Last updated on July 23rd, 2017
This week, due to myriad medical appointments for Lily the Beagle (update: she’s better now), I was not able to write a new step-by-step recipe for you. But I did produce a very raw (and totally unscripted) new video! Take a walk with me (or just click the play arrow above), and I’ll show you the 19th-century house, the ancient maple trees, the evergreen privacy screens, and a few of the garden “rooms” that decorate my village property in New York State.
Kudos again to Garden Design magazine for making the video tour a reality. Subscribe to this trusted (and ad-free!) source of garden inspiration through my website or YouTube channel, and you’ll receive your first issue for free! Just go to www.gardendesign.com/kevin or call (855) 624-5110 and tell ’em Kevin Lee Jacobs sent you.
And finally…please forgive me for making such a long, drawn-out video! I’ll try to walk and talk a little faster next time around.
Love ya!
Kevin-
You may also like:
Tracy says
Kevin, I so enjoyed the outdoor tour of your property. I too have a very mature garden, which poses its own challenges, but also takes on forms that newer gardens just can’t replicate. You asked for feedback on the video. For what my two cents is worth, I honestly think you excel at the written word much more than video or film. I’ve stopped watching any of the cooking videos, but read every post. You have such a wonderful way with words and frame up your ideas and photos so beautifully. Very few people, even those who are utterly charming in person, translate well in video or film. But you’re such a wonderful writer, I hope you’ll refocus on your posts. Regardless, I appreciate all of your gardening tips and information and thank you for putting it out there for us to consume.
Susan Harris says
I enjoyed rambling through your garden with you today. It is quite beautiful. You are a kind person which comes through in both your posts and videos.
Thank you for sharing it with us!
Heidi says
Kevin I love you! After enjoying your photo tours in the past I was very excited to see this live tour! Thank you so much for sharing!
Jerry Miller says
Hi, I loved the video. Man, what a garden! It’s beautiful to look at. I really love all the rock steps and rock wall. Your garden has a very mature look and feel to it. You have some incredible trees! I’m trying to get my house to have the same “feel”.
Although I don’t have as much space as you have, I like the look of gardens comprised of mature plants and lots of perennials. When I take my dog around the neighborhood for his daily walk, I’m always looking other people’s yards. Some yards have incredible displays of perennials. I’m in awe at some of these flower beds have been in bloom since the snow started to melt; there seems to a new type of flower coming in bloom, taking over the spot of a fading flower.
Thanks for the video. I really enjoyed seeing your garden.
apoppy says
I always enjoy your tours, inside and out! Your plants have matured nicely.
Loretta Zone 5 PNW says
Just discovered this website of gardening heaven. Kevin, I love you already! The tour was awesome…. I would love to see a 2017 update on the asparagus bed! You are inspirational. Thank you. =)
Sarah says
Thanks for the tour, Kevin! I missed my trip for the garden tour last August due to my father’s passing. He was the consummate gardener right into his nineties. I think I liked this video best because it was unscripted. More personal. I love and use your posts all the time. Thanks for restoring this lovely ol’ lady of a house, and rebuilding her beautiful gardens that frame her like a lovely green gown.
So happy Lily is improving. Sending good karma to you both.
Rose says
Kevin,
I loved the video tour of the property! I don’t know how you keep up with it all. Love the house!! Thank you for sharing and thanks for the milk/water spray formula for zinnias. We battle powdery mildew like crazy! I enjoy your cooking videos as well. I might not never make the dish, but it is fun watching you and you make it seem so simple!
Pat G says
Kevin, I thoroughly enjoyed your garden tour video today and look forward to seeing more of your beautiful grounds and gardens.
frederique jennette says
What a lovely garden you have, with such a superb selection of gorgeous trees and bushes.
The boxwood garden is so artistically designed, what a wonderful job you did on that! I love the layout of the garden too, with all the various hidden corners, paths and statuary. It was a joy to watch the video, thank you for sharing it with us.
Gail L says
Thanks for the tour! I really loved seeing your gardens. The different areas or outdoor rooms are enchanting. In your vegetable garden, how do you get water to the plants in the dry times? It looked quite a distance from the house.
