Going Organic in Westport, CT
A Joyful Restoration of Home and
Landscape
By
Kathy Litchfield
Carol
Quinn loves gazing out the windows of her 1850’s home, nestled on two acres in
Westport, Conn.
“It just looks so beautiful. It looks like we live in a park,” said Quinn, who is working with 12-year NOFA Accredited Organic Land Care Professional Michael Nadeau of Plantscapes Organics.
“It just looks so beautiful. It looks like we live in a park,” said Quinn, who is working with 12-year NOFA Accredited Organic Land Care Professional Michael Nadeau of Plantscapes Organics.
“We were interested in organic gardening and
we love our yard. We know that organic gardening is healthier for our child, healthier
for our neighbors and healthier for the earth, and that’s why we do it!” said
the enthusiastic homeowner, who has invested countless hours of time and energy
with her husband David Mayo to restore their house and beautify their landscape
over the last two years.
She
said Mike and his brother Dan Nadeau came highly recommended.
“Mike
and his brother Danny are wonderful people. We met them through the builders who
did work on our house, and another client who used them in Ridgefield. Their
gardens are phenomenal. Ours are just starting off,” said Carol, who looks
forward to watching her perennial beds, a rain garden and a new rock garden grow
and develop alongside her organic lawn.
The
couple purchased their circa 1859 house a few years ago, and represent just the
third family to have owned it since its construction. It was one of the last
houses built before the Civil War in Westport, she said. The previous owners,
children of a couple who had passed away, didn’t apply chemicals or perform heavy
maintenance on their lawn, which worked out well for the couple’s desire to
plant organic grasses, she said, since remediation was unnecessary.
Originally
the property was part of a farm, then an estate, and it maintains stately old
swamp maples, a huge black birch, ancient dogwoods, a tulip tree, a Japanese
maple, many lovely old evergreens and an azalea bush “that looks like a tree,”
laughed Carol. The property also features a 60-foot-tall Dawn Redwood, huge
silver maples and a healthy 75-foot-tall American elm.
The
couple started with their house restoration, by hiring Mike and Chris Trolle of
BPC Green Builders in Wilton, Conn., who specialize in non-toxic and green
certified building materials “right down to the non-toxic pipe dope used to
sweat the plumbing fittings together,” said Mike Nadeau. “The driveway is
native gravel to absorb rainwater, except for a small basketball court that was
paved with porous asphalt.”
The
couple received a preservation award from the Town of Westport for their home
restoration, and then embarked upon their organic land care mission.
“Mike
and Dan have been very professional. They came up with a landscape plan based
on what we wanted, implemented it, did it in a timely fashion according to what
our budget was and found a fellow who did a beautiful job on our fountain too,”
she said.
Utilizing
an old well stone on the property and rocks gathered from throughout its
acreage, the fountain is a highlight of the Quinn’s organic landscape, which
features sitting areas and beautiful views of the gardens from their wraparound
porch.
A
rain garden, planted on a natural slope, showcases native plants, helps to
disperse rainwater and solves a puddling problem they experienced during heavy
rains.
David
and Carol don’t use sprinklers in their yard. For the first two years of their
new organic landscape, they are employing battery-powered irrigation timers and
drip tubes to help new trees and bushes get established, at Nadeau’s suggestion.
“There
are zones for each different hydrologic requirement, based on plant needs,
which are monitored and adjusted during the season. This takes advantage
of natural rainfall and provides just enough moisture to establish a strong
root system; then it will be turned off,” said Mike Nadeau. “By using drip
irrigation, water is applied only where needed and you do not water the weeds
between plants. The irrigation can be activated during droughts if appropriate. The
cost is a fraction of a permanently installed system and protects our plants
through their guarantee period.”
As
for the organic lawn, “it takes care of itself,” said Quinn, who first learned
about organic gardening from a friend who is on the board of directors of the
Mount Sinai Children’s Environmental Health Center in New York City.
“The
center focuses on how children’s health is impacted by different things in the
environment. I’m not a scientist, but I think that chemicals used as fertilizers
or insecticides or herbicides cause some degree of sickness in people. So
through (my friend) I started to get interested in what people put on their
lawns. We decided, with Mike’s guidance, to choose plants that were native and
indigenous to Connecticut. We’re getting rid of invasive species (including
knotweed). We really want to have plants and grass that will grow within the
boundaries of our climate,” she said.
The
couple also chooses organics when it comes to fruits, vegetables and meats.
Carol feels fortunate to have a great farmer’s market on Thursdays in Westport,
the Saugatuck Craft Butchery which sources and carries local and organic meats within
100 miles of Westport, and the Double L Farm Market that carries a wide
selection of organic foods, as well as a Whole Foods Market nearby.
She
looks forward to watching their organic landscape develop over time, and hopes
others in Westport will learn about organic land care and implement organic
elements into their own yards and gardens.
She
said she would love to help arrange for a speaker on organic land care to
present at the Westport Public Library, where seminars are well attended.
Looking
forward, the couple plans to explore the possibility of restoring the wetlands
at the back of their yard, in collaboration with Nadeau and the Town of
Westport, as well as continuing their ongoing battle with the ever-creeping
poison ivy.
“Mike
and Danny and their crew are just tremendous. They have integrity, they are
hard working, they’re creative and they’re helpful,” said Quinn, who sees them
as partners in her organic gardening choices. “They seem like they’re really
invested in the result and dedicated to the process. I admire Mike so much. He
is so knowledgeable. He’s just fantastic.”
Nadeau
feels similarly about the couple.
“David
and Carol’s attention to details and being totally committed to organic land
care make them the ideal client for us. They challenged us all through the
design, installation, and maintenance phases to research new materials and find
the best organic/green products to use,” Nadeau said.