Julie Middleton says if you had asked her when she was a teenager if she would ever come back to the family property where she grew up in Temple, she would have said, “No way, no how.”
“Back then, when I was 17, I couldn’t wait to leave, but now it’s my favorite place in the world, ” she said. “It’s funny how things work out.”
The nearly 200-acre former farm on the south side of Route 101 in Temple has been in Middleton’s family for over 100 years. Her parents, Richard and Gertrude Odell, ran a dairy farm on the land for over 50 years, through the 1980s. Gertrude Odell, who was a registered nurse and hospital educator until she was 90, stayed on the property until she was 103, and tended the gardens until her final days.
The property is named Beechwood Farm, after a large grove of beech trees on the western side.
Middleton continues to cultivate many of her mother’s plants.
“Those are my mother’s peonies, and they are still thriving, ” Middleton said.
The foundations of the original dairy barn still exist across the gravel road that runs past the farm.
Since taking over the property, Middletown and her husband, Barry West, built an addition onto the original 1750 Cape house, adding a modern kitchen and a great room surrounded by outdoor patios and overlooking the gardens.
The rooms in the antique Cape house retain the original hand-carved beams and fireplace.
“The dining room is my favorite room in the house. There are many happy memories,” Middleton said.
Middleton and West worked with garden designer Gordon Hayward to create the initial plan for the gardens and lawns surrounding the house. Horticulturalist Lexi Osgood, who has deep ties to the Monadnock region, now maintains the gardens at Beechwood Farm.
“Since I came on board three years ago, it’s been a lesson in curating,” Osgood said. “There were a lot of really wonderful plants, and it was just a question of putting them in better locations, putting things that work together, and looking at color theory and balance.”
According to Osgood, Middleton is the driving force behind the flowerbeds, while West is “the water guy.”
“There are water features tucked in every garden on the property,” Osgood said. “There are fountains everywhere.”
Middleton and West are also both dog lovers. A pair of mossy stone dogs welcome visitors to the property at the front gate, and dog-themed statues and sculptures are sprinkled throughout the house and the grounds.
Middleton and West, who is British, are both inspired by British landscape and garden design, and Middleton particularly loves the farm country of the Cotswolds. Middleton and West are both avid walkers, and the property has mowed paths throughout the fields, reminiscent of English stately homes.
The farm spans a ridge along the edge of the Wapack range, with views to Pack Monadnock directly to the north and Holt Peak to the south. Temple Mountain is directly to the west.
Osgood said this year is the first year “everyone has felt like we’ve got synergy.”
“We all feel like that the property is now a whole, in terms of design,” Osgood said. “When I started, the plants were all really young. As you can see, in the perennial beds, the soil is gorgeous — it’s old soil that has never been disturbed, and we have really been able to cultivate things to where we want them to be.”
Statues and sculptures are scattered throughout the gardens, and Osgood has many lit up at night. Middleton, who has worked with many talented local gardeners over the years, says Osgood has “brought the property to its finest hour.”
A garden adjacent to the oldest part of the house includes heirloom plants and shrubs that have been on the property since Middleton was a child.
“We made a big effort to save these when the house was renovated, and they are really thriving,” Osgood said.
The property includes a large tract of woods in conservation easement with the Piscataquog Conservancy, which adjoins the Temple Mountain Reservation. The Wapack Trail runs across parts of the property.
Osgood says the land is home to abundant wildlife, including a mama bear who frequents the upper field. The property also includes legacy apple trees, some of which are over 100 years old. A rock garden was constructed from stones on-site, and the couple added several small ponds.
“I did cultivate honey once in one of our oldest trees, and a bear came and wiped it all out,” Osgood laughed. “But that is all part of being here.”
The property has been featured on two tours with the National Garden Conservancy, and was also featured as a “Visiting Garden” by the Garden Club of Dublin, of which Middleton is a member.
“We just feel very fortunate to be here,” Middleton said.
