Where is Noah?
Where is Helen? And Whitney?
9
Grey Gardens 2.0
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I once had the honour of meeting with Prince Charles at his private home, Highgrove. At the gate is a hand-lettered sign on a plain sheet of plywood that says "you are entering a GMO-free zone." The landscaping looked very much like this one on a larger scale, and presented quite a contrast to the formality of the architecture. He must have had fun planning it. But I have to confess, at the time I gave no consideration to His Highness's Ticks. I think I was protected by my obligatory conservative suit and tie.
23
Ticks, chiggers and snakes.
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If this garden was anywhere but the eastern end of Long Island it would be considered overgrown and neglected. It is also a breeding ground for ticks.
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Really beautiful!
24
Just beautiful and heartcrackingly dear. A gorgeous wild place in a country of over-manicured, sterile properties kept in check with pesticides, herbicides and too much wasted water. I love this.
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For all the commentators patting themselves on the back for chiming in about "ticks!"... just how much of one's yard does one actually walk through? Not simply look at, or fear, but actually use to walk through? Do you roll around on your two acres of mowed lawn? Host teams of touch football every weekend? Probably not! So a path of flattened grass (or, more conventionally, a path of mowed grass) is as safe to cultivate as a dull, buzz-sawed monoculture of grass. Fear of TICKS is no reason to battle nature to death. Why not just drench your lawn with poison? (as some commentators also seem to think is justified by fear of ticks in the area.) I love this couple's perspective. Also find the Times photo editor's selections frustrating though.
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Oh, gee, duh, I'll bet these two creative, intelligent people never thought about ticks. The posters are scolding folks who are well-acquainted with nature. I think they know about ticks. You can pick up a tick on your manicured lawn in the Hamptons too.
50
So who are Roman and Williams ?
12
I also would love to see the interior of the house.
This is a beautiful, calming way to live.
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Ticks, has anyone mentioned ticks . . .
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@Rose
That's right, in a totally beautiful story about a fanciful and peaceful place, you introduce a negative and 14 people like it. Now that's happy, optimistic America for you!
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Hmmm, there's unkempt and then there's just unruly. It looks forgotten, not fun. Lazy not luxurious.
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Maybe it looks better in person...
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Absolutely stunning!
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Hi Ticks!!
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I’d love to see pictures of the inside and father house. NY Times, please!
12
The Times invites me to share my thoughts.
Ticks.
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Because so many posts are about ticks. and the need to find them before they embed, I want to suggest opossums. Yes, possums eat many ticks each day. I'm sure there are other tick predators, perhaps the crows mentioned in the article also eat ticks.
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@JM Chickens eat ticks!
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And turkeys.
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@JM
Also guinea hens. Ticks are a favorite food -- but they are quite noisy.
20
Looks like tick city to me
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They must not have deer or have a sturdy deer fence. My lovingly planted native gardens have been eaten up this summer. I have long ago given up on any specimen plants. I have a riot of milkweed (the only plant the deer do not eat), Joe pye weed, New York ironweed, turtlehead, bee balm and native stone crops. Alas, all are nipped back back by the deer. Fencing of my whole yard is not practical (or allowed past the frontage of the house). I would love to live in a magical landscape like this!
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@Clarity Put a beaten egg and a few drops of an essential oil like eucalyptus and/or peppermint in a gallon of water. Spray your plants, repeating after a rain. Has been working for years in my very rural garden.
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Susan, you don’t know Montauk deer. They are destroying every thing, allowing invasive wild grape and other disasters to overrun and smother our native plants, shrubs and woods. Like kudzu. Heartbreaking.
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@Susan
This is such a good idea. I returned from a wildlife refuge walk the other day and went into the supermarket, smelling of the eucalyptus-lemon oil I use on clothing to repel ticks and mosquitoes. I thought, "Who is it that stinks?" Oh, mea culpa.
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Are there Lyme disease ticks in Montalk? I hope not for the sake of this couple. A vaccine or some method of eradication is urgently needed.
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Long grass makes for a great home for deer ticks which are already a big problem on Long Island for carrying Lyne Disease. I hope they don’t actually walk in that tall grass...
