July Home, North/South Edition - Hersam Acorn Newspaper

8/6/2019 July Home, North/South Edition - Hersam Acorn Newspaper

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HOMEA Hersam Acorn Special Section

July2011

Greenwich Post The Darien Times New Canaan Advertiser The Ridgefield Press The Wilton Bulletin The Weston Forum The Redding Pilot The Lewisboro Ledger

Go With the FlowVastu Creates Balance

Foraging for Food & MedicineSteve Brill Leads the Way


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July 2011 HOME, a Hersam Acorn special section, Ridgefield, Conn. 3

Thank goodness for Google! Accordingto webvastu.com (yes, there is a Web sitefor virtually everything), Vastu refers to the

science of direction, which combines all thefive elements of nature (earth, water, air,fire and space) and balances them with man

(and woman, of course!) and materials.In Vastu, a 10,000-year-old science

based upon mathematical formulas, we cre-

ate design where the five elements interactin complete proportional balance to theperson or people living/working in the

environment, says Marianne, a Bedford,N.Y., native with 23 years of interior designexperience. It predates Classicism and

Feng shui, and is evidenced in some ofthe great works of time, like the GreekParthenon and Mayan pyramids.

The Good Earth

Marianne works with architects to designnew structures that are properly alignedwith the Earths grid. Most new buildingsare just put up, with no thought given to

the buildings placement, she says. Whena building is designed in accordance withthe principles of Vastu, then the site and

the structure are aligned to the Earths grid,comparable to longitude and latitude.

When incorporating Vastu principles

into interior design, she first works with theclient to determine what his or her image of

the desired environment might feel or looklike in relation to the clients image of hap-piness for themselves and their family.

By taking that image and placing it in a

five-element grid, says Marianne, a plan iscreated and then further refined using suchspecifics as color, texture, reflective and flat

surfaces, pure space versus furniture, light-ing and accessories.

For existing structures, I employ what

is called rectification, and work with what

has already been built to bring it in to fullalignment with the Vastu grid, specific to

the goals of the occupants, she explains.In Vastu, the importance of a buildings

orientation is not only to save energy but

also to have a better healthy-house design,which not only results in comfortable liv-ing but also promotes good health for the

homeowners/occupants.For rectifications, Marianne strategically

places energy-correction devices such as

keystones, copper tubes, specific yantras

(the Sanskrit word for instrument ormachine) and sound to create harmony

and balance within the space.

See Vastu page 6


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4 HOME, a Hersam Acorn special section, Ridgefield, Conn. July 2011

Take a walk in the woods oralong any country path or evenaround the edges of your own gar-den and you can be surrounded bya farmers market of fresh ediblesand a pharmacy of cures.

Steve Brill, plant-man, author,artist, jokester (who calls himself

Wildman), searches, studies and

cooks priceless wild vegetationthat has been re-seeding itself andreturning, unannounced, for thou-sands of years. But you mustntgo foraging without knowledge,because just as were blessed withplants that can feed us and cure us,there are plants that can kill us.

On a Sunday afternoon walk

through Millstone Farm in Wilton,Steve led a group of seekers, curi-ous about the whole idea of for-aging and hoping to be able todistinguish the useful from thedangerous. Our ancestors usedto live off the land. There arehundreds of wild food plants thathave been used for thousands of

years, Steve reminded everyone.Knowing that Millstone Farms 75acres are free of commercial chemi-cals made the idea of chewing ontwigs and stems, leaves and flowersquite acceptable.

Foraging requires observationof every detail of the plant: leafshape and position, stem, flower,

Wildman Steve Brill

FORAGING FOR FOOD AND MEDICINE

by Lois Alcosser

Steve Brill points out that foraging requires observation of every detail of a plant: leaf shape and position, stem, flower,texture, smell.

VioletBrillphoto

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Stone Walls and Masonry Work

Landscape Image Design

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Box 1019, Ridgefield CT 06877

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Jackie Perry, editorJessica Perlinski, designer

Thomas B. Nash,publisher

For advertising information

call 203-438-6544JULY 2011 VOL XV, ISSUE 7

Special Section to:

Greenwich Post, The Darien Times, New Canaan Advertiser,

The Ridgefield Press, The Wilton Bulletin,

The Redding Pilot, and The Weston Forum in Connecticut,

and The Lewisboro Ledger in New York

Cover photo (Home of the Month): Bryan Haeffele.

HOMECopyright 2011, Hersam Acorn Newspapers, LLC


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texture, smell. Many plants look similarbut have different uses. One of the mostcommon plants is garlic mustard, whichhas an estrogen-like ingredient that canmess up insects reproduction and canalso lower the chance of cancer. Itsgood as a salad green, in sandwiches andpesto, soups, rice. Cooks in five minutesand when boiling waters poured over the

leaves it makes a tea thats a gentle diuret-ic, Steve explained, as he munched. Thevariety with large leaves has roots thattaste like horseradish.

