PEAKING Ahead

Spring Tours at Moss Mountain Farm

By SARAH COLEMAN // Photos Courtesy of P. ALLEN SMITH

Connectivity is the single most important aspect of cultivating life, be it the bond between people in their interpersonal relationships or the bond between individuals and earth. These attachments have been blended and shaded in the cultivation of the canvas of Moss Mountain Farm.

Located outside of Little Rock in Roland, Moss Mountain Farm is an ethereal space to experience. Full of fresh air and awe-inspiring views, the 600-acre farm was molded by P. Allen Smith and his team and is located in the foothills of the Ouachita Mountains with a beautiful view of the Arkansas River. From Daffodil Hill to the rose garden, the farm is what many have referred to as an intoxicating experience, and lucky for the public, it is an experience available for anyone to enjoy.

According to Smith, tour season is a special time at Moss Mountain Farm, with guests visiting from all around the state and throughout the country. The experience of nature has become less common with the shift from quality time to electronics, and the estate provides a powerful way to reestablish that connection in an eclectic and environmentally conscious manner, benefiting the community in a positive way.

The tours are a way to bring forth connections between like-minded people, which is one of the reasons Smith decided to open the farm to the public. They serve as learning opportunities and inspire many in their own gardening and decorating endeavors.

“It’s really fun to see the farm being used as a connector. We see a lot of people come out here for getaways. Friends from college, Bible study members and book clubs come out here, in addition to generations of families. We like being able to enhance these relationships over a day,” Smith said. “I enjoy having people come; they’re always so kind and respectful.”

According to Smith, the tours have created an environment in which friendship often blossoms. The people who visit are oftentimes interested in the same things, and therefore find connection as they learn more about Moss Mountain Farm.

“I often say come with a friend and leave with two,” Smith said.

Smith is well-known from the shows he has hosted on PBS. From “Garden Style, Garden to Table, Gardens and Garden Home,” Smith has taught and demonstrated valuable lessons in the garden and beyond to people who reside in the 98% of the country where his shows are broadcast.

“For the last 20 years people have been following the development of the show, and a lot of our guests want to see this house in person,” Smith said, explaining “Garden Home” and “Garden to Table” first aired around the time the house was being built.

“So many of our guests will say things like ‘Oh I remember when you painted these walls, this color is Nantucket Breeze!’ And I’m always shocked that they remember these little details, such as the ceiling paint shade being Dried Parsley.”

Sustainability has long been a hallmark for Smith. A lifelong endeavor, his journey in sustainability has bloomed from the simple seeds planted in his childhood. Growing up in a family who gardened, he remembers finding solitude in growing plants, whether they were vegetables or flowers.

“I’ve been interested in gardening from a very young age. I was so interested in how plants would grow so quickly, and I spent time doing what a lot of kids still do today. I would plant beans in the window and have my own experiments with rooting things in the window,” Smith said.

“I just thought that plants were so cool, and I loved thinking about how self-sustaining they are with just water and light and how they could produce things that we use. It really made an impression on me as a kid.”

In a way, farming is engraved in Smith’s DNA. Coming from a long lineage of farmers and cultivators, Smith’s father’s family is from Tennessee, where they have been farming since they migrated to the U.S. in the 1680s. Smith credits the Tennessee farm as the underscore of his early-onset fascination with plants.

“My family always had a big garden, so I saw what I could do with just a handful of seed and a big, tilled-up area,” Smith said. “As a family, we would grow all of these vegetables, and then my mom, aunt or my grandmother would prepare the food. We would have these family gatherings where we would spend time canning.”

Through these simple life lessons, Smith was launched into the alternate reality of how people once lived. He was introduced to the very methods that allowed his family to truly live off the land.

“As we have moved to this more technological age where the world is dominated largely by technology, I’ve felt it is now more important than ever to talk about the importance of these practices,” Smith said. “Getting your hands in the soil is so important, and the experience of being connected to the natural world is something that is so important. Connection allows us to be more thoughtful of the experiences we have each day and how we live our lives.”

“I think, in a way, sustainability has kind of always been a north star for me. I always found it so interesting how my family could be so self-sufficient and produce so much of what they needed, for generations.”

In his own life, Smith is keen on giving items a second purpose. Many of his worn shirts have been made into cocktail napkins and placemats, and he is avid in his own cooking, canning and freezing efforts.

