by Jamie on June 30, 2011
Organic Garden-- Spinach, Dill, Basil
Guests are welcome to enjoy the produce from the organic vegetable gardens at the Winthrop Estate. We have three varieties of lettuce this year in the lower garden, and another three exotic lettuce varieties in the lawn garden. They are much stronger tasting that the kind we get at the store– more lettuce-y tasting! Guests are welcome to pick their own for lunch, and sometime the chefs incorporate the produce into the celebratory meals. The weather has been good for the garden lately. The peas are shooting up their climbing fence and the garlic we planted last fall is coming in strong. Almost everything has started to visibly grow, and it’s not even June yet!
by Jamie on June 22, 2011
Late at night, after the wedding reception and dancing, as they stand on the verandah, they pose, this fun group of friends of the bride, for a picture of their hands.
by Jamie on June 22, 2011
Winter Wedding
We are in the swing of the high season and preparing for families, weddings and events happening at the estate over the next few months. Our busy schedule keeps us hopping and the mansion is quite lively, but it certainly does not draw away from planning for future guests.
The winter, for example, holds great opportunity for celebration at the mansion. The estate is just as beautiful in the winter months as it is now, but in a different way.
We plan for snowman building for kids, snow shoeing, cross-country skiing, and sleigh rides can be arranged too. With a blanket of fresh sparkling snow draped over the 6-acre lawn, fireplaces blazing, and hot cocoa on the stove, the estate is charming and elegant.
Above is a photograph of a wedding that took place here last New Year’s Eve. Votives flickering, guests enjoying the company of friends and family, and the celebration of a lovely couple made this event stunning. One guest expressed genuine surprise that a New England winter wedding could be so successful but we have seen it many times.
Berkshire county tends to be most popular during the summer and fall. People are attracted to this placid, beautiful, dynamic area for the quintessential New England town environment, the culture, the invigorating air, and stunning foliage. But people don’t know that the winter can be just as good than other times of the year. Cross-country skiing, downhill skiinghiking, sledding and snowshoeing in the Berkshire hills are all breathtaking.
The Winthrop Estate takes on an elegant cozy feel during the winter months. With warm fireplaces warming the library, dining room, music room, master bedroom (and master bathroom!), the mansion provides the perfect winter venue for small weddings.
Yes, the weather is quite nice this time of year, but you would be surprised to see just how wonderful the Winthrop Estate can be during the winter months.
Family vacations, retreats, winter weddings and receptions are always full of pleasant surprises in this Berkshire winter wonderland at the Winthrop Estate.
by Jamie on June 19, 2011
Gilded Age style, with wireless internet of course.
Our most recently redecorated room now boasts blue and white toile on the upholstered walls, chairs and half tester, creating a luxurious mood in the room that envelopes everything. With the new decor, we have changed the name of the room from Tanglewood Room, (which got its name from the direction of the view, toward the West, where just a mile away is Tanglewood) to the Blue Room. We have a Chinese theme in this room too, from the pattern on the toile to the decoration on the lamps to the art on the walls to the antique rug on the floor. When guests walk into this room it often immediately reminds them of a certain family member, or a place they visited before.
by Jamie on June 15, 2011
Our ping pong table is on the third floor of the mansion, in the game room, a perfect space for just kicking back and relaxing with a drink. Here the groom watches his friends play after the rehearsal dinner BBQ on the Winthrop Estate lawn. Other guests are hanging out on the club chairs watching, and others are in the library or music room. Sometimes it’s nice to be all together in a big group at a wedding, and sometimes guests like to have time with smaller groups of friends. On a wedding weekend at the Winthrop Estate, we often see friends enjoying each other’s company in small groups throughout the weekend, in the game room, verandah, lawn, music room, even in the second floor foyer they catch a good conversation.
Photo by Eric Limon
Family Vacation
In the Berkshires, we are enjoying warm summer weather this week and the garden is growing tall. A full schedule of weddings and family events is ahead of us. The busy summer season, which started in early May for us, always tends to go by fast.
Many of our guests have already inquired about repeat visits. Though the estate is almost completely booked this year already, there are a few weekends still left. Labor Day weekend is one of them and with the Tanglewood Wine and Food Classic September 1-4, and the Tanglewood Jazz Festival, it will be a great time to be in Lenox. The Winthrop Estate is just about a mile from Tanglewood’s main gate and the Jazz Festival and the Wine and Food Classic are real treats, (if you like good jazz, wine and food)!
