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For Mark Drendel, the ringside seat to a hayfield framing the Shepaug River brought him back to his childhood on his family’s Tennessee farm and he fell for this Litchfield County house. He couldn’t resist the relaxed allure of rocking chairs and a porch swing. The full ambiance of the one-acre property clinched the deal when Drendel and his partner, Chad Conway, bought the Roxbury home in 2002.

When Philip and Robin Schonberger began their quest for the perfect property, he asked her if focusing on waterfront homes might be apropos. It was the 1927 Colonial Revival along the Lieutenant River in Old Lyme with a row of 80-year-old welcoming maples, 10-acre parcel and the river’s slow ripple effect that won them over.

When Philip and Robin Schonberger began their quest for the perfect property, he asked her if focusing on waterfront homes might be apropos. It was the 1927 Colonial Revival along the Lieutenant River in Old Lyme with a row of 80-year-old welcoming maples, 10-acre parcel and the river’s slow ripple effect that won them over.

Richard Galef transforms 57 acres in the wilds of Craryville, New York, into an eden of staggering natural beauty. Intricate meditation circles, quaint ponds and idyllic Perennials, Galef creates his very own oasis.

When Judy and Patrick Murphy decided to relocate to New England from West Virginia 25 years ago, they knew exactly where they wanted to live. The couple found a 15-acre farm in Lakeville that was orphaned for 10 years and neglected for many years preceding that. “It was perfect for us,” she says.

What happens when two gardeners make too many forays to Britain and return home laden with visions? An estate emerges and rocks roll. But first, they had to find a way in. Instead of a swank house or even a driveway, the stone walls were the deal clincher. And it’s fortunate that the two found the on-site masonry so compelling, because the rocks played a starring role in the taming of Plum Creek Farm.

Barbara Israel’s Steepway Farm in Katonah is home to museum quality stonework, from Bacchus to Perseus.

Want to garden like a guru? Plant yourself firmly within earshot of a crowd with soil under their fingernails and listen up. Where are all the Wellies congregating this spring? At Trade Secrets on May 18 at Elaine LaRoche's LionRock Farm in Sharon, where a whole lot of people will be talking dirty.

Kathy Metz had no plans whatsoever to elope with Cobble Pond Farm. In fact, a passionate relationship with a property just wasn’t on her radar before she met the 250-acre Sharon farm in person.

Owner Kathy Metz falls for Cobble Pond Farm and starts to breathe new life into a forgotten Olmsted landscape by nurturing her old friend. Metz continues to revamp the gardens with respect for the past, but also an eye toward the future.