Chickweed has a taste like corn-on-the-cob and its called chickweed becausechickens like to eat it. Chickweed issimply full of vitamins and minerals and,according to Steve, in the really oldendays, it was used after serious illnesses toincrease strength.

Everyone recognizes dandelions andsome gardeners think they spoil the looksof a lawn, but who knew that these plantswere great multi-taskers, providing valu-able nutrients? The flowers are tasty; mixthem into your pancake batter and youllhave delicious fritters. The leaves aretastiest in spring, before flowers appear.

According to Steve, dandelion wine is

better than pinot noir.In Steves Wild Vegetarian Cookbook,

there are recipes that will wake up anydinner party and provide enough con-versation for the evening. A plant called

jewelweed grows near water, and if yousqueeze the juice out of the stem, it willpractically erase mosquito bites. Use itright after youve touched poison ivy and

it will prevent a rash. Gather the stems,stuff them into a glass jar and add witchhazel. Be sure theres no air in the jar,shake it twice a day and in a couple ofweeks, youll have an extract to heal anykind of skin irritation, Steve promises.

Dont eat the flowers of the sweet pep-perbush. They contain soap. If you crushthem with water, they lather up. If youwant a mild, wild soap, you can make ityourself.

Passing a black birch tree, Steve brokeoff some slim young twigs and startedchewing them. They taste like winter-green. If you pour boiling water over thecatkins and let them sit for 20 minutes,add agar, liquid stevia, vanilla and orange

See Wildman page 10

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A Calming Influence

Diane Roth, owner of LArmoire in NewCanaan, is one of Mariannes very satis-fied clients. Ive always been a believer inaligning the environment, and when myshop was going through some upheaval and

emotional turmoil, I hired Marianne, whois an old friend, to perform a rectification,Diane says.

Diane, who wanted a more positive feel-ing and rhythm for her customers, felt that

Mariannes rectification had an immediateimpact on the business. Its all about get-ting in tune with your environment, andsince Marianne worked her magic on mystore, there is now a calming influence thatprevails, she says.

What role do color, pattern, texture andplacement play in the Vastu experience?According to Marianne, a great deal. Theseall come into practice during the interior-

design phase, she explains. Their inter-

Vastu continued from page 3

How can YOU protectyour family and your homes vitalsystems when the power goes out?


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action affects the visual and tactile senses

and awareness of the occupants. Usingthese elements, I work with the client tocreate an environment akin to a superb

bottle of wine ... blending flavors specificto the family, partners or organization thatwill encourage their sensory experience to

align with the goals they initially set forthin the design.

For example, in residential design, thereis a distinct difference in the effect of win-dow treatments constructed from a JimThompson Thai silk, a Christopher Hylandsilk or a Gretchen Bellinger linen, Mariannesays. Not only will the colors reflect differ-ently based on the manufacturer but alsoon the texture of the base material how itcaptures and reflects light in proportion tothe space we are designing.

Some of Mariannes other projects

include the Warren Tricomi Salon in NewYork City, Ananda Yoga and Healing Centerin New Canaan, a rectification for a rocketscientist in Denver and even for a lake in

Westchester a recification that requiredMarianne getting into a kayak with all ofher tools and covering every inch of waterand shoreline.

Brown, Harris, Stevens, a firm on New

Yorks Park Avenue, was also a particularlymemorable and challenging project. Not

only was the office situated in the wrongcorner of the building, the desks werepoorly placed and couldnt be changed.

The view, however, was superb, and it

was interesting to bring the impact of theview, the outdoor movement and electric-

ity into the balance of the Vastu, Mariannesays.

For more information, contact: mari-annedenniston.com.

To incorporate Vastu principles into interior design, Marianne Denniston works with clients to determine what

the desired environment might look like in relation to their image of happiness for their family.

photocaption

BEDFORD GRAVEL

& LANDSCAPE

SUPPLY


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July 2011 Home of the Month

LOCATION: A quiet road in Redding is the site for this distinctive

antique home, which was originally a toll house.

PROPERTY: An acre and a half of land is attractively landscapedwith a patio and an abundance of gardens, and theres a green-

house to keep those gardens flourishing.HOUSE: Built in 1800, this vintage home has been carefully

maintained. There are four fireplaces, wide-board floors and manynooks and crannies. The living room is enhanced with a fireplaceand balcony. Theres a dining room, family room with fireplace,

eat-in kitchen on the main floor and a master bedroom and twoothers on the second floor. There is a den with fireplace on the

lower level, and a total of two and one-half bathrooms.GARAGE: Two-car detached.PRICE: $842,000.

REALTY: Coldwell Banker Shaker.Agent: Liz Leonard, 203-544-9591.

Photography: Bryan Haeffele.On Sunday, July 17, there will be an Open House from 1-3.

