hall’s twenty-sixth annual Kitchen Tour is set in the heart of Portsmouth’s Little Harbor neighborhood. See the latest contemporary and vintage styles created by the Seacoast’s top designers and builders. With coastal influences and historic flourishes, this year’s Kitchen Tour is packed full of diverse kitchens of all shapes and sizes to provide inspiration for anyone looking to renovate his or her own kitchen space, to make minor upgrades or simply to appreciate a beautiful kitchen. 10 a.m.–4 p.m. Tickets are $27 in advance; $25 in advance for Music Hall members; and $30 day-of. The Music Hall Box Office • 28 Chestnut Street in Portsmouth • (603) 436-2400 www.themusichall.org
Sunday includes bluegrass music with the Smith family. Saturday, 10 a.m.–4 p.m.; Sunday, noon–4 p.m.
Art students aged ten through eighteen from five schools explore winged insects and flight in a far-ranging installation. The New Hampshire Aviation Museum’s Wilbur Wright, in character, demonstrates flight kits and explains how bumble bees manage to fly. Saturday features music by Dale’s Jazz Lab. Saturday, 10 a.m.–4 p.m.; Sunday, noon–4 p.m.
Twenty-Sixth Annual Kitchen Tour
M ay 13
Trade Secrets
Labeled the Northeast’s garden event of the year, this rare plant and garden antique sale features more than sixty of the finest plant and garden antiques vendors from the Northeast and beyond. Tickets range from $25 to $125 with breakfast. LionRock Farm • Route 41 and Hosier Road in Sharon, Connecticut • (860) 364-1080 www.tradesecretsct.com 92 | New Hampshire Home
Open Garden
Insects and Flight
Jun e 17–18
Artisan’s Fair with En Plein Air Artists
Local artisans display jewelry, photographs, ceramics, wood pieces and quilts. Artists will be painting throughout the garden. Saturday features music by Dale’s Jazz Lab. Saturday, 10 a.m.–4 p.m.; Sunday, noon–4 p.m.
M ay 18
M ay 20
The Manchester Historic Association’s twenty-fifth annual Historic Preservation Awards program recognizes the efforts of individuals, businesses and organizations who have made significant contributions to the preservation of buildings, neighborhoods and other historic resources in Manchester. The ceremony includes heavy hors d’oeuvres, cocktails and dessert. 5–8 p.m. Tickets are $100; $90 for Manchester Historic Association members. Location to be announced. Manchester Historic Association • (603) 622-7531 www.manchesterhistoric.org
Hosted by the Auburn Historical Association and Griffin Free Public Library, this plant sale features locally grown annuals, perennials, hanging baskets and herbs. Proceeds benefit both organizations. 9 a.m.–2 p.m. 102 Hooksett Road in Auburn www.auburnhistorical.org
Historic Preservation Awards
Plant Sale
may/june 2017
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6:30–9 p.m.
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New Hampshire Home | 93
mark your calendar!
Lectures on Portsmouth Furniture
PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF Ralph Morang
This circa 1815 sideboard is attributed to Portsmouth furniture makers Jonathan Judkins and William Senter.
M ay 7
Perspectives on Contemporary Studio Furniture: The New Hampshire Furniture Masters Several masters explore the inspiration and process behind their works. 2–4 p.m. Free. M ay 18
Collecting Portsmouth Furniture Within a Changing Marketplace
Since the recession of 2008, the market value of much antique furniture has plummeted. Brock Jobe—professor of American Decorative Arts Emeritus at Winterthur Museum, Garden and Library in Winterthur, Delaware—reviews the antiques scene of the past two decades and offers hope to those interested in early American furniture. 5:30–6:30 p.m. Free. Jun e 4
Master and Apprentice: Who Trained Portsmouth Cabinetmaker Langley Boardman?
