Sunday, July 20 Open Day at Lithgow Cottage Farm

A few years ago, we were able to purchase adjacent property with a pond we’d overlooked for the previous 45 years. Dredging the pond of 100 years of silt was the first improvement we made. Then aquatic plants went in and shrubby willows around the perimeter to attract birds. Now we’re working to develop native grasses in the meadow around the pond. These additions greatly expanded the scope of a garden originally designed around a lily pool and Carpenter Gothic potting shed at the entryway to our house. Here, an informal parterre is planted with ornamental vegetables, annuals, and perennials. Over the years we’ve added a mini-rock garden and trough collection at the side of the house and a fountain by a local sculptor near the back porch. A shrubbery on a berm between the road and front lawn also evolved to screen out noise and dust. We continue to tweak and upgrade this wild area leading down to a playhouse and a mowed path around the pond.