Winter inspiration for meadow, garden and woods

Winter inspiration for meadow, garden and woods

Breece Meadow

Jeb Breece

Chances are you know or have heard of Jeb Breece.He is one of a handful of the Northwest Corner’s “new guard”—young, talented and interesting people with can-do spirit — whose creative output makes life here even nicer than it already is.

Breece’s outward low-key nature belies his achievements which would appear ambitious even for a person without a full-time job and a family.The third season of his “Bad Grass” speaker series is designed with the dual purpose of reviving us from winter doldrums and illuminating us on a topic of contemporary gardening — by which I mean gardening that does not sacrifice the environment for the sake of beauty nor vice versa. There are two upcoming talks taking place at the White Hart:Feb. 20 featuring Richard Hayden from New York City’s High Line and March 6 where Christopher Koppel will riff on nativars. You won’t want to miss either.

An investment manager by trade, Breece and his wife Sabina rented a weekend house in Kent in 2011 just after they had their first child.Soon after he began to volunteer at a nearby farm and then started to cultivate a small cutting flower bed.Breece’s insight — that it is a rare farmer who is great at both growing and selling — led him in 2020 to aggregate demand and supply for cutting flowers by creating a monthly flower market at Kent Barns in collaboration with RT Facts. Coinciding with Covid, the outdoor market became, in many ways, a respite during a challenging time.

Covid provoked Breece and Sabina to move full time to Salisbury.Soon after, he met Page Dickey who had just published her book “Uprooted.” Had it not been for this book and his friendship with Dickey, Breece admits that his front yard would have been landscaped with a version of boxwood and liatris and the existing grass lawn would have been maintained at great expense.Dickey introduced him to organic landscaper Mike Nadeau and a meadow was born.

Meadows.I have written quite a bit about them in this column, in part because a meadow can be a wholesale solution to the lawn issue.It is by no means the only solution but, for a large expanse, it can be extraordinary to behold.The creation of a biodiverse native habitat where there was only a version of grass and weed is a sensation-filled wonder, but it does take a while to achieve this graceful state unless you have the wisdom of Nadeau — and his machinery — behind you.Now going into its fourth year, the Breece meadow has evolved as new native perennials and grasses show up.“It is beautiful to look at from the house but is best experienced from its interior where you can see, hear and feel the life around you.”

While his world view on gardening has changed, Breece doesn’t think of himself as an advocate of native habitats.But he is.The proceeds from Bad Grass this year will go to its 2025 partner project, Steep Rock Preserve’s “Holiday House” project to transform the space into a “ruin garden,” preserving its historical significance while enhancing its natural beauty and restoring native vegetation.

The spongy moth infestation of 2021 and 2022 feels both a long time ago and like yesterday.Walking in the woods, as I did this morning, the effects of spongy moth are more visible than they were last year; the winter winds have blown off the dead limbs from trees that succumbed to the voracious moths’ leaf-eating appetites.On our property we were able to save many trees using BtK and trunk wraps.But most of the truly glorious giant oaks – some well over 70 feet tall and almost as wide - succumbed.Now, several years later, these limbs are taking down smaller trees as they fall to the ground.There is not much to do about it right now unless you can safely relocate a fallen branch that has landed on and distorted an otherwise living tree. Events like this are a reminder of how many young tree recruits we need to ensure the viability of a woodland. This spring there will be quite a bit more light reaching the woodland floor as a result of the dead trees. The open canopy means an opportunity for growth.It is up to us to decide what will grow in these spaces as, without our intervention, they will be overgrown with invasives, prohibiting native trees from growing and destroying a previously viable habitat.Look for these spaces and pull out the invasives as they grow in.For more on the topic go to www.theungardener.com/articles/the-over-under-a-bet-on-the-future-of-the-woods

Dee Salomon ‘ungardens’ in Litchfield County.

Latest News

Back to school
Photo by Leila Hawken

AMENIA — The first day of school on Thursday, Sept. 4, at Webutuck Elementary School went smoothly, with teachers enthusiastically greeting the eager young students disembarking from buses. Excitement was measurable, with only a few tears from parents, but school began anyway.


Keep ReadingShow less
Millerton’s Demitasse shutters Main Street storefront, goes digital

Demitasse owner Hayden McIntosh Geer said she is excited by the shift to online sales.

Photo by Hayden McIntosh Geer

MILLERTON — Some might have argued that launching an in-person retail business during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic wasn’t advisable. But against all odds, Demitasse in Millerton managed not only to build a thriving, mission-based brand in a small storefront on Main Street, it developed a loyal customer base and provided a welcoming space for visitors. Last week, Demitasse announced it is closing-up shop and moving fully online.

“We are excited,” said owner Hayden McIntosh Geer, who opened Demitasse with her husband, Richard, in 2020. “Though we will miss our customers and the camaraderie on Main Street, it feels right and there was no second guessing.”

Keep ReadingShow less
New Millerton police cruisers arrive to replace fire-ravaged vehicles

Millerton Police Chief Joseph Olenik shows off the new gear. Brand new police cruisers arrived last week.

Photo by Aly Morrissey

MILLERTON — The Millerton Police Department has received two new patrol cars to replace vehicles destroyed in the February 2025 fire at the Village Water and Highway Department.

The new Ford Interceptors are custom-built for law enforcement. “They’re more rugged than a Ford Explorer,” said Millerton Police Chief Joseph Olenik, noting the all-wheel drive, heavy-duty suspension and larger tires and engine. “They call it the ‘Police Package.’”

Keep ReadingShow less
Fashion Feeds on track to raise $100,000 for Food of Life Food Pantry

Erin Rollins of Millbrook in the Fashion Feed booth, open year round, at the Millbrook Antiques Mall. All proceeds from Fashion Feeds go to the Food of Life Pantry.

Photo by Aly Morrissey

MILLBROOK – In a time when optimism and unity can feel elusive, sometimes a walk down Franklin Avenue is enough to feed the soul. With Millbrook Community Day just around the corner, one highlight will be Fashion Feeds, a community effort led by Millbrook native Erin Rollins, whose mission is to fight local hunger.

The concept is simple. People donate new or gently used designer fashion, which is sold at affordable prices, and all proceeds benefit The Food of Life/Comida de Vida Pantry at St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Amenia.

Keep ReadingShow less