A Vintage Homewith Character


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rind, youll have a most delicious home-made Jell-0. When his daughter Violetwas a baby and teething, chewing on a

black birch twig was very soothing. Wild carrots have the same feathery

leaves as store-bought carrots, and if

you clean off the root, they should havea carrot-like taste. But beware. Poisonhemlock looks just like wild carrot. So if

the plant smells like a dead mouse andthe stem isnt fuzzy, dont put it near yourmouth. It can be fatal. Thats the essen-

tial thing about foraging. Bad plants andgood plants can often look alike. With hisiPad of photographs and drawings, Steve

could show every vein of every leaf.Its always a treat finding wild straw-

berries, which are tiny and 10 timestastier than store-bought strawberries.The five-petal white flower is very pretty,but you have to be patient and wait until

the fruit is really red.Northern bayberry has gray berries

growing under the leaves. Theyre medic-

inal and also useful when cooking bean

dishes. Called carminatives, the berriesreduce the gassiness of beans.

The possibilities seem endless shag-

bark hickory nuts, the bulbs of a plantcalled ramp ... very good pickled. Sheepsface (sorrel), full of Vitamin C. Mullein

tea, an expectorant for coughs sinceHippocrates. The ancients thoughtplants had spirits, Steve explained, and

if you meditated, you could contact theplants spirit.

The way they decided whether a plant

was edible or not involved an interestingprocedure. Theyd boil the leaves, sip adrop, spit it out. Nibble a bit, spit it out,

nibble some more, and if there were nobad reactions, they figured the plant had

a good spirit and was edible. We dont have to go through all thespitting. Instead, take a look at Steves

Web site at wildmanstevebrill.com or

call 914-835-2153. His calendar of wildfood and ecology tours run right throughDecember.

Wildman continued from page 5

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CORRECTION: In the April issue of Home, the photos for the garden clubs sale at the Ballard Greenhouseshould have been attributed to Ann Dunnington.

AnnDunningtonphoto


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Every once in a while a reader will askme, Where do you get your ideas? I politelyinform them that everything I write is true.I can no more write fiction than I can speakSwahili, bwana.

Our adobe is in a small but sprawlingtown in the middle of the desert southwest.The thermometer hits 90 degrees in May and just gets hotter from there. As we were buy-ing the property, one of the town officials

minions, who drive around all day in a fleetof brand new, air-conditioned Ford trucks,informed us that according to regulation 234-gh22-b (I did make that part up), our housereverted to commercial zoning status when

the last occupants moved out. In order for usto actually live on the property, we require azoning change.

Across the arcing summer, we have totravel out there three separate times for three

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One of our towns charms is the ancientadobe homes that pepper the dusty lots. With

the stream of hot-and-cold-running cash fun-neling through the municipal coffers, youdthink the new civic architecture projects might

replicate, or at least complement, the old style

that has been so lovingly mummified by thehot sun. Instead, they are more inspired by

the design of the temple of Dendur than thetime-tested, thick-walled and rough-timberedadobes. The county courthouse, a majestic,

turreted symbol of Rogers and HammersteinsAmerican back country, has been abandonedin favor of a complex of looming, brown air-

conditioned cubes. The town government,which seems to be the second largest employ-er in the area, is housed in a characterless,

earth-toned, gunnite-encrusted town hall atthe dead end of Main Street, a location ripewith metaphor.

It is through the pneumatic doors of thisbuilding that the planning and zoning meet-ing was assembling. The huge main meet-ing room, the grandest of grand ballrooms,spread out for miles around. The vastnessis so large as to require microphones be

wired onto all the participants in order thattheir voices reach the maximum potentialaudience. On this occasion I was one of fivemembers of the assembled crowd.

It appeared, at first, that the meeting wasnot going to happen at all ... after a long,

expensive flight and the rental fee for aluxury Japanese desert yacht. The one com-missioner necessary to make up a quorumhad not showed, and bylaws only allowedfor so much wait time. As the minutes tickedby, I could see my presentation in tiny pic-tures on a distant laptop that was wired to aprojector to better describe my plans to theopen meeting.

The missing commissioner arrived at thelast possible minute and the two presenta-tions in front of mine were delivered to theboard. I assumed that the other four citizenswere (literally) locked-and-loaded and readyto clamor at the dais, when a public forumwas opened, to complain about my requestedzoning change. No hands were raised. Theboard asked only that I describe the locationof the property, by which each member haddriven on the way in that night.

Home Moanercontinued from page 13


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The P and Z unanimously recommendedthat the mayor and town council accept myrequest, and off in the distance I could hear,with the aid of a modern PA system, thesound of a gavel hitting the simulated wood-grain podium in front of the chairperson.

I called Mellissa with the good news fromthe parking lot. Well have to show up in per-son at two more meetings over the summer.We are taking turns.

As I drove back to the air-conditionedsafety of my fathers cozy guest cottage, I went

by the old adobe and basked in the eveningheat as the sunset dyed the horizon an almostunnatural combination of orange and purple.The possibility of transplanting our lives tothis place had moved one step further along.The possibilities were as endless as the pile ofmoney it would undoubtedly take for us tobring it back to its nascent glory. The visionwas so real I could almost see Alan Ladd lurk-ing in the lengthening shadows.

Smile when you say that. [email protected].

Main Street, early morning, mid-June.

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July Home, North/South Edition - Hersam Acorn Newspaper