Labor Day weekend is a nice time to gather the family in Lenox, just before school starts for the young ones and as the trees are starting to turn. There are so many things to do at that time if you want to venture off property; see a Shakespeare & Company production, visit the Mount or Chesterwood, enjoy a lazy day and a hike in Kennedy Park just a few minutes from the Winthrop Estate, or take the kids out for a sweet at Patisserie Lenox. There’s plenty to do in this area. Here are more ideas for family fun in the Berkshires.
Photo credit to John Fitzpatrick of MomentsKept.com.
Lettuce from the Winthrop Estate Garden (photo from the summer of 2010)
Last summer when I was sitting on the verandah, savoring a Winthrop Estate salad that was picked moments earlier, I felt like I knew what heaven must be like. I fell in love with that bite as it was such an intense, fully engaged, ‘all-senses on’ experience. I can hardly wait for the harvest!
A farmer? I never thought I’d be a farmer. But, based on our bountiful harvest the last two years and our unbounded enthusiasm for organic, locally grown, high quality vegetables, and the fact that my kids eat them right off ‘the vine’, we have expanded the Winthrop Estate farm this year. We added more space for beds and completed the cultivation in late May, and we are now a small CSA with a handful of lucky, near by families and one restaurant as members (the shares sold out within a few phone calls).
We have planted tomatoes, beans, peppers, lettuces, carrots, corn, parsley, basil, and more… (the full list can be seen in this <Winthrop Estate’s Organic Farm> post) and just last week we completed the beds with some plants from Left Field Farm. Within a few weeks we will be ready to harvest the new crops. We already have plenty of chives, scallions (quite strong and flavorful), spearmint and chocolate mint, and all have wonderfully intense flavors unlike we find in most grocery stores. We distribute the produce each week to the participating farm members, the guests of the Winthrop Estate, and a wonderful local restaurant, Nudel.
Because I love the organic fresh vegetables, in addition to being an enthusiastic farmer, I am a fan of the farmer’s markets and CSAs and am always looking for places to eat locally-grown, organic produce. I am so pleased that there are many opportunities to get Berkshire produce at local restaurants and stores. See the Berkshire Grown site for more information on the farm to table week they have created in early June.
Master Bath
A guest greeted me this morning with “This place is so nice! You have kept the charm and feel of a historic house and at the same time you have made many upgrades that make it so comfortable.” That was a good way to start my day!
You can see above the charm of a cracking fire the master bathroom, with a bubble bath drawn in the deep antique English soaking tub, original to the house; and the long nickel faucet handles for the tub, also original. The house was built in the late 1920s and Halstead Lindsley, the man who built the mansion that stands today, brought in only the best.
Guests also enjoy the upgrades we have made– we’ve added wifi, air conditioning and put in a new heating system, to name a few.
Tulip Bouquet
- Mother’s Day Bouquet
We are looking forward to a full Berkshire weekend, with Mother’s Day celebrations. The Berkshire Botanical Garden’s Annual Plant Sale, is this Saturday and Sunday, and they usually have some lovely, unusual plants. Also, the Pleasant Valley Wildlife Sanctuary is offering a Mother’s Day Wildflower Talk & Tea on Sunday. After going to wildlife talks I always come away with a greater appreciation of the natural beauty that surrounds us. And, for one of the best brunches in the area, look at Haven Cafe and Bakery in Lenox, right down the road from Winthrop Estate.
Spring Has Sprung!
It is starting to feel like spring here in the Berkshires! Crocuses and daffodils – the perennial symbol of springtime– are in full bloom here at Winthrop Estate. Migratory birds are returning and we are awakening to the enchanting sounds of their morning chirping.
Planting Peas
Here at Winthrop our gardeners have planted the first crop of the season, and this year we will harvest green and red leaf lettuce, peas, spinach, kale, carrots, leaks, hungarian peppers, and plenty more. This weekend, we are excited to be expanding our organic garden and are thrilled to be offering fresh, organic produce “farm to table” at Winthrop Estate. Berkshire County is renowned for it’s farm to table philosophy and has played a leading role in it’s development. Winthrop Estate is proud to be a part of this movement. In addition to stocking our own kitchen with delicious, fresh produce, we supply local restaurants, such as Nudel, here in Lenox.