My favorite is still the boxwood garden! The fact that it once was an asphalt parking lot and now a lush garden, speaks to your talents and green thumb! I also really like the hardscaping with the low steps you
have done throughout the gardens.
Keep making the videos! I can’t wait until you do your tour inside the house! Sending a hug to Ms. Lily hoping she is well on the mend. Love that furbaby!
Diane says
Hi Kevin, What happened to Lily? I must have missed something here. Ok, going to watch your video now! Have a great day.
Patricia says
First, I hope Lily continues to improve and is fully well soon! I always look forward to whatever you choose to share with everyone, be it recipes, your lovely home and garden or news about Lily the Beagle. I so enjoyed your video tour of your garden. It’s as if one were there walking along with you and seeing the results of the work and effort you put into making the garden a welcoming and peaceful place. Thank you.
sandra says
Hi Kevin: Thanks so much for this spectacular garden tour. It really is an enchanted garden. A lot of time and effort was put into it. Your love of plants and trees really shows nicely. I’ll be back for another tour. The humidity is quite intense but the garden loves it and you can really see that. xo
Patricia Panuccio says
Thank you for the tour. You are an inspiration.
SueEllen says
This tour was so inspiring Kevin.
We lost a lot of trees in a tornado and the idea of using some Thuja Green Giant evergreens for
some privacy was just the idea I was needing. And your kitchen garden is simply wonderful. I hope to do the same near our green house.
You are such a joy with all that you do for us.
Thank you and may God Bless you and your family 🙂
cecile says
Happy to read that Lily is well 🙂
Nice video.
You and Mr Silverfox own a great property 🙂
Pamela McRae says
I loved the tour. And I am SO impressed by your garden. It’s wonderful and so natural and relaxed. You must have help with it, as I don’t see how you could possibly do all the work yourself, but I know you have the vision, and that shows in abundance. My three favorite things to do are visit art museums, dine in find restaurants, and tour beautiful gardens. This was great, and I look forward to future tours of your beautiful grounds. Can’t wait to see inside your house as well!
Susan McNally says
Kevin, thank you so much for sharing your gardens. It was wonderful!
Phyllis says
Thank you for sharing a part of your life with us, you are a special person to do this. I love all your videos, especially seeing your outdoor gardens, which are amazing! Since being retired, I try to spend most of my days in my gardens; i.e., veggie garden, herb garden and flower garden. Thank you again Kevin for your humor and expertise. Hopefully you will play the piano for us again. Prayers for Lily….
Susan says
A lovely personal tour of a well thought out and creative garden. It was a pleasure to walk with you and hear how the garden developed and changed with your needs. Lots of great inspiration for shade and how to plan the different outdoor rooms and picking and vegetable gardens.
Karen Wheeler says
LOVED the video of your lovely, COMFORTABLE property. The gardens are an inspiration. The vista into distant hills from your front yard also looked worthy of some ‘wine-down’ time in adirondacks on a cool afternoon in autumn. Love it all, and YOU! So glad you share. Thank you!
linda faatz says
How much land do you have? Looks like several acres. Beautiful tour. Thanks
mindy says
Kevin
I am a newbie and I am enjoying you so much! Thanks for the recipes and tour!
Mindy
Valerie says
What *fun* ~ enjoyed your part of *paradise* with my morning coffee…..thank you for that….just gorgeous….excellent narration! 🙂
Linda says
Your garden tour was interesting and just plain enjoyable. It was like going thru the rooms of a home. So much for the eyes to take in. I can see all the hard work that goes into having such a gorgeous place , but also your love of creating a hideaway that brings peace and contentment. Thank you for sharing.
Kathy says
It is such a pleasure to watch your video and see the loving care you have for nature. Thank you
Sherry Pace says
Loved the video tour of the gardens – especially since we got to see them in person one year through the Garden Conservancy. I too think the boxwood garden is super special because you removed blacktop to create it, but the rest is lovely too. With only 1/8 acre, I can’t possibly hope to do what you did but enjoy it all the same…
Linda A says
Really, really enjoyed watching this video, Kevin.
