A Tree Farmer’s House Is Rooted in the Landscape

Keith Scott Morton first spied Orient, New York, in 1980, while sailing around the eastern tip of Long Island’s North Fork. "There were wooden boats, and sailboats, and a wharf from the 1800s," Keith recalls seeing in the town’s namesake harbor. "I thought, ‘Man, this is it—I just found heaven.’" A follow-up trip by land confirmed that, unlike the Hamptons to the south, Reagan-era consumerism had not touched this hamlet of cauliflower and oyster farms. In 1985, the New York City–based photographer began constructing a small house designed by his cousin on two acres within walking distance of the historic downtown.

Since then, Keith—individually, and then with editor and stylist Christine Churchill—dedicated more genuine custodianship to Orient than you might expect from weekenders. The couple purchased an adjacent 18-acre working farm from a neighbor, transformed that property into a four-parcel conservation subdivision, and built a home for themselves and their newborn daughter on one of its smaller lots. Simultaneously, Keith replanted the remaining acreage as Old Orchard Nursery, a wholesale tree farm that largely specializes in native hornbeam and beech hedging. About four years ago, the husband and wife decided to live in Orient full time. 

That timing coincided with their daughter’s preparations to leave for college, which also prompted Keith and Christine to reflect on their existing digs. "I have one set of nieces and nephews who grew up with our daughter, and everyone would crash there," Keith recalls of the 3,400-square-foot residence. "It wasn’t a huge place, but as the kids got their own things going, the house felt too big."

He also notes that he and Christine were slightly concerned about the three remaining parcels’ destiny: Even with an easement in place, there were no guarantees that another homeowner would preserve the ambience they had worked so hard to create. "We wanted to protect the visual landscape, and we wanted the 18 acres to be self-contained without feeling exclusive."