Stone Hill

About

When we moved to Plainfield, MA, over 22 years ago, our newly acquired antique cape was surrounded by an overgrown landscape crisscrossed with tumbledown farm walls. The first thing I did was to rebuild one of them, which eventually led to my reinventing myself as a professional dry stone mason. Those now rebuilt walls are the backbone of the landscape which contains and borders the various garden rooms which feature nature perennials, rhododendrons and an extensive collection of conifers. These rooms include shade, rock, and vegetable gardens, as well as a sunken garden with a water feature and grapevine arbor covering a dining area. The property has a seasonal stream and swale traversed by a boardwalk, a number of stone features, and over 1,000 feet of boundary walls rebuilt in various styles.

Digging Deeper:

The program will begin with a short history of stone walls in New England, followed by a demonstration of proper building techniques using small stones. The final part of the presentation includes a comprehensive tour and discussion of the various walls and stone structures in the garden and their possible application in the gardens of the participants.

This garden’s estimated size is 2 acres.

2025 Open Day: Saturday, June 7

Hours: 10-4

2025 Digging Deeper: Saturday, July 19

Registrations are nonrefundable and nontransferable . Open Days are rain or shine events. Click here for FAQs.