Trout Lily Farm LLC

06/04/2023

Botanical Bliss- just returned from a lovely and rejuvenating weekend at the home and gardens of Ken Druse and Louie Bauer in New Jersey. The two plant collectors and master plantsmen have over 20 years created an island arboretum among meandering canals of water, despite occasional meteorological tantrums from Mother Nature who has nearly wiped the slate clean more than once. A labor of love and still being edited and nuanced by the pair , it was for me a memorable immersion into their verdant and fragrant 4 acre oasis. Many thanks for your hospitality and generosity.

05/09/2023

🥲❤️🐶

This photo tells an incredible story and sometimes we just all need to hear ( or read) incredibly positive stories . This gentleman is one of our residents who has been in a rehab center working on getting better from a fall . Sometimes these things take time …. Sometimes they take a long time . His best friend has been sheltering with us since this has happened and unfortunately ( as it happens ) there have been setbacks with recovering as quickly as we thought .

His best buddy has missed being in a home and even though our shelter is very homey … it’s still not home . We could tell our furry little man was becoming depressed and we wanted him to be in a home until his person recovers. So we reached out to one of our volunteers and an amazing animal advocate Jo-Anne Basile of Connecticut Votes for Animals to see if she could foster this little furry love muffin while his owner gets better and she stepped right up 🙌🐶❤️!!

But not only did she step up but she called me back to ask if she could bring the pup to visit his owner 😍!! So we called our resident and asked him if he would like him to come for a visit and he gave a very ecstatic YES!! So this past weekend after a month of not seeing each other , they were able to visit and spend quality time together .

These are the amazing stories that happen when we all work together ! Thank you Jo-Anne for taking this pup into your home so he doesn’t hang out at the shelter and for reuniting these two 🐶♥️🥰

01/22/2023

Happy Lunar New Year - Rabbits Rule!

06/01/2022

Signing Off- Yesterday, the property Ray and I lovingly transformed and farmed for nearly two decades on Lake Q exchanged hands. Trout Lily Farm is now officially closed and a new chapter opens for me and Buddy. Many thanks to all the clients who were a pleasure to design for over the 18 years and for their support and trust. I also have to acknowledge Alex, Fellis & Hap, Janet & Mark, Chris, Sue & Mary, Suzie , Linda and all the others who made the Herculean task of packing, clearing and cleaning multiple buildings possible. I could never have done it alone. I will be suspending further posts on instagram with the TLF association, but stay tuned for what’s next. Time to recharge, reinvent and focus on my new home and gardens.

05/22/2022

Blue Lives Madder -this little pot of Bluets ( member of the and family) is one of the scant few plants I took with me to the new digs. aka “Quaker Ladies” hold fond memories for me of my maternal grandmother’s sweeping hillside backyard lawn in Devon covered in a blanket of this demure native flower. These little transplants are a combination of gifted plants from organic gardening guru Carole Miller of .topmostherbfarm and those grown from minute seed, a gift from my Aunt Santa. There were dozens of other perennials left behind at TLF, but these delicate beauties were something that I could not be without. Like the motto of our CT flag reads: “ Qui Transtulit Sustinet” , “He who transplants sustains”, this is a plant of remembrance, a living souvenir of loved ones that have past and of a former life well lived at Trout Lily Farm.

05/20/2022

Noble Malus-this old , remnant of a former orchard at the new property has such character and presence. I look forward to its various changes during the seasons. The bare serpentine, muscular limbs in winter, then supporting a delicate dusting of white blossoms in spring and hopefully a few sweet orbs ( of unknown color) this fall to share with my equine neighbors.

05/13/2022

Over the Moon for Baby Moon These precious and petite narcissus are nearly faded away with the recent heat but still so incredibly fragrant. Gathered in a small vase, on my bedside nightstand that fills the room with perfume and lulls me to sleep. This vase life and sweet vanilla/freesia scent cannot be beat. I miss them already.

05/04/2022

Singing the Blues- this clutch of is not guaranteed to produce a family of chicks. In fact this is the second attempt at raising a brood. The first time, 3 eggs were laid and the female was eaten by a hawk. The despondent male stood his ground, perched on top of the nesting box for several days. Eventually he attracted another female who built her nest on top of the failed one ( eggs and all) and laid this batch. Now she spends her time inside incubating her treasured eggs. There are still unseen perils ahead, but fingers crossed there will be a new generation of cerulean beauties in a few weeks!