Boston Flora

Tag: Garden Conservancy

  • Saturday, June 18, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm – South Shore Open Day

    The Garden Conservancy’s Open Day on the South Shore will take place Saturday, June 18 from 10 – 4 (except for Eisehnauer’s Rose Garden, open from noon – 6) at four exquisite gardens in Scituate, Cohasset, and Hull. Please observe these new procedures and help us ensure a safe, contactless, and seamless garden experience for all visitors as well as our generous garden hosts:

    • Pre-registration is REQUIRED for each garden. Pre-register for each HERE, except where specifically indicated otherwise. Children under 12 are free and do not need to be pre-registered if accompanied by pre-registered adult. Each garden admission is $5 (members) and $10 (general admission)
    • Capacity is limited. Sorry, no walk-ins allowed; no paper tickets or cash payments will be accepted on-site.
    • Masks are required, at the discretion of the garden owners, and social distancing is encouraged at all in-person events.

    The Matisse Garden is inspired by the art of Henri Matisse, from the goldfish pond with its concentric circles of pathway and adjoining round patio, to the serpentining boxwood hedges and colorful swaths of blooming perennials. Even the labyrinth walk is an echo of his cut-outs titled ‘Blue Nude’, with a meandering pathway in the shape of a woman’s form, surrounded by waves of blue catmint. The custom built black pergola bench not only offers an architectural backdrop to the pond and a relaxing place to recline and meditate on the swimming fish, it also casts wonderful shadows across the yard as the sun moves across the sky. Blooms of bold pink, blue and yellow suggest the bright colors of the Mediterranean landscape, with lush textural grasses and large leaves adding to the sensuality of the space.

    Eisenhauer’s Rose Garden Approximately one acre of gardens on the historic Commons of Cohasset. The owners pride and joy is a rose parterre replicating a seventeenth century Elizabethan (UK) Pleasuance Garden, showcasing 50+ floribunda roses, ornamental herbs and classical features such as obelisks, pillars. The Parterre attempts to match the period of the garden with the early 1800’s American colonial house. Please note this garden is open from noon – 6.

    In the Modern Asian Garden, pictured below, Asian meets Modern on the coastal cliffs of Hull, Massachusetts. Naturalistic stone steps guide the visitor from the driveway, up the sloped front yard, between pine trees and woodland ground covers, up to a grouping of three sculptural boulders in a sea of pea stone, where a gentle bubbler of water arises mysteriously. A blue stone patio, near the house, offers seating where dramatic shadows from the tall boulders and pine trees create a dance. A louvered partition of granite posts frame an organic themed metal gate, creating a striking courtyard space surrounded by lush evergreens and winding paths. Pitch pines, artistically shaped by the Atlantic winds, flow through the garden, with masses of Japanese Forest Grass at its feet. The house sits atop a 100′ high cliff, with stunning ocean views from the back deck. The entire landscape design was inspired by a fine art photograph in the home owners’ collection, which sits on the living room’s fireplace mantle. The sinuous human form would see itself reflected in every aspect of the garden, if it every came to life!

    The Jones Garden in Scituate is not designed, just put together with a love of the outdoors, especially birds, butterflies and native plants. It was started from scratch in 2007- a tangled mess of brambles and grapes, privet and Japanese honeysuckle. The property slopes downhill to the SW. It is well drained and full of boulders, small & large (like the local beaches). The front garden is sunny and very well drained. Asclepias tuberosa, penstemons, lavender, monarda (punctata and fistulosa), and dwarf evergreens all grow well. In the back is a small fountain and, where not designated wetland, rhododendrons, veronicastrum, milkweed (syriaca and incarnata), heuchera, pycnanthemums – too long a list to include here (Plant lists will be available). Trees have also been planted: liriodendron, stewartia, magnolia, nyssa, carpinus, birch, Abies (koreana & fargesii) to name a few.; and there is a small vegetable garden.

  • Saturday, June 11, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm – Bristol County Open Days

    The Garden Conservancy will hold an Open Days tour of two gardens in Rehoboth and Seekonk, Massachusetts, on June 11 from 10 – 4.

    • Pre-registration is REQUIRED for each garden. Pre-register for each on this website, except where specifically indicated otherwise. Children under 12 are free and do not need to be pre-registered if accompanied by pre-registered adult. Members $5 per person; General admission $10. Children 12 and under free.
    • Capacity is limited. Sorry, no walk-ins allowed; no paper tickets or cash payments will be accepted on-site.
    • Masks are required, at the discretion of the garden owners, and social distancing is encouraged at all in-person events.

