Haroldhurst Farm

About

We purchased this 200 acre former dairy farm in 2020 as a renovation and gardening project. The land and historic house had been neglected for 30 years. By 2022, after an extensive renovation and three weeks from moving in, a fire destroyed the house. Six months later, we began rebuilding the house 500 feet from the original, developing the 1825 stone foundation as a native sunken garden. We then sited an enclosed one acre kitchen garden near the new house on a former grazing field.

Planting began in late Spring 2024. The garden turns two years old Spring 2026. The garden is a series of informal parterres inspired by Mount Vernon. It is softened by native plantings, grass walking paths, and a healthy dose of whimsy. There is an orchard of fruit trees to the North. A wide, deer proofing border, inside and outside of a board fence includes aronias, blueberries, native roses, Viburnum prunifolium (blackhaw), and Carolina allspice.

There is a central 'Donald Wyman' crabapple bosque and brick seating area, a grape arbor, and a brick runnel leading to a stone pond designed to capture rain and be a home for frogs. There is an herb garden near neat rows of blackberries, raspberries and asparagus. A dahlia bed and peony collection sit in the back on one side and an annual sunflower bed on the other.

There are two main vegetable beds laid out in more formal designs. Newly planted oaks, tulip poplars, blackgums, maples, and a grove of witch hazels frame the house and adjoin outdoor spaces and stone walls. Landscape Architect Jamie Purinton and Master Gardener Judith Meier head the team.

This garden's estimated size is 1 acre.

This Garden Host reports the following Terrain Notes about the garden: There is a flat gravel walk from parking at the red barn to the house that is about 300 feet. The garden is on a soft slope. Most of the garden paths are flat and grassy. Should someone need to be dropped off closer to the garden, we ask that the car return to the parking area.

2026 Open Day Date: Sunday, July 19

Open Day Hours: 10am–4pm