Exploring Nature's Bounty
Exploring Nature's Bounty
One Hundred Outings Near New York City
When lifelong friends Lucy D. Rosenfeld and Marina Harrison set off on their outings in the region, they are always on the lookout for the gifts that nature offers. Exploring Nature’s Bounty, their ninth collaboration, invites us to share the rich array of agricultural delights they’ve discovered within a two-hour radius of New York City—from beautiful vineyards to the latest in hydroponic greenhouses to peach-filled orchards to community farms and historic sites.
The places chosen all welcome visitors who will see first hand the art of agriculture, pick their own produce, help out on the farm, or simply enjoy being outdoors so close to the city. Many of them are off-the-beaten-track locations where readers and their families can walk among rows of grapes, cornstalks, apple trees, and so much more. The sites range from traditional fruit orchards to greenhouses filled with water-grown tomatoes and basil to neatly ordered herb gardens in historic settings. Local vineyards make wineries fun and glamorous places to visit, whether on the North Fork of Long Island or in the Hudson Valley. Some venues focus on crop preservation—the American chestnut, for example—while others introduce readers to honey making and maple sugaring. Those interested in taking classes or seeing demonstrations will find places to do just that, and many activities are geared toward children, from corn mazes to hayrides to pumpkin picking.
Rosenfeld and Harrison provide a list of festivals featuring local produce and, at the end of the book, a guide to choosing an outing that will best fit readers, their families, and their taste buds. Directions are provided in each write-up as well as information on schedules, guided tours, and walks within many of the sites.
Exploring Nature’s Bounty focuses on the natural, the organic, the sustainable, and the close-at-hand. By avoiding places overrun with commercialism, it helps readers create their own adventures, enjoy time with family and friends, and connect to the farms that nourish us all.
LUCY D. ROSENFELD is the author of more than twenty-five books on art, travel, and architecture, including The Architect’s Garden: 45 Original Landscapes.
MARINA HARRISON, an editor, has published eight books with Lucy D. Rosenfeld, among them History Walks in New Jersey and A Guide to Green New Jersey, featured in the New York Times (both Rutgers University Press).
Lifelong friends, the authors continue to work on a variety of projects.
CONNECTICUT
1. THE WORLD OF HERBS
2. ALL ABOUT BEES
3. WHERE RHUBARB AND WINEMAKING MEET IN THE LITCHFIELD HILLS
4. ENJOYING A NUT WALK
5. MAPLE SUGAR TIME
6. A PICTURE-PERFECT CONNECTICUT FARM FROM THE 1840s
7. TWO DELIGHTFUL VINEYARD VISITS
8. FROM BRAZILIAN VEGETABLES TO APPLES AND PUMPKINS
9. TWO NEIGHBORING VISITS AMID FLOWERS, VEGETABLES, AND VINES
10. THE THREE EXTRAORDINARY HERB GARDENS OF COVENTRY
11. A POTPOURRI OF VEGETABLES, FLOWERS, AND OUTDOOR SCULPTURE AMID THE GREENERY
