Boston Flora

Tag: South Berwick Maine

  • 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.