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It’s Hosta Time!
by DIG-IT
The garden of Michael Fuchs, media executive and HBO founder, is a garden of views and of spirit – that being the sprawling, yet unpretentious, 1700s Van Cortlandt farm house situated behind a white picket fence where Vance the boxer usually lays in the sun.
Walk in to eight acres of elegance through the front garden that surrounds a brick courtyard with stone-edged beds. Grab a good glimpse of the house.
The center section is the original farm house built in 1740 by the Van Cortlandts, Dutch settlers who owned most of Westchester County, New York. The wing nearest to the pool was added in the 1890s to house the Army Corp of Engineer when Katonah built their reservoir. At that time, nearby buildings on farm land to be flooded were moved to create the Hamlet of Katonah in the Town of Bedford. The far wing was added in 2000.
Take a walk to the left across a great lawn toward the pool. On the way, pass mixed borders of roses, shrubs and perennials. On the left, fencefuls of flowers enclose the century-old clay tennis courts – one of the few left. And the remains of an old apple orchard stand, some trees doctored and prettied up by Mary Larkin, gardener-at-large and woman of many hats.
Larkin doesn’t garden willy-nilly. She designs and plants with purpose: in memory of, dedicated to, with respect for, a connection with…. She’s a soulful gardener whose heart shows in perfection.
Take the apple trees. Flowers and herbs decorate the cavernous decay of their crotches and branches. “It’s disturbing because it’s so exposed,” says Larkin. She tucks flower-filled sponges from Key West where their texture melds naturally with the trees’ bark.
Nearby, rhododendron flourish around the solar-heated pool. Fuchs is extremely environmentally-conscious she says. “We’re as organic as we can get.”
Down at the vegetable garden where things are not tame enough to be in the estate area, plants are allowed to roam and burgundy bananas guard the gate. The year-old garden is just beyond a fence where Larkin grows just about every vegetable she can for Fuchs who likes to eat a healthful diet. Every Friday she harvests the goods and puts them in the fridge for the chef.
A cross-section of a 250-year old Norway maple brought down by a twister in 2006 centers the garden, its nine-foot length buried deep.
“The strength of that tree is why I wanted it to be the core of the vegetable garden. The energy of that tree is the core base from which all good comes from. She’s very wise because she’s been around a long time. She’s old and beautiful,” Larkin muses.
On the way back to the house across the great lawn, pass the new guest house. you can feel its comfort just walking by. Here, Larkin planted huge bowls-full of weeping cherries.
Back at the house, flowers and colorful foliage spills from four cast iron urns. Nearby, a bronze maiden lounges amid perennials. Around the side, well-pruned – like lace – wisteria shades the patio where much entertaining is done. From there, the view takes you to a formal shrub/perennial garden with gazebo. Here, two horse shoe-shaped beds designed by architect David Klenicki invite you to enjoy the rewards of Fung Shui design.
The irrigated beds are dressed with Sweet Peat every fall. Right now, braided foliage of long-gone daffodils springs upright, and so prevents fungus attacks and the smothering of young perennials.
“These beds are a challenge but I love them and I’ve made them mine,” says Larkin. Some plants are outgrowing themselves so I have to have their trust. I’m their caretaker and I have to say, ‘You know, I think it’s time for you to go.’ It’s easy to stay with the old even if it becomes dysfunctional. It’s hard. I’m the steward here of old things,” she says as she gazes at a spirea in trouble.
The garden butts up to woods where Larkin has a hidden all-her-own perspective chair. “I can gaze at the property from a different angle and it gives me distance so I can get away and see everything for what it really is. When I’m anxious over some weed and getting all fired up about it, I can go up there and say, ‘all right!’ All my problems are solved in the outdoors. I leave at the end of the day with a prayer. The grounds have taught me and the animals have taught me and they tell me ‘don’t worry, we’ve been here a long time.’
“I’m very attached to all my babies,” Larkin admits. “I equate gardening with being a conductor of music. The daffodils have had their time. It’s not about them now. I have to tell them (the plants) which one needs to come out, which recedes, which is taking over the other. I don’t make the music. Sometimes there’s a shy little piccolo in there and we have to create the space. Sometimes I have to tell the others to shut up. I want everyone to have their dance space. If we have a big bully, the others won’t have their air. Now it’s hosta time. There’s no better job than this.”
Come visit Michael Fuchs’s garden on June 29 on The Garden Conservancy’s Open Day and feel the spirit. www.opendays.org
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published June 27, 2008
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