    The McIlwain garden in Rehoboth abuts a golf course, providing expansive views in the English landscape tradition. Optimal plantings have been chosen for the range of challenging ecosystems from rocky/dry soil to windy sites with wet soil. A cluster of trees with filtered sunlight hosts rhododendrons, azalea, pieris, enkiantus, hellebores and more. Most of the garden enjoys full sun. This is a garden for all seasons with the blossoms of the Okame cherries, saucer and star magnolias ushering in early spring, followed soon thereafter by daffodils, grape hyacinth, Spanish bluebells, ground phlox and PJM azalea. Early May sees the arrival of tulips, azalea and the sweetly fragrant Viburnum carlessi, lilies of the valley and lilacs soon thereafter. By mid-May the bearded iris have opened their blooms, along with the chives, allium, bleeding heart and rhododendrons. In June this is followed in swift succession by dogwoods, Virginia magnolia with lemon-scented blossoms, peonies, Dutch iris and gumpo azalea, coral bells, catmint, campanula, clematis and Geranium bikova. By late June summer has arrived with hydrangea, roses, foxgloves, garden phlox, daisies, veronica, lavender, astilbe, blue salvia, anise hyssop and Russian sage. Fall comes with assorted mums and flaming fall foliage of various Japanese maples along with red berries on the viburnum, holly trees and winterberry. The red-twig dogwood shrubs maintain winter interest along with the topiary boxwood and mottled bark of the stewartii tree. An herb garden with armillary sphere underplanted with alpine strawberries is flanked by a blueberry/raspberry patch, pergola, and roses.

    In Seekonk, landscape designer Andrew Grossman describes his display gardens in this way: My gardens, which border the Martin Wildlife Refuge and the Runnins River, showcase a wide variety of perennials, shrubs, and grasses. The property includes a blue-and-white garden, a hot-colored garden with a checkerboard thyme patio, a cottage garden planted with roses and other old-fashioned favorites, and a rustic pond surrounded by bog plantings. There is also a cutting garden currently planted with tea roses and dinner plate dahlias. The property is featured in the March/April 2016 issue of Design New England and was a finalist in HGTV’s “Gorgeous Gardens” competition.

    Photo: Andrew Grossman

  • Saturday, June 11, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm – Berkshire County Open Day in Sheffield

    The Garden Conservancy hosts an Open Day in Sheffield, Massachusetts on June 11 from 10 – 4 at 1391 Barnum Street in Sheffield. The first garden you see while walking up the driveway is the “Rabbit Garden,” so named for the wooden rabbit in its midst. The chainsaw-carved animal is one of many on the property. Under the crabapple tree is a primrose garden. Walking up the stairs toward the house gives you your first view of the pond and waterfall area. From the deck, a series of stone steps and landings leads down past a rock garden to the patio and pond, home to goldfish, frogs, and a shy turtle. The patio fronts a mixed border of perennials, shrubs, and trees. From the screened-in porch the pond and waterfall can be seen and heard. The woodland garden behind the house, with its winding paths and many shade plantings, is a cool retreat. The paths in the woodland wind around an array of hostas, hydrangeas, and other shade plants. Partial Handicap Access: there are steps down to the pond and patio but this area can also be viewed from the road. Woodland garden can be viewed from pond & patio. Garden Conservancy Members $5 per person; General admission $10. Children 12 and under free. Register HERE.

    • Pre-registration is REQUIRED for each garden. Pre-register for each on this website, except where specifically indicated otherwise. Children under 12 are free and do not need to be pre-registered if accompanied by pre-registered adult.
    • Capacity is limited. Sorry, no walk-ins allowed; no paper tickets or cash payments will be accepted on-site.
    • Masks are required, at the discretion of the garden owners, and social distancing is encouraged at all in-person events.
    Photo: Rebecca Pitts

  • Thursday, June 9, 2:00 pm – What is GardenFit? Online

    Join long-time Open Days Garden Host Madeline Hooper and her co-creator and co-host Jeff Hughes for the story behind a new hit PBS series, GardenFit, that aims to inspire viewers to take care of their bodies while taking care of their gardens. Hooper and Hughes will narrate their journey from conception through development of the series, turning a personal experience of physical pain and horticultural passion into a TV adventure that saw them visit and explore more than a dozen distinctive private gardens and specialty farms all over America, helping gardeners overcome their seemingly inevitable aches and pains. All of Hooper and Hughes’ GardenFit fixes apply to every gardener, affecting how they move and maintain their body health in every aspect of their life, ensuring that their body be the best garden tool they have!

