October Newsletter: Trips Ahoy!
Field Trip to Long Hill
Holly Salemy, Maryrose Sykes, Nan Guftason, Joan Campbell, Andrea Meyers, Hilary Robinson, Sarah MacEachern
Maryrose Sykes reports: On Friday, September 27th , a small group visited Long Hill in Beverly, MA on a spectacular, sunny day. We enjoyed navigating through the property with its diverse collection of trees, shrubs and distinctive perennial plants. The majestic, impressive beech tree, before the entrance of the early-20th-century Federal Revival house, captured our attention as we embarked on our self-guided walk. We ended our visit eating our picnic lunch and sharing stories on the back lawn terrace. A fabulous spot!
Field Trip to the Stone Estate at Great Hill
Jane Coutre, Maryrose Sykes, Patricia Waters, Holly Salemy, Sarah MacEachern, Melinda Shumway, Jane Rupley, Sarah Paino, Nan Gustafson, and Rod Riedel
Nan Gustafson writes: Monday, September 30, was another glorious day for a Garden Club of Concord field trip. A small group traveled to Marion, Massachusetts for a private tour of the Stone Estate at Great Hill, which was coordinated with the help of fellow member, Jane Rupley. Located on the shores of Buzzards Bay, the 312 acre estate is truly a magnificent oasis, steeped in history and splendid beauty. Jane’s friend, Cathy Stone, granddaughter of Galen L. Stone, who originally purchased the property in 1908, provided us with interesting facts about the history of the land, which was once used by the Native Americans and then later the location of the first hotel in Marion. Over the years after Galen Stone purchased the land, landscape designers were hired, including Warren Manning, who helped develop the overall plan for the property; Thomas Sears, who designed the formal garden in 1915; and Fletcher Steele, who, in 1935, helped catalog the existing plants and trees on the property.
Rhododendron Vista
View of Buzzards Bay from the big house
Cathy led us through the grounds and gardens, explaining how the family continues to maintain and preserve the landscape as originally designed, however making improvements and changes as needed. As we walked the grounds with sweeping views of Buzzards Bay, we passed collections of mature trees, including enormous old Beech Trees, which are being treated to prevent Beech leaf disease; the “big” house, which has been renovated and reduced in size over the years; the impressive Rhododendron vista, a 30’ wide path lined with 100 year old Rhododendrons stretching as far as the eye can see; and a 100 foot long wisteria covered pergola set beside a tennis court. We wound our way through the “Wild” Garden in the woods, passing mature Andromeda plants. We eventually ended our tour in the formal garden, which consists of many different garden rooms, each with a different theme and delineated by 10’ tall hedges. Although many plants have been cut back for the season, the roses and dahlias were exquisite.
October Program, Wednesday the 16th
The Programming Committee invites you to join them at TriCon at 1 pm on Wednesday, to welcome out October speaker, Cindy Brockway, Cultural Resources Program Director for The Trustees of Reservations. As part of the year’s theme of the history of Concord’s designed and natural environment, the subject of her talk will be Fletcher Steele, Landscape Designer. One of the most famous and prolific landscape architects from the Northeast, Steele designed several notable gardens right here in Concord, as well as his renowned Naumkeag in Stockbridge, MA.
Welcome (Back) New Member Jo-ann Lovejoy
Jo-Ann joined the Garden Club of Concord, and the Board, in 2001 and led the robust 75th Anniversary Committee/Community Gardens, whose work culminated in the creation of the 75th Anniversary Gardens at the Townhouse and West Concord. Recently retired from corporate and not-for-profit work, Jo-Ann is happy to renew her tenure with the Club, which paused in 2008 when she returned to the workplace.
Jo-Ann is a former member of the Andover Garden Club, Garden Club of the Back Bay, and Board member of the New England Wildflower Society (Native Plant Trust). She currently serves as a Councilor for Manomet, whose focus is based on conservation sciences. She is also a beekeeper. Jo-Ann lives in Concord and enjoys her time spent with her husband, children, grandchildren, and dear friends.
Family Trees at The Concord Museum
The Garden Club of Concord has participated in Concord Museum’s Family Trees celebration from the beginning. This year is the 29th celebration of children’s literature, and the Garden Club team is using We Are the Gardeners by Joanna Gaines (yes, the Joanna Gaines from HDTV). This book is about the Gaines Family becoming people who actually grow food, and we are enchanted by the sweet drawings and the chance to add to our reliable “flowers” repertoire this year! The team has met a few times already and is choosing to highlight the bounty of the garden featured in the book’s charming illustrations by Julianna Swaney. Handmade tomatoes, squash, corn cobs and other every veggie you can imagine, along with garlands of seed packets, tiny metal watering cans, and children’s work gloves will decorate our tree. More visuals to come!
For Your Consideration . . .
Craft Alert! I get an email from Avant Gardens every Fall reminding me that I live too far away from them in Dartmouth MA to take one of their seasonal succulent arrangement classes, but I am always inspired and think someday I might just raid Mahoney’s for supplies and try to make one anyway. Happily, they have buried on their website from back in 2014 a whole blog post with clues to make this little fella pictured below. Watch out, Mahoney’s! I’m getting in my car right now!
Another “I could make that” moment this week was when I saw these beautiful marbled paper cachepots. No judgement for the $36 apiece price tag, but if you’re like me, if you want one? you want more than one. How fun would a holiday version of this be with a Christmas Cactus for a host gift? Or as a wrapping for a baby spider plant you’re sharing with a friend? Beautiful paper of all kinds can be found on Etsy for a fraction of the price (look at this, or these!), and Mod Podge is a crafter’s best friend.
Member Dennis Fiori is currently traveling in the UK> Do check out his Instagram feed for glimpses of his house and garden tours. Meanwhile, he just sent this article from Gardens Illustrated, a British magazine, about the scientific connection between well being and gardening. Enjoy!
Are you watching your Dahlias fade and promising yourself to dig them up in time to store them over the winter for BETTER flowers next year? Here’s a reminder of all the things you need to know to keep those tubers thriving.