gardenscapes
AN INSIDE LOOK AT SOME
EXQUISITE GARDENS NURTURED BY
LOCAL HOMEOWNERS AND LANDSCAPERS
Turkey Hill Farm
A bronze statue named Traveler by Curt Brill is one of many to grace the grounds at
Manchester’s Turkey Hill Farm. Arms outstretched in a gesture of gratitude, it faces the
apple orchard, welcoming its harvest. Landowner Sylvia Stroup accepts this interpretation,
but the story behind its placement is far simpler. Resting on axis with the back porch of the
house, it counterbalances the more abstract sculpture, Gabriel by Hans Van de Bovenkamp.
The rest is up to the beholder.
Previous pages:
The Stroups’ “hot beds”
designed by North Hill.
Traveler’s orchard is part of a larger landscape 168 years in the making. Beginning with
the careful siting and construction of the main house around 1849, the estate has managed
a slow evolution of change under the care of only four families, most recently Sylvia and
Stanley Stroup. An earlier resident named Hortense Childs laid out the formal planting beds
in the 1930s. The Stroups themselves have brought the garden into the 21st century, adding a
guesthouse, pond, pergola, extensive gardens, and an esteemed sculpture collection including
works from artists George Sherwood, Richard Erdman, Peter Woytuck, and the like.
The Stroups have worked with several designers, including the late Wayne Winterrowd and
Joe Eck of North Hill fame. They enhanced the ornamental, dry streams and developed
three colorful “hot beds” filled with magenta beebalms (Monarda sp.), multicolored daylilies
(Hemerocallis sp.), Shasta daisies (Leucanthemum x supurbum), and other vivid species. More
recently, the Stroups commissioned local architect Ray Smith to create a Japanese-style garden
at the entrance to their woodland walk. Michael Anderson of Sugar Rock Landscaping has
been instrumental in the installation of newer beds and “fantastic” gardeners Janette Morrison
and Ernie Dibble are credited with their maintenance.
62 manchester life | www.manchesterlifemagazine.com