Boston Flora

Tag: Abby Aldrich Rockefeller

  • Wednesday, August 26, 5:30 pm – 6:30 pm – The Mount Desert Land & Garden Preserve, Online

    Rodney Eason is CEO of the Mount Desert Land & Garden Preserve, a collection of three gardens (Asticou, Thuya, and Abby Aldrich Rockefeller) and over 1,200 acres of natural lands adjacent to Acadia National Park. In his August 26 Polly Hill Arboretum presentation, Rodney will review the history of these gardens, the majestic natural landscapes, and how the staff and volunteers are working together to preserve these areas for current and future generations. Enjoy a virtual tour of the gardens in full flower!

    After nearly a decade in Pennsylvania working at famed Longwood Gardens, Rodney and his family headed ever further north to Maine, where they have called home since 2012. He holds a bachelor of landscape architecture from NC State (with a minor in horticulture) and a master of science in public horticulture from the University of Delaware and Longwood Gardens. Along with being passionate about the Preserve and Maine, Rodney enjoys going to their kids’ sporting events, starting home improvement projects, and riding his bike to avoid finishing these projects.

    This webinar is the Annual Lisina & Frank W. Hoch Lecture, and is free for PHA members, $10 for nonmembers. Proceeds benefit Polly Hill Arboretum and help make it possible for us to hold future affordable and free educational programs for our community. Thank you for support! Register here: bit.ly/Mount-Desert-Webinar-2020

  • Thursday, June 4, 2:00 pm – 2:30 pm – Painting Edo

    “Painting Edo” at the Arnold Arboretum is a collaboration between the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University and the Harvard Art Museums, inspired by the exhibition Painting Edo: Japanese Art from the Feinberg Collection.Observing artworks from the exhibition alongside the living collections of the Arnold Arboretum, we invite you to marvel at the remarkable accuracy with which artists of the Edo period (1615–1868) in Japan rendered their botanical subjects.  In this online talk, Rachel Saunders, Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Curator of Asian Art, and William (Ned) Friedman, Director of the Arnold Arboretum, will discuss the striking Magnolia sieboldii, also known as Siebold’s magnolia or the Oyama magnolia. After a close look at a very rare painted specimen in the Feinberg Collection with Rachel, Ned will bring us into the Arboretum’s landscape to learn about the live specimen’s unique biology and gorgeous bloom.  
    This virtual program will take place live in Zoom. Free admission, but registration is required. Rain date Friday, June 5. Register here: https://harvard.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Frp8sRcWTqG1S_aZKI7gZg

  • Through September 7 – Groundbreakers: Great American Gardens and the Women Who Designed Them

    Those of us who enjoyed the speakers during The Garden Club of the Back Bay’s program theme a few years ago, Women in the Garden, should travel to the New York Botanical Garden now through September 7.  It is hosting Groundbreakers: Great American Gardens and the Women Who Designed Them, an exhibition that focuses on the accomplishments of prominent women whose work influenced landscape architecture and garden design, garden photography, and garden writing in the first three decades of the 20th century.

    Included in the exhibit is Mrs. Rockefeller’s Garden, a reconstruction of the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Garden in Seal Harbor, Maine.  The garden, designed by Beatrix Farrand in 1926, was at the summer home of philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and his wife Abby.  Also featured is Gardens for a Beautiful America: The Women Who Photographed Them,  a display in the Garden’s LuEsther T. Mertz Library of vintage photographs and illustrated books highlighting the work of female photographers.  An outdoor poetry walk will feature the work of Edna St. Vincent Millay.

    During the exhibition, visitors can also enjoy live musical performances featuring pieces by American composers of the time period, hands-on programs for children, public lectures, and a downloadable app that offers additional information about the exhibition.  Visit www.nybg.org or call 718-817-8700 for further details.

  • Thursday, August 19, 9:00 am – 2:30 pm – Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Garden and Wild Gardens of Acadia

    Advance notice: a spectacular day field trip has been planned by The New England Wild Flower Society in Seal Harbor and Bar Harbor, Maine on Thursday, August 19, from 9 – 2:30, led by Bonnie Drexler.  Participation is limited to twenty, so register quickly at www.newfs.org.  The cost  is $60 for NEWFS members and $72 for nonmembers, and this event is sure to sell out.

    Two of Mt. Desert Island’s most evocative gardens open their gates  this day.

    Noted garden designer Beatrix Farrand designed a stunning garden for David and Abby Alrich Rockefeller in the late 1920’s. Today, this garden (pictured below) continues to weave an enchanting spell over its visitors, combining Asian art and architecture with vibrant displays of annuals and perennials. Enter another world as you pass through the circular Moon Gate to come upon a sunken lawn, surrounded by lavish English border gardens at their peak of summer color. Stroll the woodland “Spirit Path,” flanked by Korean tombstone figures, all the while enclosed by a rose-colored serpentine wall, capped with yellow tiles from China’s Forbidden City. Native shrubs, groundcovers, mosses and ferns shine alongside the ancient stone sculptures, some from the 14th century. Meet with the horticulture staff for a behind the scenes understanding of the Garden.

    Following lunch (on your own at the nearby Jordan Pond House),  you will tour the Wild Gardens of Acadia, where we explore a microcosm of Mount Desert Island’s natural habitats. Only plants indigenous to Mt. Desert Island find a home here on this small, but intensely planted site. Over 300 native plant species are arranged by habitat setting. The plant communities include mixed woods, roadside, meadow, mountain, heath, seaside, brookside, bird thicket, coniferous woods, bog, marsh, and pond with corresponding native plants and birdlife. Maintained by the Bar Harbor Garden Club, this jewel of a native plant garden won the Homer Lucas Landscape Award from New England Wild Flower Society in 1998.