# @ahs_gardening on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DMQmgK2yuzY
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/55035743-ahs-gardening-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/283899e615.jpg
- **Posted:** 2025-07-18T18:35:46.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** American Horticultural Society | American Gardener Magazine (@ahs_gardening) — https://gondola.cc/ahs_gardening

## Caption

From a rough start to a flourishing haven—Bruce Lockhart’s property in Petersham, Massachusetts, is proof that any landscape can be transformed with vision and patience. 🌿⁠
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Today, Swift River Farm features edible gardens, orchards, rock gardens, and scenic walkways weaving through formal allées, wildflower paths, cut flower rows, and meadowlands.⁠
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Bruce and his husband, Gus Block, spent decades cultivating this spectacular patchwork of horticultural obsessions. Of their 87 acres, 70 were placed in conservation easement, while the rest became an astonishing apple orchard, an immense vegetable garden, a formal flower garden, and a rock garden born from the bounty of buried boulders.⁠
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With help from garden designer Gordon Hayward, they brought life to every corner—koi ponds, herb beds, bluestar hedges, and more. We loved hearing from Tovah Martin how Bruce’s connection to local plant enthusiasts led him to join the North American Rock Garden Society ( na_rockgardensociety) and create his own rock garden.⁠
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Swift River Farm is the story of a gardener’s quest to do it all—and proof that you can.⁠
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Tap the link in our bio to read more in the May/June issue of The American Gardener.⁠
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Not a member yet? Join us for full access to all our issues and resources. 🌸⁠
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#SwiftRiverFarm #AHSgardening #AmericanGardener #RockGardens #HerbGardens #FormalGardens #Bluestar #GardenInspiration #GardenDesign #amsonia⁠
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swiftriverfarm tovah1 ⁠
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 images by Kindra Clineff

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## Tags

americangardener, gardeninspiration, rockgardens, formalgardens, bluestar, ahsgardening, herbgardens, gardendesign, swiftriverfarm, amsonia

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