The orchard in the late afternoon sun.
Time passes quickly. I can’t believe that five years have passed here, at the modest & pastoral Hillcrest Farm in Goffstown, New Hampshire. One of the most exciting projects since moving here ties to the landscaping plan created during the second summer–that of the orchard.
Now, I have always loved the idea of an orchard, likely due in part to Anne Shirley’s drive through the flowering “White Way of Delight” with Matthew Cuthbert, from L.M. Montgomery’s beloved book series. And every fall, my brother Dan and I would go apple picking, as a family tradition. So, there are many warm, sentimental feelings attached to the idea of an orchard for me.
The Orchard Tea Room, in Grantchester, England.
During the summers I studied in Cambridge, England, I found The Orchard Tea Room a lovely & historic spot for spending a pleasant afternoon. You can easily walk or bike to Grantchester, following the verdant banks of the Cam. It sort of epitomizes an English summer for me, along with elderflower cordials, of course.
Once there, you notice the slingback chairs & modest tables situated under or near mature apple trees, & you can see why the Bloomsbury Group loved to laze here. Lounging in the shade of the trees, sipping tea & dining on scones, you can soak in the peaceful surroundings or engage in intellectual discussions with like-minded friends. Created in 1897, The Orchard speaks to the idylls of England at its best, before the ravages of two world wars.
A vintage image of the makeshift kitchen used to supply visitors with tea & scones at The Orchard.
Thus, when I returned home from England, the memory of The Orchard lived on in my mind as a relaxing, beautiful place, a luxury afforded me as when a child in just being still & enjoying nature. That often has me often in a state of wonder.
I start to think about… Why it is I see time in rest outdoors in a chair or hammock as a luxury? Is this cultural? A product of adulthood?
How seldom is it that we career-driven Americans can slow down long enough to just place the world on pause? How many of us dare give ourselves the sheer decadence of spending an afternoon sipping tea in an orchard? In other countries where midday rest is a societal norm, the United States maintains a fast-paced, almost frenetic energy that to slow down & be still translates into laziness, sloth, even indulgence.
How many of us can hear those adages echoing in our heads, “Idle hands are the devil’s playground,” “Early to bed, early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, & wise,” or “There is no substitute for hard work.” Why is it we have to justify to ourselves making time for self-care in the form of resting outdoors? This is one of the reasons I believe many introverts can find themselves in a state of anxiety or depression, or even both.
Another image from The Orchard.
Apple blossoms from the orchard at the farm.
As a parent, I think about the messages I may be sending to my son, silently. Am I showing him that spending time outside should be a daily thing, not a luxury? How do my routines & behaviors reinforce some of the negative aspects of a culture focused on supporting the overworked extrovert? With such a fast pace, can we appreciate things that take time to mature?
Given the years required for apple trees to mature, patience is required for the long-term goal of the established orchard. This includes activities that delay the production of fruit or harvest. This means pruning trees to stimulate thickening of the trees’ trunks & limbs, removing the early fruit (so that the trees can instead focus on its frame & roots), & protecting vulnerable saplings from deer, voles, Japanese beetles, & blight. And then there’s making sure the trees get enough water, but also that they have proper drainage.
The evergreen edge at the top of the farm’s orchard.
My dream is to replicate The Orchard’s feel at this New Hampshire farm. With lounging outdoor furniture under the shade of mature fruit trees, family & visitors would be able to enjoy that physical resemblance between Merry Old England and this “New” England, along with its “New” Hampshire. Since the farm dates back to 1789 & has direct ties to the American Revolution, its history further cements that close ancestry to those settlers who came over from England, receiving King’s grants for land.
And just think of the jams, jellies, and fruit butters to come! Maybe establishing a teatime in orchard will become a tradition at the farm… I certainly would love that.
Scones with jam & clotted cream at The Orchard.
View of the path that leads up to the farm’s orchard, with its downward slope, illuminated with golden rays of the afternoon sun.