    Before devoting herself wholeheartedly to gardening, Madeline enjoyed a distinguished career in public relations as founder of DeVries Global. She has since focused her efforts on the gardening world: creating Rockland Farm, a personal 10-acre garden from scratch in Canaan, NY; working as a board member of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden; and serving on the board at The Berkshire Botanical Garden, where she is currently Vice Chair.

    For over three decades, while pursuing an acting and modeling career, Jeff created his unique fitness business “TrainerFit” with the mantra “Train the mind, the body will follow.” Jeff’s cognitive slant to conventional training practices has resulted in an informative and enlightening career in the ever-evolving fitness industry. Through years of working with an array of clients, Jeff has developed special preventative rehabilitation programs that incorporate personalized strength, balance, and lifestyle techniques. 

    This Garden Conservancy Zoom presentation takes place June 9 beginning at 2 pm Eastern. $5 for Garden Conservancy members, $15 for nonmembers. A recording of this webinar will be sent to all registrants a few days after the event. We encourage you to register, even if you cannot attend the live webinar. 

  • Sunday, May 22, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm – Garden Conservancy Boston-area Open Day

    Register now for the May 22 Garden Conservancy Open Day and especially for the Digging Deeper program from 12 – 2 on Croquet and Cocktails: Preserving and Restoring Sporting Greens, since tickets are limited and sell out early. For each garden access, the fee is $5 for Garden Conservancy members, $10 for nonmembers.

    • Pre-registration is REQUIRED for each garden. Pre-register for each HERE, except where specifically indicated otherwise. Children under 12 are free and do not need to be pre-registered if accompanied by pre-registered adult.
    • Capacity is limited. Sorry, no walk-ins allowed; no paper tickets or cash payments will be accepted on-site.
    • Masks are required, at the discretion of the garden owners, and social distancing is encouraged at all in-person events.

    The first on the list is the Spalding Garden in Milton. Designed by renowned landscape architect Fletcher Steele in 1924, the Spalding Garden was rescued from demolition in 2005 by the Milton Garden Club. A cultural landscape report was commissioned, and preservation efforts began shortly thereafter and continue at present. The garden, as it remains, stands on half an acre and includes formal gardens bordered by mature boxwoods, a perennial garden, a bowling green, and much of the original brickwork. In acquiring the garden, it has been the Milton Garden Club’s mission to create a pilot project to demonstrate the importance of saving local period landscape from development, to educate the public, and to adopt sustainable practices that set community standards for gardening and preservation. This is the site of the Croquet and Cocktails event ($30 Garden Conservancy members, $40 nonmembers).

    In Boston proper, visit the Dustman-Ryan Garden, known as The Artful Garden. This garden reflects the creative efforts of a mighty team: Christie Dustman, professional garden designer, and Patti Ryan, a professional furniture maker. In their own personal garden, these two artists have let nothing hinder their zeal for plants, stone, and whimsy. The garden is in its eleventh season, and its transformation was done in phases, keeping only a privet hedge and one andromeda. The garden uses plants and objects as sculptures in an array of vignettes and intentional views. By showcasing some plants and objects against a background of other plants and elements, this garden has many levels of complexity and interest. The owners are members of the Conifer Society, and you will find more than 50 different conifers, as well as rare and unusual plants. It is the reclaimed and castoff items used as art and decoration, like basketball hoops and organ pipes, that often command the most “ooohs and ahhhs.” Garden is partially accessible.

    Fairview Garden is located right in Roslindale. Tucked a few steps from the Peters Hill gate of the Arnold Arboretum, is a peaceful oasis of a garden. The owner began gardening about 18 years ago, initially inspired by perennials gifted from neighbors. You will be greeted with the varied colors and textures of maturing weeping conifers. Look for the swirling umbrella pine and colorful Japanese maple. A newer front bluestone walkway leads to a fieldstone wall, and in back there is a sense of quiet awe with dappled sunlight and subtle splashes of color. Zen statuary and handmade trellises support an extensive clematis display and give a Japanese feel to the garden. Garden is partially accessible.

    In West Roxbury, the James/Raverso Garden (below) will be on view. This romantic urban escape with eye-popping color provided by hundreds of annuals, perennials, roses, and vines is viewed from a double-layered backyard deck that engages seamlessly with the surrounding gardens. Inspired by the classic “over the top” layered floral displays in English country gardens, it has taken eight years to build up four distinct garden areas that surround this Boston home. Definitely not a “low maintenance” garden, variations of color and texture provide a never-ending display from early Spring to late November.

