On the coast of Rhode Island, 70-acre Goosewing Farm in Little Compton has been farmed for 200 years, bounded by three bodies of water: Quicksand Pond, Tunipus Pond, and the Atlantic Ocean. For Michael Vergason Landscape Architects, the challenge was to preserve habitats for endangered shorebirds, marsh plants, and wildlife.
The landscape plan, which received an Honor Award from the American Society of Landscape Architects two years ago, integrates the farms' buildings with a windswept landscape of meadow and beachfront while creating sanctuaries for both freshwater and oceanfront flora and fauna.
Photographs via Michael Vergason Landscape Architects except where noted.
Above: "Farmer stack" dry-laid stone walls, hedgerows, and sloping fields. A house, stone barn, and silo are on a knoll 50 feet above sea level, the farm's highest elevation.
At the edge of the property, Quicksand Pond is one of Rhode Island's most important naturally flowing salt pond ecosystems. The brackish water is a habitat for fish, shrimp, crabs, and worms.
Above: Image via ASLA. Little Compton's buildings include a caretaker's house and barn, a guest house, and a main house.
Above: Photograph via Bohlin Cywinski Jackson.
Native plants—including ferns, blueberries, and cutleaf sumac—were chosen for their hardiness. Near buildings, woody plants provide protection from wind. Lawn was limited to small areas near buildings.
Above: Large swaths of grasses cover much of the property.
Above: Photograph via Bohlin Cywinski Jackson.
When the 18th-century Sisson Cottage was renovated, French doors replaced windows in the living room. A new deck the overlooks the ocean. Through the property, historic walls were preserved, as were an old stone well and cistern.
Above: Rainchains convey water to beds of ferns along the house's foundation.
Working with architects Bohlin Cywinski Jackson, the landscape architects created views—of hay fields, stone walls, a silo covered in lichen, and the ocean—from the windows.
Above: The open space between the Head House and the barn create comfortable outdoor rooms.
For more modern interpretations of the classic America farm vernacular, see An Ode to Landscape Architect Dan Kiley and Stone Edge Farm: A Peaceful Retreat in Northern California.