Turkey Hill, Revisited

 On Thursday, June 1, 2023, Martha returned to Turkey Hill to host a tour of the garden and grounds that she so tirelessly sowed over the decades. The new owner of Turkey Hill, Casey Berg, is a member of the board of directors of an organization called Positive Directions, a non-profit behavioral health organization providing a continuum of prevention, counseling, and recovery supports to individuals and families struggling with mental health or substance use disorders. The group was founded over 50 years ago and today serves the towns of Fairfield, Weston, Norwalk and Westport, where it is based. Proceeds of the tickets sold for the tour supported Positive Directions, and 40 lucky people followed Martha through the grounds and gardens as she recounted memories and gave gardening advice. Below are photographs of the tour, kindly submitted by friends of mine who were lucky enough to attend.

Martha began the tour in the barn - a large structure she built in the late 1970s to use as an entertaining space. Martha gave a slide slow with photographs of the garden through the years and discussed her book, "Martha Stewart's Gardening", which documents the planting and caring of this particular garden. 

The gardens today still look spectacular, wonderfully maintained by the new owners. 

My friend Jennifer Zimmerman got to spend a little bit of time with Martha on the patio during the cocktail hour.

Jennifer also met with Kevin Sharkey, someone we have both admired for his decorating advice and style suggestions in the magazine over the years. 

The driveway gate that Martha designed several decades ago is still in operation at Turkey Hill.

My friend Steven Thorne posed for this selfie with Martha on the patio.

The barns and one of the garden sheds viewed from a distance across the lawn.

A view of the pool, which Martha installed in 1980.

Stone steps leading up from the pool to the glazed porch.

A group of ten people who paid a little extra for their tickets were treated to a sit-down dinner with Martha and Kevin at a nearby restaurant after the tour. My friends Jeff, Jason and Carey were all in attendance. 

To learn more about Positive Directions and the excellent work they do, please click here.

Thank you to Jennifer, Steven Thorne, Emily Sposetta, Jeff Schneider and Kemp Harper for the photographs.