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Bravo! But carefully checking for ticks each day spent in their natural landscape on the tip of L.I. and a good supply of white pants, shirts & blouses would be an excellent idea. These are the best tools to remove ticks: [https://www.otom.com/en/] And on their way out to their eden by the sea, might I suggest checking out Restoration Farm in Old Bethpage. Knowing where their food comes from would complement nicely their deep connection to nature.[https://knowwhereyourfoodcomesfrom.com/2019/08/30/a-farm-grows-in-long-island-suburbs-wendell-berrys-message-takes-root/]
14
Good for them. Perhaps it will become a trend with these awfully well-heeled folks to consider the needs of the original denizens of their area. Plant native trees, shrubs, and flowers. Give struggling bird populations and native pollinators a chance. Put in plants that bloom at different times to increase availability of food over a season. You want to be progressive? Consider the needs of creatures who have no voice and can't vote, and who lived here long before humans arrived.
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Two words: deer ticks.
34
As several other posts have mentioned, what about ticks? Is Montauk immune to ticks while they thrive 20 minutes away in East Hampton? Is carefree enjoyment of the grassy outdoors taken for granted in Montauk while it is potentially life threatening where I live? Do these property owners spray for ticks and, if they do, does their concern for the environment lead them to use organic rather than permethrin-based spray? Aesthetics aside, anyone who struggles to enjoy the great outdoors without contracting a chronic disease will have this as their #1 question reading this article.
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I live in the country on 26 acres. Walking in tall grass puts you at real risk for ticks. Not "will I pickup a tick" but how many. LI is prime Lymes disease territory. This is lovely, original but only to look at unless you spray yourself with chemicals.
47
I do love the anti 2 acre of manicured lawn here but, as a fellow east end resident, I do hope they are aware of the myriad tick borne illnesses and that East Hampton town has a very high infection rate.
It's an unfortunate part of living on the east end of long island
50
I really miss the days when the Times had a weekly garden column written by Anne Raver. This article was refreshing.
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@Eli I too miss Anne Raver. Sigh.
39
While this is beautiful I hope for them that they are spraying against ticks.
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@Jonathan Support your local opossum, and bees. Don't spray!
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Beautiful, except one should be wary of ticks.
25
The garden sounds beautiful. But of the four photographs, two are of the house, and the other two are fairly impersonal, and do not reflect the articles’ details. I’m noting this is a pattern in these articles about wild gardens. NYT, more photos of the landscapes you are describing please. Really very frustrating.
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Lovely wild yard, but not a garden.
37
Be careful! This “natural look” may imply that plants will grow without spending a fortune on gardeners and landscape designers!!
29
the aesthetic here is so beautifully and lovingly crafted to appear untended. The really nifty trick is that it is also bona fide space, rugged and hewn. Plus, I love Vita, so bonus points. A nice revelation to realize it is from the same people who designed Ace, and now I'm curious to check out the guild.
11
Over the last 18 years, I have transformed my front yard from lawn to perennial beds, with the only mown grass acting as narrow meandering paths between them. I used to aggressively weed every summer, but this year I let the weeds grow. They brought a wondrous chaos to my plantings. Thank you for this article. The featured property is a breath of fresh air.
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@Tom Kochheiser Due to a health problem (mostly old age) I let the weeds go a couple of years ago.
It was a mistake that I am not sure how to fix now. Buttercup and bindweed have taken over.
I have always let the weeds that bees like have their share, but what I have now is ridiculous.
17
How lovely and nurturing to let nature be, as it is intended. Both for the flora and fauna, as well as the inhabitants who live there.
27
Would still trim the trees off the house. Trees over-grown on house makes house look like hoarders.
14
Huh, I have the exact opposite feeling; trees growing close to a home is very cosy and sweet. The home is more integrated and doesn’t stick out like a sore thumb saying “look at me!” (So tacky.) Plus shade in the summer = a naturally cooler home (lower energy bills if you have a/c). And what’s more delightful than looking out a random window and coming eye-to-eye with a chickadee?
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@Michael W. Espy foilage on houses can cause damage too. I don't let a leaf touch my house, it gets trimmed away. While foliage can look charming, it can easily work its way between boards, opening the joints and damaging the structure. The roots can also penetrate small weaknesses and cracks in the wood grain, increasing the risk of rot. Also the foliage can harbor insects.
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@Mary Insects are not your enemy, quite the contrary.
Only creeping vines will work their under boards and into joints.
17
Thank you for this. A garden that's good for the earth, for wildlife, and for the soul of this reader.
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There is something to be said for letting nature just be nature. We seem to have an aversion to anything that isn't neatly kept and pruned.
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