Johanna McBrien—founding editor-in-chief of Antiques & Fine Art Magazine—has served as a contributing author on several books, and has provided discoveries about Portsmouth’s cabinetmakers that have changed our understanding about the transfer of style and skill from one craftsman to another. 2 p.m. Free. Jun e 15
Sixty Years of Antiquing in the Piscataqua Area
Ron Bourgeault, principal of Northeast Auctions in Portsmouth, looks at the collecting and connoisseurship of Seacoast-area furniture and other works of art, based on his unique perspective and experience in the New England and national marketplaces. 5:30–6:30 p.m. Free. Discover Portsmouth • 10 Middle Street in Portsmouth • (603) 436-8433 http://portsmouthhistory.org/four-centuriesof-portsmouth-furniture-lecture-series
94 | New Hampshire Home
june Ju n e 2– 4
Evergreen Woodland Garden Reopens
Evergreen, the one-acre woodland garden of landscape designer Robert Gillmore, reopens to the public for the first time since a fire severely damaged the property two years ago. The main house, which sustained the greatest fire damage, was torn down last spring and its west wing was transformed into a small, two-story residence. The footprint of the main house is now a visitor reception and exhibit area. Most of the inner driveway has been filled in and planted with sweeps of flowering shrubs. The garden includes more than 100 new shrubs; more than 200 Catawba rhododendrons, which blossom in late May and early June; as well as 172 rosebay rhododendrons. 10 a.m.– 5 p. m. Please no children younger than twelve years of age. 42 Summer Street in Goffstown • (603) 497-8020 Ju n e 4
Thirteenth Annual Palace Theatre Kitchen Tour
Voted the “Best Kitchen Tour in New Hampshire” by New Hampshire Magazine, this tour offers the chance to explore several of the finest kitchen designs in Bedford and Manchester. The tour begins at Granite State Cabinetry, where maps are available. O Steaks and Seafood is catering lunch; many homes will have treats on-site provided by local businesses. The day ends an after-party at LaBelle Winery, featuring wine tastings presented with paired appetizers. All proceeds go to benefit programs at the Palace Theatre. Tour runs 10 a.m.– 4 p.m. Tickets are $50. Palace Theatre • 80 Hanover Street in Manchester (603) 668-5588 • www.palacetheatre.org Ju n e 4
Wildflower Festival
The daylong event features programs on the intriguing history of The Rocks, the flora growing there, beekeeping, and mushroom identification and foraging. Led by Rocks Estate manager Nigel Manley and wildflower enthusiasts Ann Gruczka and Ginny Jeffryes, two guided tours of the Mile Path include a discussion of the estate’s storied history, the array of plants growing there and the forestry work done as part of the property’s long-range forest management plan. Reservations required. 10 a.m.–4 p.m. Admission is $10. 4 Christmas Lane in Bethlehem • (603) 444-6228 www.therocks.org Ju n e 23
Under the Stars— An Evening of Design and Community
After an extensive selection process, twelve designers—including Lisa Teague from Portsmouth— have created signature one-of-a-kind, safari-style “glamping tents” at Sandy Pines Campground. Each
luxe tent incorporates the elements of a sleeping and living space complete with bedding, seating, furnishings, lighting and accessories. Before the tents are available for purchase and/or rent, they are open to the public from June 24 to July 2 for a designer showcase. Proceeds from the gala and showcase will benefit four Maine non-profits. 277 Mills Road in Kennebunkport, Maine (207) 967-2483 • www.sandypinescamping.com Jun e 24
Art in Bloom
This event showcases Mountain Garden Club member–created floral arrangements inspired by art. Up to fifty arrangements and accompanying artworks are displayed at multiple locations, creating an artistic walking tour through Jackson. Page 74 shows some of last year’s arrangments. 10 a.m.–4 p.m. Free. www.mountaingardenclub.org
ongoing
Four Centuries of Portsmouth Furniture
Organized by Gerald W.R. Ward and Lainey McCartney, with the New Hampshire Furniture Masters, this exhibition celebrates and documents the history of furniture in Portsmouth as well as presents outstanding work by some of today’s premier furniture makers. About fifty objects interpret furniture made and used in Portsmouth as both art and history, starting with the joined furniture of the seventeenth century, through the Colonial and Federal periods of Portsmouth’s heyday of cabinetmaking, and finishing with the revival styles of the nineteenth century. The exhibition concludes with examples from the Arts and Crafts and studio movements as well as a few modern examples. Changes in how furniture has been regarded over time are explored, including the transition from its role as a symbol of status and wealth, as well as the evolution of Portsmouth from a furniture-making center to a primarily retail market. See sidebar on this page for information on a free lecture series. On view through June 18. Discover Portsmouth • 10 Middle Street in Portsmouth • (603) 436-8433 http://portsmouthhistory.org/four-centuries-ofportsmouth-furniture-lecture-series
Submitting Events
New Hampshire Home is always on the lookout for events that may interest our readers. If you have one to submit for consideration, send details to editor@nhhomemagazine.com. Please note that calendar production occurs two months before each issue is published. Calendar events can be self-posted on our website at any time by using the Submit an Event link at www.nhhomemagazine.com. may/june 2017
Advertisers’ index 3W design, Inc.................................................. 79
Frank Webb’s Bath Center............................. 2
Palace Theatre, The........................................ 95
Artistic Tile........................................................80
Fred E. Varney Company...............................21
Peabody & Smith Realty.............................. 41
Belknap Landscape Co., Inc........................ 88
Garden Club of America............................. 20
Belletetes Inc.......................................................8
Hayward & Company....................................47
Pella Windows..................................................19
Bonin Architects & Associates............27, 91
j.ellen Design...................................................80
CRT Interiors......................................................91
Jancewicz & Son................................................4
California Closets............................................. 11
League of NH Craftsmen.............................83
The Carriage Shed......................................... 20
Liberty Hill Construction, LLC....................85
Catlin + Petrovick Architects PC............... 39
Lighting by the Sea.......................................86
Cedar Mill Group..............................................17
The Lighting Showroom................................ 3
Christopher P. Williams, Architects.............
