Boston Flora

Tag: Sarah Orne Jewett

  • Thursday, July 10, 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm – A Seacoast Garden Exhibition Opening

    Join Historic New England at the Sarah Orne Jewett House, 5 Portland Street in South Berwick, Maine on Joly 10 from 5 – 7 for an opening reception of our new exhibition!

    In partnership with the Dover Arts Commission, this summer’s gallery exhibition at the Sarah Orne Jewett House is A Seacoast Garden. This exhibition is inspired by the new collections going on displayed at Hamilton House. This new display examines Elise Tyson’s early 20th century photography of the Hamilton House Gardens and her floral arrangements. Tyson found inspiration for her photography and art in her garden and others along the seacoasts of Maine and New Hampshire. Elise was inspired by the beauty and uniqueness she found in these gardens. A Seacoast Garden weaves together the works of local artists that are interpretations or are inspired by the local seacoast gardens of today with Elise Tyson’s garden photographs. Together, this exhibition examens the unique beauty of seacoast gardens and the purposes they serve today and in the past.

    Free. Please call (207) 384-2454 for more information.

  • Saturday, July 21, 9:00 am – 8:00 pm – Historic Houses and Gardens in South Berwick, Maine

    Massachusetts Horticultural staff members April Daley and Maureen Horn are hosting a bus trip on Saturday, July 21, to South Berwick, Maine, where travelers will receive private group tours of two properties owned by Historic New England. The first is the 1785 Georgian mansion, Hamilton House, a National Historic Landmark, built on a bluff overlooking the Salmon Falls River and surrounded by classic gardens.

    The featured visit is to the Sarah Orne Jewett House, first owned by her family in 1819, on a festive day when the public is being invited especially into its herb gardens. Nancy Wetzel, the House’s Landscape historian, will speak to the group from Mass Hort on the historic importance of herbs and of community herbalists, as seen through the lens of The Country of the Pointed Firs and Mrs. Todd, the novel’s herb practitioner. Afterwards, she will guide us through the garden to provide a sensory experience of the herbs described by Jewett.

    Between house visits, we will stop in Kittery, Maine so that travelers can choose a place to enjoy lunch from a large array of restaurants.

    The tour will start at 9:00 in the Target parking lot on Route 30 in Framingham and return there at 8:00 p. m.

    If you have questions about the tour please contact the librarian, Maureen Horn, at 617-933-4912 or MHorn@Masshort.org. The cost is $110 for Mass Hort members and $130 for non-members.

    Registration will be complete only by an online reservation or check payable to the Massachusetts Horticultural Society by July 2.. Please mail your check to the attention of Maureen Horn at 900 Washington Street, Wellesley, MA 02482.

    Note: If there are fewer than 20 registrants by July 3 the tour will be cancelled.

  • Saturday, June 26, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm – South Berwick Strawberry Festival

    Celebrate Historic New England’s 100th Birthday with strawberry shortcake and free house tours during South Berwick’s Strawberry Festival on Saturday, June 26, from 10 – 4. The Strawberry Festival is family friendly event that welcomes thousands of visitors to the town’s center for a day of musical performances, children’s games, craft and fine art vendors, food and, of course, the fabulous home made strawberry shortcake. Free tours of the first floor of the Jewett House throughout the day plus a Historic New England information booth on the festival grounds featuring a drawing for the new Windows on the Past book.  Free admission.  For more information, call 207-384-2454, or log on to www.historicnewengland.org.

    Windows on the Past: Four Centuries of New England Homes

  • Thursday, July 23, 10:30 – 11:30 a.m. – Landscape and Garden Tour of Hamilton House

    Take part in a special oportunity to learn about the landscape and gardens at Hamilton House, 40 Vaughan’s Lane, South Berwick,  Maine, one of the properties administered by Historic New England, with Regional Landscape Manager Gary Wentzel.

    After railroads made the region accessible in the late 19th century, coastal Maine became a fashionable destination for wealthy summer people. Many of the newcomers bought and restored the fine old houses built during the prosperous years following the American Revolution.

    In 1898, Mrs. Emily Tyson and her stepdaughter, Elise, purchased the c. 1785 Hamilton House, built on a magnificent site overlooking the Salmon Falls River. The Tysons flung themselves into a lifelong project to restore the house to its former glory. Influenced by literary imagery, including the writings of their neighbor and friend, Sarah Orne Jewett, they decorated with a mixture of elegant antiques, painted murals, and simple country furnishings to create their own romantic interpretation of America’s colonial past.

    $6 for Members of Historic New England, $12 for non-Members.  For more information and directions, log on to www.historicnewengland.org.

  • Saturday, July 19, 10 – 11:30 a.m. – Herbs in The Country of the Pointed Firs

    Landscape Gardener Nancy Wetzel takes a fascinating look at medicinal herbs, the historic importance of community herbalists, and herb gardens through the lens of author Sarah Orne Jewett’s 1896 book The Country of the Pointed Firs. Visiting Historic New England’s Sarah Orne Jewett House at 5 Portland Street in South Berwick, Maine is a special treat, and to see the home in combination with this presentation is an extraordinary opportunity.  Writer Sarah Orne Jewett spent much of her life in this stately Georgian residence, owned by her family since 1819. The view from her desk in the second-floor hall surveys the town’s major intersection and provided her with material for her books, such as The Country of the Pointed Firs, which describe the character of the Maine countryside and seacoast with accuracy and affection. Registration is required – call 207-384-2454, or log on to www.historicnewengland.org for directions and more information.