Spring 2020

Our 2020 Motto is Have a plan; but be ready for change! 

As we start plants in the greenhouse and prepare the fields for spring planting, we’re so excited for the new season! There is always a checklist of tasks but we make regular adjustments!  Weather guides us!

Last year taught us the importance of staying flexible! We grew hemp for the first time and found the market changed completely between spring & fall. Then Rob fractured his tibia & is walking again after a 6 month recovery.  He timed this just right as the café was closed & the crops were harvested before the injury!

Through the ups and downs of the seasons, our co-workers support us as well as the Gardenworks mission! Bridget never fails to place specialty food orders and keep us organized, Randy brings floral talent & endless energy, Judy helps in all aspects of the barn marketplace and Jose keeps the berries pruned & fields planted.  We are a team!

This year looks exciting with new workshops, a Garden Party, more Farm to Table Dinners and our 2nd Sea to Farm Dinner.  We will also be collaborating with Comfort Food Community in Greenwich in an effort  to connect their food pantries with gardeners who have extra produce.  All of us may share  those extra zucchinis and tomatoes! 

We look forward to the first ripe blueberries in July and visiting families (including our daughter & her family who love picking fresh berries and cutting zinnias)!  Summer tastes so good! Rob and Randy highlight summer’s best in the Cheese+ Café on Saturday & Sundays where you may find blueberries on your salad and a ripe melon garnish.

Fall will be a celebration of the harvest as well as welcoming our son and daughter-in-law with their 3 children to the farm.  There will be little helpers in the pumpkin patch and raspberry field!  We are so excited!

As days grow short in fall, we’ll move indoors to start decorating with dried flowers, pumpkins & gourds. Then we’ll move on to arranging fresh evergreens, ribbons and trimmings.

Every season is special as we work with nature. We’re excited by the beauty, the resilience, and sometimes, the overwhelming power of nature!  We’ll outline our checklist in pencil, allowing for change!

We hope to share our farm season by season with you.

Spring 2019

Nothing boosts our spirits more than changing to Daylight Savings Time and a random warm day! Mud puddles, bird songs and the greening of willows and lawns announce spring! The greenhouse is our favorite location working in short sleeves, not winter coats! There’s nothing better than the sight of fresh green growth and a burst of colorful flowers! The spring check list includes lots of pruning, clean-up and testing water lines once there is no frost. We look forward to a busy season and are excited to be trying some new projects with a new team of co- workers. Lucille and Sue retired and we’ll miss them. Sister Judy, eager to spend time on the family farm, is joining the work force along with Randy Squires, a very talented horticulturist and floral designer. Bridget will be keeping us organized in the Gardenworks marketplace with Shan’s help. The barn is full of new inventory! Rob & Jose are sharpening pruners, checking irrigation supplies and mowing and tilling equipment. We’re all looking forward to a busy spring, regular coffee breaks, hearty lunches and frequent visits from our great customers, old and new. Each day is special! And, we try to remember the days when everything happened according to a plan! The crazy days keep us humble!

Spring 2018

Spring is a season of anticipation.  We hope winter planning will result in the best production year ever. Lucille and Sue look forward to nurturing fragile seedlings in the greenhouse. Pansies are favorites due to their happy colors and endurance!

As weather allows, Rob and Jose prune the blueberries & raspberries expecting a bountiful harvest. They rototill the pumpkin fields and place the irrigation lines in preparation for planting.

Bridget and Shan turn the Gardenworks Barn inside out as they add bright spring colors to the flower display, candles and clothing. It looks and feels like the world is waking up!

It tastes like spring when we cut the first rhubarb, asparagus, lettuce & pull young scallions and radishes. Annette Nielsen accents the best spring flavors in her April 28 food demo. Spring at Gardenworks means new beginnings in every field & corner of the barn! A fresh start!

Spring 2017

Gardenworks celebrates a 25th Anniversary this year! It‘s easy to remember our first fields of dried flowers and renovating the dairy barn into the market place. Teams of neighborhood children joined our kids to help with the planting and other farm projects. The harvest still continues with flowers, vegetables, berries and Christmas trees and a new generation!

Gardenworks has evolved into a market place of farm produce, award-winning cheeses & specialty foods, local art, home décor, handcrafts & greenhouse plants. The barn is a meeting place for creative workshops, art events, farm-to-table dinners, book signings and neighborhood visits. Rob & I are proud to join the Gardenworks team of people who embrace real work, smile easily and enjoy meeting people, just like we do.

Spring is bubbling with projects indoors & out! Bridget & Shan keep the barn market place stocked with new foods and tempting jewelry & scarves. Sue and Lucille relish time in the greenhouse where every bench offers color for gardens and landscapes. Rob and Jose tackle the blueberry and raspberry pruning and then get the irrigation set-up. By late May everyone does "stretches" to prepare for planting season and time on our knees!

Check our spring calendar for book-signings, cheese sampling and Mother’s Day events including a very special food demo. Stop to tour the greenhouse and catch spring fever when you preview the array of hardy annuals & perennials, herbs and vegetables!