Linda Cloutier Kitchens & Baths..............47
.................................................inside back cover
Little River Oriental Rugs............................. 81
Company C, Inc.................................................31
McGray & Nichols........................................... 14
Creative Ventures Gallery............................78
McLaughlin Transportation Systems.........91
Crown Point Cabinetry................back cover
The Music Hall.................................................77
db Landscaping..............................................89
NH Public Television..................................... 93
DeStefano Architects....inside front cover
Northcape Designs........................................10
Dream Kitchens...............................................33
Not Just Kitchens...........................................86
Triad Associates, Inc.......................................25
Eport Wood Products....................................77
Our Town Landscaping.................................37
Vintage Kitchens............................................. 81
Ethan Allen Home Interiors..........................9
PRG Rugs...............................................................6
Winchendon Furniture.................................. 5
www.nhhomemagazine.com
Piscataqua Landscaping Company... 83,91 Rockingham Electric.........................................1 Rolling Green Nursery..................................91 Rumford Stone.................................................23 Runtal Radiators...............................................15 Seasonal Specialty Stores............................37 Southwick Construction............................. 39 Standard of New England, LLC..................45 Stephens Landscaping................................90 Strawbery Banke Museum.........................78 TMS Architects..................................................13 Tailored Living.................................................... 7 Tom Murdough Design................................ 41
New Hampshire Home | 95
at home in new hampshire
Robins’ Alter Ego
Zigzagging across the lawn, singing their well-known
attached to his territory than his spouse. Only one in eight
carol, and faithfully tending to mud-lined nests on our eaves
robins takes up with a mate of past years, while more than
and porches, robins are among our favorite birds. They signal
half of all robins return to the same neighborhood as the
spring. Here in New Hampshire, we welcome them as the sea-
previous year.
son’s first migrants. They remind us of our best selves. Except
America’s most beloved bird? Maybe up our way. But down
for eating worms, they do the things we humans take pride in
south, in many areas, they’re despised as winter pests. In win-
accomplishing: devoted husband and wife work hard to build
ter, they may congregate in flocks of up to fifty thousand and
a nice home in the suburbs and raise the kids. And robins
switch their diet from worms to fruit. A century ago, orchard-
spread cheer. In fact, more than one field guide reports that
ists felt justified in shooting them by the thousands. (And peo-
the robin’s call sounds like: “Cheer up! Cheerily! Cheer up!
ple ate them. “They are fat and juicy and afford excellent eat-
Cheerily!”
ing,” reported no less an authority than John James Audubon,
One reason we love robins is we know them so well.
who frequently dined on his study subjects.)
This is the one bird species that every child can identify with-
Even the robin’s name is a case of mistaken identity.
out fail. And yet, we know only half the familiar robin’s story.
British settlers called our native redbreast by the same name
First migrants of spring? Maybe not. It’s true that robins
as their European robin—who looks like a bluebird. Ours is
are among the first birds to return to New Hampshire after
more closely related to the European blackbird—who, like our
flying south for the winter, some traveling as far as Mexico.
robin, is a thrush.
But some robins don’t migrate at all. Increasingly since 1997,
And what about the robin’s cheery song? Even though it
New Hampshire Audubon observers have noted, especially in
begins within days of their reappearance each spring, even
coastal and southern areas of the state, folks spot robins all
though it lasts from dawn to dusk, even though the males sing
winter—a sign of climate change.
all summer long and even though human beings have been
Paragons of family devotion? Yes, robins are hard workers.
listening to the robin’s song for at least ten thousand years
Each member of the pair makes between five hundred and six
(as long as North America has been inhabited by humans),
hundred flights to ferry sticks, moss and mud to the nest con-
we still aren’t agreed on the lyrics. Some folks I spoke with
struction site, and the birds work five or six 12-hour days to
insisted the birds were crying: “The cherries are ripe! The cher-
complete the job. Feeding the nestlings takes even more effort:
ries are ripe!” Others thought they heard: “Captain Gillet! Get
each baby may eat fourteen feet of worms a day. But commit-
your skillet! It’s going to ra-in!”
ted mates robins are not. “Robins are landowners first and lov-
That our beliefs about the robin redbreast can be so off-
ers only second,” asserts animal behaviorist Len Eiserer. In his
base delights me—as birds always do. Even the “best-known”
book, The American Robin, he explains that the male is more
birds in America still hold wondrous surprises.
NHH
By Sy Montgomery | Illustration by Carolyn Vibbert 96 | New Hampshire Home
may/june 2017
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