  • Thursday, April 28, 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm – Reimagining Vita-Sackville West’s Sissinghurst Garden, Online

    For those of you who missed Troy Scott Smith’s talk at Long Hill on April 1, we have another opportunity. In this virtual illustrated Garden Conservancy talk on April 28 at 2 pm, Troy recounts his long tenure at Sissinghurst and his efforts to recapture the distinctive vision of its creators, the writers Vita Sackville-West and Harold Nicolson, in the 1930s, as a refuge dedicated to natural beauty. He studied not only Sackville-West’s and Nicolson’s gardening style, but also their characters, philosophy, and interests, while balancing the reality of hundreds of thousands of annual visitors and the effects of climate change. In the end, Troy shows how he settled on an approach that allowed past, present, and future to co-exist.

    One of Britain’s best-known Head Gardeners, Troy Scott Smith, has devoted his career to the beauty and romance of gardening. Since joining the National Trust of England, Wales, and Northern Ireland in 1990, Troy has led some of the world’s most beautiful gardens, among them the Courts (Wiltshire), Bodnant (Wales) and two stints at Sissinghurst (Kent), where he has led a remarkable transformation and restoration of the Vita Sackville-West gardens.

    After spearheading a multi-year plan as Head Gardener at Sissinghurst, which included the recreation of a Mediterranean-style garden from the Greek Island of Delos, Troy left to take up leadership of the award winning Iford Manor Garden in Wiltshire, near Bath, where he set in motion a 10 -year masterplan. After two years, Troy returned to his spiritual home of Sissinghurst.

    A recording of this webinar will be sent to all registrants a few days after the event. We encourage you to register, even if you cannot attend the live webinar. $5 for Garden Conservancy members, $15 General Admission. Register HERE.

    Members of the Frank & Anne Cabot Society for planned giving have complimentary access to Garden Conservancy webinars. All Cabot Society members will automatically be sent the link to participate on the morning of the webinar. For more information about the Cabot Society, please contact Sarah Parker at sparker@gardenconservancy.org or 845.424.6500, ext. 214.

    Plant profile on roses and over view at Sissinghurst gardens , Sissinghurst, Kent June /July 2015 Rachel Warne

  • Sunday, May 15, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm – Garden Conservancy Open Day: The Garden of Pepe and John Maynard in Groton

    The Open Days Gardens events are almost upon us, and locally, plan to visit the Garden of Pepe and John Maynard in Groton on May 15 from 10 – 4. Members $5 per person; General admission $10. Children 12 and under free. Visitors MUST pre-register at www.gardenconservancy.org. The owners describe their property as follows:

    Our place, currently about 25 acres, was originally part of a much larger property, most of which was placed under conservation in 2006. We were attracted to it by the sweeping views to the west and the protection offered by hundreds of acres of surrounding fields and woodland, all protected from development. Starting in the nineteenth century, successive large country houses had been built on the site, surrounded by the formal, high-maintenance gardens of the day. The last of these rather grand houses was demolished in the 1960s. The succeeding generation of the previous owning family was more interested in breeding Black Angus than in horticulture. As a result the formal gardens had succumbed to neglect, bittersweet, and browsing deer by the time we purchased the property in 2007. At that time we had no interest in restoring formal gardens. Our first steps were to plant an allée of small sugar maples along the lane leading to our barn, and to fence a small nursery area where we could stockpile plants and grow them safe from deer. We dithered about building a deer fence around more of the property, fearing it would interfere with the view, but finally fenced about fifteen acres. The fence enabled us to begin planting to create informal, naturalistic grounds using native plant material as much as possible. While the nursery is now empty and the maples in the allée have reached eight inches diameter, all the plantings are still young and have only begun to mature. Nonetheless we believe the grounds have grown in enough to reward unhurried exploration with a wide variety of trees and shrubs, and, in the spring, extensive plantings of daffodils and other bulbs. The surrounding areas under conservation are open for walks, and a few remaining Black Angus add interest to the landscape. In the summer of 2020 an energetic couple working for us decided to clear out a small formal garden neglected for 25 years and overgrown to the point of invisibility. An exceptional stonemason rebuilt the dry stone walls over the winter and we began replanting in the early summer of 2021. An exceptionally wet summer helped to get new perennials established. We are hoping it will look presentable by 2022.

  • Sunday, May 15, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm – The Garden Conservancy’s Worcester County Open Day

    Two gardens in the Worcester area will be open through the Garden Conservancy’s Open Days program on May 15 from 10 – 4. Pre-registration is REQUIRED. Admission fee to each garden: Members $5 per person; General admission $10. Children 12 and under free.

