Daily Archives: September 24, 2021

Friday, October 1, 7:00 pm – 8:15 pm – Autumn in Washington: Arboreal Splendors, Online

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Springtime in Washington is legendary, but what about that other fabulous season, fall? Join Smithsonian Associates and author and tree expert Melanie Choukas-Bradley on a virtual tour through autumn in the capital and see why its arboreal splendors should be as celebrated as spring’s cherry blossoms.

Washington’s beautiful fall lasts for several months, with a steady procession of seasonal colors starting in September and continuing beyond Thanksgiving and into December. Get primed for the coming season with a preview of botanical highlights in store, learn about the trees, flowers, and fruits in the city’s storied landscapes, and you’ll be ready to get out and enjoy this fall more than ever. The Zoom illustrated lecture is $25 for Smithsonian members, $30 for nonmembers, and you may register at https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/autumn-in-washington-arboreal-splendors

The Campaign to Save Moraine Farm: Revitalizing and Unifying an Olmsted Masterpiece

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Nestled on 175 acres along Wenham Lake in Beverly is Moraine Farm, a Frederick Law Olmsted masterpiece landscape designed in 1880. Moraine Farm is, “the finest existing example of Olmsted’s approach to planning a country estate,” according to pre-eminent Olmsted scholar Charles E. Beveridge.

In the past 150 years, the estate has been fractured into parcels owned by different families, a private school, Project Adventure, and The Trustees. Remarkably, Olmsted’s design has remained largely unchanged over that time, making it a rare gem among the estates created by the father of American landscape architecture. According to Beveridge:

“Moraine Farm was a forerunner for that greatest of Olmsted’s ventures in the designing of private estates and retains more of his spirit than any other residential design still in existence today.”

The Trustees owns four small disparate parcels on the property, and today we have the opportunity to acquire the key central plot of land that includes scenic Wenham Lake access, the main estate house, tea garden, terrace, and areas most intensely designed by Olmsted.

Acquiring this 66-acre parcel is the culmination of a decades-long effort by The Trustees to reunite and restore this historic property and open it to public access for the first time.

Providing people with Moraine’s sweeping views, winding trails, and lush Olmsted landscape lies at the heart of our mission to create publicly accessible open space in iconic places.

For the project details and purpose statement, and to learn how to contribute to this project (it’s Olmsted 200, remember!), visit www.thetrustees.org