Boston Flora

Tag: Rolling Ridge

  • Monday, September 16, 10:00 am – 12:00 noon – Trails and Sails: The Historic Gardens of Fletcher Steele

    Fletcher Steele is recognized as one of the most influential landscape architects of the early twentieth century.  For 60 years Steele practiced landscape architecture as a fine art, designing nearly 700 gardens in his lifetime.  The garden at Rolling Ridge was the first of his creations.

    Join us at the Rolling Ridge Retreat and Conference Center on September 16 for a tour of this historic garden. Although the fountain is no longer in operation and the grounds are being restored, you will discover the visionary genius of Steele as we walk the grounds and appreciate the natural beauty of this 38 acre peninsula along Lake Cochichewick.

    The tour will also include the outdoor sculptures of Mico Kaufman, whose public works may be found at Tewksbury, Lowell, and now at Rolling Ridge.

    There is no fee for the tour of the grounds, although your generous donation is appreciated to help support the mission and ministry of Rolling Ridge. Register at www.rollingridge.org

  • Monday, September 16, 9:30 am – 3:00 pm – Rolling Ridge Preservation Round Table and Workshop

    Monday, September 16, 9:30 am – 3:00 pm – Rolling Ridge Preservation Round Table and Workshop

    Rolling Ridge and the New England Landscape Design and History Association are excited and pleased to invite you to a Preservation Round Table and Workshop on the Fountains and Gardens of renowned landscape architect Fletcher Steele at Rolling Ridge, North Andover, Massachusetts on Monday, September 16, from 9:30- 3 pm.

    They are gathering some of the experts to help put Fletcher Steele and Rolling Ridge on the Massachusetts garden history map. As a destination place with a hidden gem up to this point, but it can be a showplace of the genius of one the nation’s great landscape architects. Two of Steele’s designs are designated National Historic Landmarks: Naumkeag in Stockbridge, Massachusetts and the Amphitheatre in Camden, Maine.

    Of the 500 plus gardens Fletcher Steele designed, Rolling Ridge ranks in the top three according to Robin Karson, author of Fletcher Steele, Landscape Architect. The garden rooms, the fountains and the layout reflect the genius of Steele in one of his earliest designs. Yet years of New England weather have deteriorated the concrete and stopped the water flow. Five presentations from Steele experts will illuminate Steele at Rolling Ridge, lead us on a tour the garden and fountains and tell of plans for restoration.

    Come see this historic gem, view the plans and ideas for restoration and share in the conversation on the future of this significant landscape. Register online at www.rollingridge.org.  The $75 fee includes a delicious lunch, presentations and tour. Rain or shine.  Garden Club of the Back Bay members enjoyed a memorable tour and lunch last spring at Rolling Ridge, and everyone attending saw the need for an influx of money, time and expertise to put Rolling Ridge back on the map.  The Club enthusiastically endorses this effort.

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  • Tuesday, May 14, 10:00 am – Rolling Ridge, A Fletcher Steele Landscape of the Country Place Era

    The Garden Club of the Back Bay will embark on a field trip to Rolling Ridge, a Fletcher Steele designed landscape in North Andover, 25 miles north of Boston and situated on a half mile of lakefront property, with 38 secluded acres of woods and rolling hills. The field trip will take place Tuesday, May 14, leaving from Back Bay at 9 am. Members will receive a car pool notice in the mail. The gardens feature a double labyrinth nestled in the peaceful woods, an outdoor chapel on the edge of Lake Cochichewick, and the award winning landscape features historic fountains, walking trails, and meditation benches.  In the past, it was a country estate owned by wealthy New Yorker Ethan Allen, who, in 1915, commissioned renowned landscape architect Fletcher Steele to design and construct the gardens on the property. The commission was Steele’s first independent Country Place Era Estate project. The scenery and lake views were so important to Mr. Allen that he wanted the landscape and hardscape completed before beginning construction of the house (a forty room Georgian mansion). The features of the garden and hardscape are remarkably well-preserved and the intent of the use and design is readily apparent. It is said to be one of the best extant examples of a Fletcher Steele landscape.

    Our guide is Maureen O’Brien. She has studied in depth the Fletcher Steele garden at Rolling Ridge. She co-authored the Cultural Landscape Report (CLR) and authored a Treatment and Maintenance Plan for Rolling Ridge. Maureen has a certificate in Landscape Preservation from the Landscape Institute at the Arnold Arboretum at Harvard University and the Boston Architectural College. She is vice president and member chair of the New England Landscape and History Association (NELDHA), is on the Editorial Board for Perspectives, a landscape design and history publication with special emphasis on New England, and has been involved with a number of historic properties in Massachusetts. Coffee and scones will be served prior to Maureen’s talk, followed by a buffet lunch and walking tour. $15 for GCBB members, $20 for guests. For more information email info@bostonflora.com.

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