You gave me ideas and helped me dream a bit about what to do with my own garden.
Thanks!
Ellie says
I loved visiting your garden. It’s been years since I’ve been there and things have grown and are so beautiful, but a little different. I love how gardens change over the years–some from what we do and some just naturally. Thank you for the tour!
Lynda Mitchell says
Hello, Kevin, just sat down with a cup of morning tea and watched your garden tour video. Enjoyed it thoroughly. I live on the west coast of Canada, originally from Ontario, so familiar with your part of the country. Love your home, so warm and welcoming, and love your amazing garden and grounds. Thanks so much for sharing, look forward to more “tour”!
Cheers!
Carla says
Thank you, Kevin. Very graciously and eloquently done. Having moved from northwest PA, I miss the mature trees and shady gardens. You’ve done a wonderful job with your garden, and made it into a haven. I appreciate the tips and the money-saving ideas, too!
Stephanie says
Hi Kevin!
I enjoyed the raw video so much I was sad it ended. What a beautiful home and garden you have. It was a joy to watch. Now I’m off to buy some …. privacy trees which I can not remember the name you said so I will have to watch the video again! Yay!
Jeanne Meeks says
What a lovely property you have. It looks like a lot of work, but worth the effort. Enjoy!
Louise says
Hearing you speak of witch hazel makes me so happy. I planted a few in the rear yard and love seeing them as winter wanes, briefly, long before spring. Thanks for sharing your gardens. It’s inspiring!
Beverly, zone 6, eastern PA says
Refreshing!
My favorite area is the gently sloping bluestone steps. Placing plant material against stone is simultaneously dramatic and utilitarian. You worked really hard getting to this point and it shows.
Samantha Gray says
Kevin, your garden is breathtaking! Thank you for the tour.
sandie says
beautiful gardens and you do such a good job of describing what you have done. I don’t often comment but this was really nice to see. You have a very very large garden. Love getting your emails.
Maureen Lewis says
Very nice following you on the tour of your property. I would be very proud of everything you have accomplished to make it so inviting if I was you. Loved your statues and their names, and I’m going to try to copy your boxwood idea with at least one of my raised beds. If its successful I’ll take a picture. Thank you for everything you share, it’s delightful to watch.
Maureen from Massachusetts
Carole says
Nice video and glad to see you using so many native plants.
Jean Harrison says
Terrific video. You have a right to be proud of your property with all the work you have done on it. The trees are divine. Living in Nevada we get excited if a tree gets more than 10′ high. Everything struggles so here. I tried your method of propogating boxwood but it just never survived. Thank you for filming your garden so we desert-rats can get our green-fix for the day. It has made me so happy!
Marta says
Such beautiful gardens and lovely home! I was happy to see that you gave the tour even though there’d been a storm the night before. It’s easy to see that you’re gardens are very well loved and managed. I am presently rooting boxwoods and planning where to put them and whom to share them with. Thank you for the tour!
Justine M says
What a property! Clover Hill found the right caretakers to love her in her old age. You are inspirational and encouraging in all you do (gardening, cooking, cleaning, etc., etc.!!). How many years have you been working on this place? Thank you for sharing! Oh, and thank you Garden Design for sponsoring. And sending healing vibes Lily’s way. 🙂
Cornelia Vick says
Lovely Garden tour………….I enjoys every minute. Can’t wait to see more. You are quite
the host, and we all look forward to whatever comes next…… Thank you so much
for all you do to keep us inspired…………… Cornelia
Becca says
Throw out your scripts! I loved this unscripted, uncut video best! Also, in my humble opinion, there’s no such thing as a garden video that’s too long. 😉 I hope to see more of your gardens and grounds soon! Love, love, love it!