12. THE HICKORIES, RIDGEFIELD
13. JONES WINERY, SHELTON
14. JERRAM WINERY, NEW HARTFORD
15. LAND OF NOD, EAST CANAAN
16. LYMAN ORCHARDS, MIDDLEFIELDS
NEW YORK CITY
17. A CULTURAL GEM WITH BOTANICAL GARDENS
18. CHERRY TREES AND HERBS
19. FROM NATIVE AMERICAN CROPS TO EDIBLE FLOWERS
20. HOW TO DO IT YOURSELF
21. A BUCOLIC OUTPOST IN THE MIDDLE OF QUEENS
22. ONE OF NEW YORK CITY’S LAST WORKING FARMS
NEW YORK STATE: LONG ISLAND
23. UNEXPECTED DELIGHTS
24. SAVORING A DAY IN WINE COUNTRY
25. A BIODYNAMIC FARMER COMBINES NATURE AND COSMIC FORCES
26. A FEAST FOR THE SENSES
27. DESTINATION GARLIC
28. PICKING EGGPLANTS AND PEPPERS AND FINDING YOUR WAY THROUGH A CORN MAZE
29. A RESTORED VILLAGE’S GARDENS
30. QUAIL HILL FARM, AMAGANSETT
31. LOUGHLIN VINEYARDS, SAYVILLE
NEW YORK STATE: EAST OF THE HUDSON
32. A CELEBRATION OF THE FARM
33. THE RARITY OF AN AMERICAN CHESTNUT PLANTATION
34. HANDS-ON
35. RE-CREATING THE PAST WITH PLANTINGS
36. FRUIT PICKING IN THE LOWER HUDSON VALLEY
37. DUTCH COLONIAL HERBS AND VEGETABLES
38. FROM QUINCE TO GINGKO TO BAMBOO SHOOTS
39. PEACHES, PEARS, CHERRIES, AND APPLES ON A HILLSIDE
40. EDIBLE EXOTICS IN A BOTANICAL PRESERVE
41. A SPECTACULAR GARDEN WITH A RIVER VIEW
42. AN ORANGERIE AND OTHER DELIGHTS
43. FROM CHINESE VEGETABLES TO EGYPTIAN ONIONS
44. TWO IDYLLIC SITES IN THE HUDSON VALLEY
45. THE ORCHARD AND FARM OF A HISTORIC ESTATE
46. THE AQUAPONIC SOLUTION
47. GREIG FARM, RED HOOK
48. BLUEBERRY PARK, WINGDALE
49. HILLTOP HANOVER FARM AND ENVIRONMENTAL CENTER, YORKTOWN HEIGHTS
NEW YORK STATE: WEST OF THE HUDSON
50. AN ORCHARD IN THE SHADOW OF A STONE MOUNTAIN
51. THE FARMS AND GARDENS OF A COMMUNAL LIFE
52. THE OLDEST ORCHARD AROUND
53. A FRENCH HUGUENOT LEGACY
54. A DELIGHTFUL FARM EXPERIENCE FOR ALL THE FAMILY
55. ORCHARD COUNTRY
56. CHERRY PICKING, NECTARINES, AND OTHER PLEASURES
57. THE HYDROPONIC WAY
58. IN A TRADITIONAL NEW ENGLAND STYLE
59. LAKESIDE PICKING
60. A SPECIAL TREAT
61. FROM HISTORIC FAMILY FARM TO COMMUNITY GARDENS
62. LYONSVILLE SUGARHOUSE, ACCORD
63. JENKINS-LUEKEN ORCHARDS, NEW PALTZ
NEW JERSEY
64. TWO THOUSAND HERBS!
65. TAKE YOUR PICK OF RASPBERRIES, STRAWBERRIES, OR PUMPKINS
66. A KOREAN ORCHARD OF UNUSUAL BEAUTY
67. AN AUTUMN FAMILY DAY ON THE FARM
68. NOT FAR FROM THE CITY
69. A NEW JERSEY SPECIALTY
70. HISTORIC FARMSTEAD GARDENS WITH AN ORCHARD AND HERB GARDEN
71. FROM ARUGULA TO ZUCCHINI
72. THREE MUSHROOM FORAYS INTO THE FOREST
73. A PICTURE-BOOK ORCHARD
74. CHERRIES, PEACHES, AND APPLES
75. WINE, ECOLOGY, AND GLAMOUR
76. TWO VAST FARMS WITH ETHNIC VEGETABLES
77. A HIKE (OR A HAYRIDE) THROUGH A VAST FARM
78. “THE DEVIL’S TONGUE” AND OTHER PEPPERS
79. FRUITWOOD ORCHARDS HONEY FARM, MONROEVILLE
80. WESTFALL WINERY, MONTAGUE
81. STULTS FARM, CRANBURY
PENNSYLVANIA AND DELAWARE
82. HIKING A MEDICINAL TRAIL
83. FRUITS, LAVENDER, AND WINE
84. HERBS AND TEAS IN AN ART-FILLED ENVIRONMENT
85. AMERICA’S EARLIEST BOTANICAL GARDEN
86. WHEN PLANTS ARE USED IN HEALING
87. ESPALIERED FRUIT TREES
88. VINEYARDS IN THE DELAWARE VALLEY
Choosing an Outing
Food and Wine Festivals
Index of Places
