Sweet Clover Design and Bedford Farms Founder/Owner Max Apton is a natural-born plant lover. A horticulturalist and vegetable grower, Apton once had farms in Hawaii, Vermont, and here in New York before signing on as vegetable field manager at Stone Barns in Tarrytown in 2012. Through his work at Stone Barns, Apton was inspired to begin a home vegetable growing business, and eventually it grew into a full-fledged landscape firm, Sweet Clover Design, which he founded in 2019.
All along, he harbored the dream of finding a home for his gardening business. So, when the property for the 80-year-old Bedford Nursery came onto the market in 2022, Apton and his wife Nicole seized the opportunity.
The couple had a vision for the nine-acre nursery and farm. “Since we’ve purchased the property, we’ve done a ton of work to it,” Apton says. “We’ve put in an enormous garden for growing veggies, flowers, perennials, and annuals for sale. We’re completing a sales building.”
The Aptons want the business, which they renamed Bedford Farms, to be more than just a garden center. “I want it to be a community,” he says. “Last season, we introduced a lot of public programming—an Easter egg hunt, floral arranging classes, outdoor yoga, and pumpkin painting.”
The retail building will house a market for produce both grown at Bedford Farms and sourced locally, a gift shop, and a coffee bar. “You can grab a coffee, a croissant, and walk through the beautiful gardens,” Apton says. “There is a half-acre of meadow plantings and pollinator plants and another half-acre of vegetables.” He envisions future events like Friday night pizza and farm dinners. Apton believes it’s “just the kind of business that’s needed” in the area.
He plans to continue running Sweet Clover Design and utilize the new farm buildings to meet with clients. “I hope the two businesses can grow together and be symbiotic,” he notes. Shoppers at the farm also benefit from Apton and his team’s expertise. “What I’d [recommend to] plant in wet shade versus dry sun, for example, is very different, says Apton. “We can provide you the right plant for the right spot.”
Gardening Tips for Spring
Looking to start or revive a flower garden? Apton says now is the time and offers this advice:
- Early spring is the right time to cut back perennials, grasses, and shrubs. Afterward, apply a layer of fertilizer and mulch. Your next step is to cut back meadows and pollinator gardens from previous seasons in order to preserve the habitat for valuable pollinators.
- April and May are the months to start planting annual and perennial plants so that “they sparkle and shine in the summer,” Apton says.
- When it comes to your lawn, Apton recommends mixing pollinator-friendly plants such as white clover with grass seed to have a lighter touch on the environment—the method will utilize far less water than grass alone. He also suggests a non-soluble, slow-release fertilizer like Milorganite, which is available at Bedford Farms. (Produced by treating sewage sludge in Milwaukee, Milorganite reimagines a waste product for a new purpose, and boasts the bonus of deterring deer.)
Pollinator Meadow Musts
Plant these flowers now for gorgeous blooms come summer.
- Coneflower
- Black-eyed Susan
- Native Irises
- Culver’s root
- Goldenrod
- Switchgrass
- Summersweet clethra
- Bee balm
- Hyssop
Related: Rhoslyn Florist Is a Go-To for Beautiful Bouquets in New Rochelle
