The Wicked Yard

The fall season — with its cooler air and summer-warmed soil — is the perfect time for planting a garden in New England. If you are busy in the planning stages, consider adding elements to increase it’s sustainability by making it a little more earth friendly.

We’ve put together a few ideas for creating a sustainable garden that not only helps support the local ecosystem, but also avoids using toxic chemicals.

From helping a homeowner with a first-time project to overseeing a monument honoring veterans constructed in their hometown, the teams at Swenson Granite Works’ two New Hampshire retail locations in Concord and Amherst are deeply connected to their surrounding communities. It makes sense, seeing as they work with a material so closely connected to the Granite State and quarried just steps away in Concord.

Long before sheltering-in-place went into effect — before masks, social distancing and hand sanitizer were de rigueur — outdoor living was a thing. Over the last 10 years, homeowners have embraced the concept and created refuges that feature outdoor kitchens, patios, fire pits and fireplace features.

As most New Englanders are spending more time right at home these days, those projects that seemed to loom off in the future are getting checked off the list this summer. Adding a new walkway, patio or front steps are among some of the top requested curb appeal projects.

For the complete renovation of her mid-19th Century home in Westport, Connecticut, actress, entrepreneur and lifestyle blogger Eva Amurri wanted to stay true to its simple New England roots — both inside and out. So, just as the mom of three retained most of the original doors and hardware inside the home to blend old and new elements, the hardscape design incorporated natural stone details using granite that was quarried nearby, which seamlessly blends into the historic neighborhood’s landscape.

It’s a rivalry that goes back to colonial days pitting Pilgrims vs. Puritans, but hundreds of years later, denizens of Boston’s North and South shores remain two distinctly separate areas. Residents rarely cross borders to travel to the opposite Massachusetts shore, although some dispute just what towns make up each territory.

From its uppermost reaches in Maine down to Connecticut’s southern shores, New England’s coastline features a topography ranging from rugged cliff faces, rocky shorelines and sandy beaches. While varied, the length of the northeast seaboard shares one common variable: the occasional wrath of Mother Nature. 

Year after year, the coastline takes batterings from seasonal hurricanes and nor’easters — not to mention winter’s damaging cold temperatures and winds — all while being pounded by the waves of the salty Atlantic Ocean. It stands to reason that anything built along the coast calls for only the most durable building materials to weather New England’s seasonal swings and ocean tides. 

For many, granite is the natural choice for projects that must contend with the harsh ocean elements and withstand the constant freeze-thaw cycle.

High above New Hampshire’s Merrimack River, deep in the core of Rattlesnake Hill, Swenson Granite Works has been quarrying historic CONCORD GRAY™ granite since 1883. Also known as Swenson Gray, the iconic stone has brought timeless style to buildings across the country for over a century and has been a part of the company’s heritage of stonework. While methods for cutting the rock have changed over time and many other quarries have come and gone, one thing remains the same: Concord Gray granite has stood the test of time.

Crisscrossing the landscape long before the Revolutionary War, stone walls are as classic to New England as church steeples and lighthouses, with a legacy that continues to this day.

Hundreds of years after the nation gained its independence, walls crafted from native stone are still a traditional element in hardscape design not only in a nod to the region’s history but also as a more modern approach to sustainability.

Friendly. Family and community oriented. Up and coming.

Those are just a few of the things that come to mind for John Proulx when he thinks of Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, where he manages one of Swenson Granite Works’ newest retail stores.