Grounds
Charles Downing Lay Gardens
The Charles Downing Lay gardens were commissioned by Edwin Lefevre in 1914. Lay, famous for his public parks initiatives and founding Landscape Architecture Magazine, created a Italiante garden in Dorset Vermont. Over 36 hand carved planters, benches and fountains were created specifically for this garden. In addition, a marble tea house and stone pergola enhance the formal gardens. Water is gravity fed and sent from the spring house down through the gardens to create a magic and old world presence rarely seen today.
Farm
Seasonal vegetables and herbs and are grown for the residents and events hosted by Marble House Project. Residents are encouraged to plant and harvest with the help of our staff and learn about sustainability. Marble House Project has 13 chickens that produce eggs daily and the farm is utilized most frequently by our culinary artists. Whether it is planting, harvesting or just observing, residents learn about sustainability, when and how to plant, and why growing organically makes sense for our planet. Our artists rely on the farm for their food and it connects them to the earth.
Sanford Quarry
The Sanford Quarry, once the fourth largest in Dorset, closed in 1870, leaving behind stacks of abandoned marble blocks that remain today. In 2014, the National Geographic “Building Wild” team constructed the Marble Getaway Cabin on the site. Artists come here to swim, build fires, relax and read. Rich with waterfalls, dense growth and surprises, the Sandford Quarry is a true nature lovers paradise.
Fields
Walking trails wind through wooded hillsides and open out to fields of wildflowers and sweeping views of the Green Mountains. In summer, the main lawn fills with thyme. The landscape shifts dramatically across seasons — from lush green meadows scattered with marble remnants to snow-covered fields under moody winter skies.