We anticipate a great spring: mud puddles, pansies, asparagus and fresh strawberries!

Winter 2017

Our old milk house offers a cozy corner of the dairy barn and is an eye-catching marketplace of “winter survival foods”!  Gardenworks coordinates weekly deliveries of fresh organic vegetables from Slack Hollow Farm for customers and an array of local all natural beef, cheeses, honey, artisan crackers, chunky salsas and maple products. The winter market is similar toa two day farmer’s market on Fridays and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. during January, February and March.

We welcome customers and hope they join our e-mail list on this website so they may enjoy the incredible flavor of fresh mesclun and spinach grown in hoop houses all winter. The greens taste just like summer!  The team at Slack Hollow harvests just hours before we pick them up.  They are as delicious as from your own garden!

Winter on the farm is a slower season...just like the food we eat.  Creamy rich soups and hearty stewsgather flavor as they simmer.  All of us at Gardenworks embrace the slower season, reflect upon the growing season and make plans for the new year!  Seed orders, end of year bookkeeping and training conferences keep us moving forward.  We recharge our batteries! 

Visit the Winter Market and enjoy a free cup of coffee and a chat!  We welcome you and are happy to share the bounty of the winter season.  Slack Hollow Farm gives us great fresh greens along with onions, carrots, beets, kohlrabi and we have potatoes, squashes and Mack Brook Farm, all natural grass fed beef, Oscar’s bacon, and Gardenworks frozen blueberries and raspberries.

We invite you to eat locally...Even in winter, there is a harvest!

Fall Farm Preview 2016

With the county fair over and pumpkins turning orange, a new season is coming.  We embrace the bounty of fall raspberries and love the thought of a warm raspberry pie to share.  The Chinese lanterns are bright orange and the hydrangeas are in full bloom.  Every corner of the farm shows it is harvest time.

With the 2 pick-up trucks ( Rusty and Red) ready to go, we’ll bring in the pumpkins, winter squashes and gourds. The flowers will be harvested in small bunches to dry.   The raspberries will continue to ripen until temperatures drop to 27 F. usually in mid- October and the reward of raspberry jam and cobbler make the picking easy!

The Gardenworks Barn is brimming with dried flowers, fall wreaths and autumn decorations. The marketplace is stocked with apple butter, crisp local apples, meat from Oscar’s Smokehouse along with cider and great cheeses from nearby farms. The bushels of butternut and acorn squashes join specialty squashes such as delicata, spaghetti and buttercup. Fall recipes taste so good!

The Cheese + Café will be open every Saturday and Sunday during September and October from noon to 4 p.m.  Treat yourself to a great panini with 4 year old cheddar and bacon or a mouth- watering pork tenderloin sandwich.  We serve local beer and wine along with cheese boards and homemade soup.

Fall is a beautiful season for visiting Gardenworks and the harvest season is a time of celebration and sharing!  You’ll find us in our work clothes with dusty boots but we hope to see you!

Spring 2016

Will spring truly arrive replacing the winter that never happened?  The ski season was less than expected but the maple sap season surpasses expectations!  Mother Nature’s dramatic swings again have our attention.

As farmers, we react and provide the best possible growing conditions where/when we have any control (irrigation, good soil nutrition and mulching).  We are excited about a new season! The greenhouse is full of tender annuals and perennials. The berry plants are responding to longer days so pruning is a high priority.

The Gardenworks Barn welcomes spring with bright flowered wreaths, spring candles, gardening gear and tempting home décor. The Market Place offers new spring tastes and great cheeses.

 The newest project is renting the Gardenworks Farmhouse on Air bnb.  After a winter of renovations and painting, the 5 bedroom, 2 bath spacious home is ready for guests. This is a great option for planning a country stay any season.

Our most exciting family news is the arrival of two new grandchildren this spring! We can’t wait! And, we’ll be sharing lots of news and photos!

Holiday Festivities at Gardenworks

Halloween candy gives us energy to decorate the big Gardenworks barn for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Now we invite YOU to see baskets of colorful dried flowers, autumn wreaths and sheaves of wheat for great Thanksgiving decorating options.  Notice beautiful feathered birds and plump turkeys waiting to adorn your table. And, for easy arrangements, create a collection of bright gourds, squashes and mini-pumpkins.

You’ll discover sparkling snowmen, jolly santas, felt gnomes and friendly reindeer.  See dozens of rustic vine stars and bright red berry wreaths.  Enjoy the wonderful scent of bayberry candles and the collection of holiday napkins. Meander through the barn slowly and catch the holiday spirit.  Inhale the aroma of fresh balsam wreaths and arrangements, enjoy warm spiced apple juice and admire the handcrafted gifts.

Join us for a workshop making evergreen decorations or ask us to create a gift basket with local cheeses and sweet maple syrup. Take time for a delicious lunch or afternoon cheeseboard with friends in the Gardenworks weekend café, open every Saturday and Sunday from 12 noon- 4 p.m.

Make this an old fashioned holiday season. Let our elves fill you with clever ideas for decorating and for giving. Let it be a season of good cheer!