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Tracy Castelli knew she wanted to work in horticulture from the time she was 15 years old. A first generation American from a large Italian family with roots deep in the southern Italian soil, Tracy planned a future that was not exactly what her mother had imagined. "I remember hearing my mother talking on the phone to family in Italy. She was so upset and kept saying: 'I can't believe I made all these sacrifices to give my daughter a better life -- and what does she do but go straight back to the dirt!' I guess it's in my blood," she says with a laugh.
Tracy's first paying job, while she was in high school, was at a garden center in Wilton, her home town, and she also worked at home in the vegetable garden that supplied much of the family's food. With a degree in agriculture from the University of Maryland, followed by a certificate in Horticulture and Landscape Design from the New York Botanical Garden, Tracy was well on the way to learning everything she needed to become a successful landscape designer.
"I come from a working-class family, so if you wanted something, you worked for it. I have always worked. I paid for all my own schooling," she says proudly. An internship with Glen Gate in Wilton taught her landscape maintenance and perennial design. A job at Young's Nursery as the herbaceous plant buyer furthered her knowledge about the wide variety of plants that thrive in our New England climate.
In 1998, Tracy hung up her shingle as Tracy Castelli & Associates, focusing her energies on sustainable landscape design. Over the years she has become known for a style that is both practical and aesthetically pleasing. "My typical client," Tracy says, "is someone who already has a strong connection to the outdoor world."
A visit to Tracy's home is a perfect illustration of what this style is all about. The house, originally an old B&B catering to New Yorkers, has been completely renovated by husband Carmine Tomas, a local builder. The two-acre property is screened from the street by hedges and trees, but once you enter, you move from one magical space to another. The fence along the pool has flowers interspersed with vegetable plants, Tracy's pot collection overflows with colorful annuals, and the blueberry and raspberry patch hide from the deer among the bushes at the end of the pool. Walk over towards the chicken coop and you'll see a huge vegetable garden with summer spinach, heirloom tomatoes, cabbages, several types of onions as well as copious quantities of squash and cucumbers. A beehive nestles in the middle of a flower bed.
Tracy's daughters show every sign of following in their mother's footsteps. Madison, who is 8, runs a vegetable stand in the summer outside her house, and I expect Amelia, who is 4, might give her a hand this year. "We're going to be putting up some of these zucchini later today," Tracy mentioned. The girls both smiled.
Tracy Castelli & Associates can be reached at (203) 761-0784.
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