This Breathtaking Vermont Farmhouse, Complete with Stunning Stonework, Is a Garden-Lover's Dream

"There's nothing more rudimentary than rock," says Vermont-based assemblage artist Dan Snow, who is known the world over for turning the rudimentary into the extra­ordinary. An award-winning master crafts­man, Snow has spent the past four decades building breathtaking stone sculptures in public and private venues from Bend, Oregon, to Helsinki, Finland. Twenty years ago, when the owners of Woodland Farms, a private property in southern Vermont, wanted to make their new home seem like it had been there for centuries, they knew just whom to call. The couple had fallen in love with his designs after seeing them in a magazine, and were so determined to work with him that they waited a full year before he was even available to meet.

It was worth it, for both parties. The first time Snow crested the dramatically uphill road to the 316­-acre site, he was blown away. "The panorama of distant hills was exhila­rating," he recalls. "It was like looking at a roller coaster." The house, set between two knolls, was in the process of being built and had an unremarkable cemented­-stone wall nearby. But Snow immediately saw vast potential. There was a pond to the north; an orchard planted with uncommon apples like "Ashmead's Kernel," "Blue Pearmain," and "Yellow Transparent" to the west (the owners later added pears, cherries, plums, and peaches); and in the east, a steep meadow.

"It was full of promising three­-dimensional opportunities," he says. In other words, it was simply begging for Snow's chosen medium: ancient-­looking boulders and jagged and geometric rocks. To compose one arresting scene after another, he keyed into the nuances of the land's horizon line, various elevations, and even wind currents.

His first project was a rectangular dry­-stone wall around the couple's vegetable garden. Snow collected hundreds of the build­ing blocks, found in piles around the property that were vestiges from old field walls. Then he dug a four-foot-­deep trench around the 60-­by-­90-­foot area, filled it with crushed rock, and carefully placed each stone, crafting an intricate, artful puzzle. Since he works solo, this endeavor took about two months. The couple were thrilled, and soon Snow was building more walls, along with ter­races, pathways, and steps.

Another facet of this spectacular setting owes to Woodland Farms' sensitive and savvy owners, one of whom knows her way around the conifers, trees, and alpine plants that can withstand a mountaintop's heavily drained, exposed conditions—and has planted accordingly. Evergreens provide blocks of solid color, while succulents spring up between rock crevices, rooting the giant slabs in place.

Over the numerous seasons Snow has spent on the property, he has fallen deeply under its spell. "If you work with the same plot of land for eight hours a day, you appreciate its subtleties," he says. "There's a magical quality here. When the sunlight reflects off the autumn leaves, it colors the misty air. It is unlike anywhere else."