    Enjoy the garden of Matt Mattus and Joe Philip right in the city. Matt’s garden is a mature, third- generation family property in a suburban neighborhood. It contains many tall trees (now more than 90 feet tall) planted in the 1920s by his grandfather and father. “The garden is an ongoing restoration project” says Matt. “I’ve never opened it up for tours as I’ve always believed that it was more of a small collector’s garden than one that is ‘tour-worthy’, yet I know that most visitors enjoy the casual atmosphere, and the ‘down the rabbit hole-ness’ of a true collector’s garden!” Expect to see collections of interesting plants and greenhouse projects, sweet peas, stone and gravel paths, boxwood and hornbeam hedges, garden rooms, and even a small 100-year-old goldfish pond. Charming and picturesque as a small English garden and as horticulturally interesting as a botanic garden, this 1.5 acres is essentially a home garden, yet one that has recently been featured in Martha Stewart Living, Better Homes and Gardens, and other magazines. Matt Mattus, whose blog is Growingwithplants.com, is the author of Mastering the Art of Vegetable Gardening (2019) and Mastering the Art of Growing Flowers (2020). Both books will be available for purchase on site.

    The Swift River Farm in Petersham (below) is the second offered garden on that date. A woodland garden screens the house from the road and continues along the north side of the house with many spring ephemerals and flowering trees, ending in a small collection of tree peonies. A stone walkway leads past a tulip border to a small perennial garden enclosed by a box hedge. Further on is a water garden with a gazebo that overlooks a koi pond. A small herb garden behind the house leads out through a set of clematis arbors to another perennial garden. Next to the greenhouse is a rock garden and beyond it a spring garden with primulas, spring bulbs, and species peonies. The rock garden looks out on a large meadow designed by Gordon Hayward with a mix of nectar-rich perennials and grasses. Paths through the meadow lead to an apple orchard and a vegetable/cutting garden.

    Register for either or both at www.gardenconservancy.org

  • Thursday, April 7, 2:00 pm – Beatrix Farrand, Garden Artist, Landscape Architect, Online

    Beatrix Farrand, the only female founder of the American Society of Landscape Architects, is one of the most important landscape architects of the early twentieth century. Today, the scope of her work and her influence on the profession are widely acknowledged, and her gardens are being studied, restored, and opened to the public. A long-awaited updated edition of the 2009 definitive monograph, Beatrix Farrand: Garden Artist, Landscape Architect chronicles the life and work of one of the most important figures in American landscape architecture. In this Garden Conservancy webinar, Garden Club of the Back Bay member Judith Tankard will discuss the full breadth of the work of this iconic landscape architect. $5 for Garden Conservancy members, $15 general admission, with an option of $50 for webinar plus one copy of the book. Garden Conservancy educational programs are made possible in part by the Coleman and Susan Burke Distinguished Lecture Fund and the Lenhardt Education Fund, with additional support from Ritchie Battle, Camille Butrus, Courtnay and Terrence Daniels, Celia T. Hegyi, Rise S. Johnson, and Susan and William McKinley. Register HERE.

    Judith B. Tankard is a landscape historian, preservation consultant, and the author or coauthor of ten books on historic gardens and garden designers, most recently Gardens of the Arts and Crafts Movement. Her other books include Ellen Shipman and the American Garden (winner of the J. B. Jackson Book Prize) and three works on Gertrude Jekyll. Tankard taught at the Landscape Institute of Harvard University for more than twenty years and served as a board member of the Beatrix Farrand Society. She’s a frequent lecturer on landscape history and a contributor to the British journal Hortus.

  • Thursday, March 10, 2:00 pm – The Sill and the Houseplant, Online

    What’s all the buzz about houseplants—are they changing the definition of gardens? Join Eliza Blank, founder and CEO of The Sill, a digitally native direct-to-consumer houseplant brand, in conversation Garden Conservancy President and CEO James Hall and Director of Public Programs and Education Horatio Joyce, to get the answers and learn the story behind Eliza’s company. The webinar will take place March 10 at 2 pm Eastern time on Zoom. $5 for Garden Conservancy members, $15 general admission. Register HERE.

    Eliza Blank founded The Sill in 2012 when she 26 years old, working from a borrowed desk in New York City’s Chinatown. Today, The Sill employs nearly 70 people in teams dispersed in New York, New Jersey, and California. With over 800,000 Instagram followers and eight brick-and-mortar stores across the country, The Sill is an undisputed leader in the houseplant revolution, combining the old-fashioned plant center experience with savvy online marketing and community building through online forums and in person workshops.

    Members of the Frank & Anne Cabot Society for Planned Giving have complimentary access to Garden Conservancy webinars. All Cabot Society members will automatically be sent the link to participate on the morning of the webinar. For more information about the Cabot Society, please contact Sarah Parker at sparker@gardenconservancy.org or 845.424.6500, ext. 214.