Preservation at Old Farm Nursery

Preservation at Old Farm Nursery

Text By Tovah Martin | Photography By Kindra Clineff

Every spring, Old Farm Nursery bursts into stunning splendor, but it never forgets its humble roots.

Even back in 1988, when Judy and Patrick Murphy first bought the northwestern Connecticut 18-acre farm that spent a decade fallow, they saw promise as well as purpose in the neglected hardscrabble around their classic old farmhouse. Attracted to the location’s suitability for starting their dream nursery, getting the business up and running was their first priority. So they were in no rush on the home front. Focused on designing gardens for their clients, they took the slow and easy approach to their own property, letting the gardens evolve as the old farm grew on them.