Laura says
The leisurely pace of your tour was perfect for me to enjoy two G&Ts. Now I feel like I’ve actually experienced your garden. I’m sure I’m not the only one who appreciates the opportunity to savor, peruse, ponder, linger, enjoy…
GB says
Lovely, thank you so much for this month’s tour
Kathleen says
Love, love, love your garden tour video!!! Thanks so much for inviting us along. I’ve been following you for years, and can honestly say that the still pictures you’ve shown don’t do justice to your gardens compared with the video. Give us more videos of your wonderful home, please❤️
Laura Munoz says
You have a wonderful garden and home. I’m a long-time gardener and know just how much work went into all of it. The garden is both beautiful and tasteful. I liked the video and think you excel both in words and on tape. Thank you so much for your gracious tour.
Patricia says
Loved the tour! Thanks so much.
BB says
What a great green world you’ve created. Thank you for this tour.
Ronnie says
Hi Kevin! Loved your video.. …I agree with Becca..uncut unscripted is the best! Your gardens are BEAUTIFUL!!!
Thanks for the tour!
Ronnie ☺
Joan says
Thank you so much for this fantastic Garden tour! OH MY! The work you have put in to this more than wonderful property; really a treat to see something so well done and beautiful; as is the case what ever you do, be it interior, exterior, cooking etc. It is always a welcome treat to see what you have done to display well thought out and thoroughly beautiful living! Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful loving home of Grace…
Lizee A. says
What a treat, everything in the garden looks so healthy and full of vigor to produce a wonderful garden. Here in north Louisiana we are inside in the air conditioning. The heat index is 104 and a slight breeze makes it very uncomfortable to be out. Adding to that a humidity reading of 90 plus.
Most of our first plantings in the veggie garden are finishing and the second and third plantings are coming along.
I enjoy visiting your blog and my favorite picture of you is when you were standing by the herb garden gate with the glass of wine. Loved your hair cut then. So sharp. Truly my opinion.
Kelly @ Middle Earth Gardens says
Kevin, thank you so much for sharing this! It was great to get a sense of the scale of your garden. I enjoyed that you added extra photos during the tour (of the lilacs, for instance) to show other seasons.
SR says
Kevin, your garden is a masterpiece of art and labor. You have a lovely period feel and experiencing it is like stepping back to a more elegant time. An oasis! I particularly love that you focus on larger elements like shrubs and your magnificent trees, and not so much on big perennial beds.
One question I’ve wanted to ask you for a while is — who trims all that box? If it is you, do you have a good trimmer recommendation?
Thanks for your posts. I always look forward to them.
Deborah Goodman says
Beautiful garden!!! We just had to relocate one of those black and white stripped ” kitties” that was in our garden and wrecking havoc. Next year the fence will definitely be going up.
Donna Besst says
Thank you Kevin for taking the time to make the video. I just adore your gardens, such thought and care. Someday I hope to come to view your property in person on the tour.
Nancy says
Thank you for the tour, Kevin. It took me right back to last summer when you offered tours of your gardens through The Garden Conservancy. My daughters surprised me with tickets for my 60th birthday and joined me for an overnight stay in the Hudson Valley (we’re from Taunton, MA). Your property is even more beautiful than any video could suggest, and I would recommend that anyone who has a chance to take the tour should do just that. I will never forget that memorable weekend with my girls or the fact that you came out to find me to wish me a happy birthday.
Judy McCarrel says
Thank you, Kevin for this tour of your lovely gardens. I enjoy everything that you post, recipes and gardening.
Rosie S says
How lovely….and great ideas, especially the tomato ‘stakes’. Loved this tour!
Julie R says
I so enjoyed your garden tour Kevin, as I am also a long time gardener. Glad you did the tour unscripted. And I’m glad that you let us know about sweet Lily and that she is feeling better.
Susan Owens says
Hi Kevin,
Really enjoyed taking a tour of your garden. Videos are nice, but I agree with Tracy in that I love your writing style. Please don’t stop writing in favor of videos. Maybe a little of both? Hope Lily is all better. xo
Mary says
Hi Kevin,
A great tour! I love old homes and yours is beautiful. How is Lily?
Han says
Hi Kevin,
Thank you for the garden tour! i could spend hours in that garden. We recently bought a house in the Catskills, any tips on getting animals like deers from eating your plantings?