The house at Moss Mountain Farm is a unique blend of American decorative arts, paintings and furniture, specifically focusing on a Southern aesthetic. Built in the style of Greek Revival, everything within the house is intentionally familiar to the land. The shades of green and wash of limestone on the exterior brick create an extra sense of connectivity between the inanimate and the living.

According to Smith, the construction of Moss Mountain Farm was really ahead of its time in conservation efforts. While the home itself is evocative of early 1830s-1840s farmhouses, everything within the walls is incredibly efficient. The home has a passive solar energy system and was constructed in a way that encourages energy savings. The walls are about 18 inches thick, insulated with shredded denim from a blue jean factory and painted with paint containing zero Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs). The pine floors are finished with tung oil, a natural, nontoxic and eco-friendly finish, and no chemicals have been used inside the home, including within the furnishings.

The fireplaces are Rumford Fireboxes, which were not only popular in the time period emulated at the farm, but are also energy efficient. The passive solar panel on the south face of the roof serves in a myriad of ways, including heating the basement floor in the winter. According to Smith, all the furnishings are wool, linen and velvet in an effort to keep everything as natural as possible.

Property tours start at 10 a.m., sometimes earlier in cases of extreme weather, and run through 2 p.m., ending at the gift shop. Guests meet at the house for orientations, oftentimes learning about the special details of the home, and from there, groups follow tour guides throughout the property.

In experiencing a full tour of the garden and its eclectic variety of flowers and vegetables, guests also enjoy lunch on the grounds. Lunch consists of a meal made from a recipe in P. Allen Smith’s “Seasonal Recipes from the Garden” and includes at least one thing from the garden.

“I use the vegetable garden as a teachable moment,” Smith said. “We pause there to talk about the importance of pollinators and how we can all do a better job of reducing the chemicals we use in our daily lives. We also talk about how we can plant for these pollinators, so they have food and habitats.”

After lunch, tour guides take guests to see the heritage livestock and poultry. There are about 45 breeds of poultry here, largely chickens, from all over the world. Smith also runs Heritage Poultry Conservancy, a 501(c)3 nonprofit supporting 4-H efforts across the country. The Heritage Poultry Conservancy awards prize money to 4-H winners in heritage poultry on the state, regional and national level each year. This year, the nonprofit will award winners at the American Poultry Association’s 150th Anniversary Annual Show in Columbus, Ohio.

While the chickens are a major draw for tourists, the flowers are equally exciting to see in person. In March, guests can witness the overwhelming beauty of 1 million daffodils, and in April, guests can view the spring bulbs. In May, the rose garden blooms, and in June, the tours end. While every month brings something beautiful at Moss Mountain, March is of particular fondness for Smith.

“March is a very special time to come out here. There’s a lot of tension between winter and spring, and there are so many beautiful shades of green that are present,” Smith said.

In addition to the spring tours, Moss Mountain Farm is often used as a meeting place for conferences and groups. Throughout the year, there are formal classes available for people to enjoy demonstrations and guest speakers who talk about a variety of topics, such as floral design, bee keeping, soap- and lotion-making from goats milk and more. While a full calendar has not yet been released, guests are encouraged to visit pallensmith.com regularly to check for upcoming classes.

“We try to use the farm to advance people’s understanding on certain topics,” Smith said. “I’ve always enjoyed going places and learning things, and it’s always been part of who I am, so I like affording people that opportunity. It is consistent with our interests and values and hopefully it helps, making a difference in even the smallest ways.”

Moss Mountain is constantly evolving, with new things on the horizon. Currently, the Twin Gate Cottages are under construction on the property. The cottages will be available for short rentals and are expected to be completed this spring. The two-story, three-bed and two-bath cottages are 1,000 square feet and match the recurring Greek Revival style of the rest of the property.

For Queen Elizabeth II’s birthday, Smith and his team planted 70 trees for The Queen’s Green Canopy Initiative, which was created to mark Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee in 2022. The effort has created a living legacy with over 1 million trees planted in her honor.

Smith is also currently working on a book about the farm, which he hopes to complete by the end of the year. The book, “Moss Mountain Farm: Lessons from the Land,” will be Smith’s seventh.

About 6,000 people visit Moss Mountain Farm every year, and the farm continues to amaze people for a myriad of reasons. Sustainability, conservation, garden-to-table and mindful gardening are among the reasons why so many people have journeyed to see what Smith has been able to craft throughout the past couple decades.

“My hope is that this environment we’ve created here will somehow inspire people. I’m certainly inspired by the people coming here. I really enjoy sharing the property. We really look forward to the tour season and seeing the visitors and hearing all of the laughter,” Smith said.