Thanks
Phyllis says
This is an update on my experimental tomato sucker plants. They are spindly and have only one or two tomatoes growing, as opposed to the plants I purchased at White Flower Farm in Litchfield, CT Memorial Day weekend. My favorite is Sun Gold Tomatoes and Green Zebra. Thanks for all your thoughts and your expertise.
Em says
Writing from BC Canada
Really enjoyed your beautiful gardens. You are truly blessed. Thanks so much for sharing .
Em
Susan says
I love your videos…..all of them. Yes you are a great writer , but your kind spirit comes right through the screen in your videos and you make all recipes look simple. Please keep the videos coming! I am in awe of your garden btw.
Barbara says
Kevin loved the tour.. Congrats to you with such vision .. I hope you have help.. Gardening, which I love but is hard work.. glad Lily is improving.. Look forward to the recipes and whatever else you provide..
Pam R says
Loved, loved, LOVED your tour!! Thank you Kevin!!
Selma says
Thank you for this beautiful tour! Your property is beautiful!
Karen says
I LOVE-LOVE-LOVE SEEING YOUR GARDENS AND ESPECIALLY YOU ACTING AS A WARM HOST, NARRATING THE VIDEO!
(Yes I’m shouting for the world to hear and hope my words carry from land locked Colorado)
Thank you for a glimpse into your outdoor world and the insight that comes with it. I look forward to many, many more tours!
(BTW I’m thinking the commenter Tracy 1 is the voice of your headless Venus statuary. Please don’t let his/her comments stop you from producing more videos)
Betti F says
I love all your tours, especially the garden ones. You are an inspiration and so creative and talented. I have only 1 acre and don’t know how to make it lovely and when I do have a pretty good idea, at 72 I just don’t have the energy I used to. But you do inspire me and I’m thinking I just might do something with boxwood!
Thanks for sharing these things with us.
Betti in New Jersey
Jane Howe says
That was so fine. What a gentle way to set the tone for a Sunday morning. But in my house you will always be the SPAETZLE guy. I even had to get a blue bowl!
Octo-woman says
Kevin, you can call it “Clover Hill” if you want to, but I think it should be renamed. To “Heaven”. Many thanks to the kind archangel who gave us this awesome tour of it.
Barb Peters says
Loved the tour, thanks
cindy skarin says
Loved you garden tour! Thank you so much for the walk through and education about different plants. I look forward to your email in my mailbox every Sunday morning!
pam says
enjoyed strolling through your gardens. thank you. would love to see more of the terracing that you did. looked very labor intensive. the lilacs were gorgeous. thanks again.
Carmen Cassivi, Val-Morin Quebec says
Kevin, thank you for sharing such beauty with us! Your gardens are absolutely magnificent. It is so soothing to go through these beautiful “garden rooms” with you, with the classical music in the background, I have enjoyed every second.
It is very impressive what you have accomplished on the steep part of your property.
And I also look forward to each of your cooking or gardening videos.
Maryann Massar says
Kevin, I so much enjoyed watching your video. I too am a fellow New Yorker, however, I live upstate. Your gardens and your stone work are beautifully crafted and manicured. I don’t have boxwood and you make me so envious of your formal boxwood gardens. I love your property and what you have done to it! If I am down that way, I will contact you ahead of time to see when you have tours available. Love your home, gardens, and your recipes, I make quite a lot of them!
Jayne Sportelli says
Thanks Kevin~lovely and inspirational.
Maria Elena says
Kevin. Thank you for making the video. I loved it. I learned lots. I’m going to look up Witch Hazel to see it and if it blooms in southeast Wisconsin. Hope your cataract surgery was a breeze. That was yesterday.
Trish Walker says
I can’t tell you how much I enjoy watching these videos over and over again. Reminds me of going into a really interesting antique shop. Must go around 2-3 times so as not to miss anything.
I have also been so inspired by your choice of plantings and have taken your ideas and implented them into my own gardens. Thank you Thank you
Susan Youngs aka Lady Hagathorn says
What nice tour to take in January!