Tag Archives: gardens to visit

Haskell Public Gardens, a treasure preserved

September 11, 2022 Katherine Tracey Leave a comment

An unexpected find, winter blooming Edgeworthia outside the Haskell office, under the canopy of a Japanese Maple

Greeting you at the property entrance: Emilia and Verbena bonariensis join silvery Artemisia in a pocket in front of a stonewall.

On an otherwise unassuming avenue in New Bedford MA is a 6 acre public garden that carries on the legacy of the renowned nurseryman and garden maker, Allen C. Haskell. The main greenhouses and nursery yard are now gone, but The Trustees for Reservations, who acquired the property in 2013, have preserved the main plantings and made the gardens open to the public free of charge 365 days a year. It is now a tranquil oasis enjoyed by local residents.

A towering Dawn Redwood underplanted with Hosta, a genus that. Allen Haskell avidly collected.

Numerous consultants were brought in to advise on what plantings should remain and how to deal with open space. Horticulturist Kristin McCullin has been the steward of the property since the beginning and her sensitivity to the details of Haskell’s original design is to be praised. That being said, Kristin has invited playful creativity by engaging local artists to collaborate with on the grounds.

The old glasshouses may be too expensive to heat these days, but artist Tracy Silva Barbosa turned these structures into an interactive colorful installation. I love the way the light filters through the colored panels creating multi-hued spotlights on the stonework.

Bring a picnic! There are various spots to pause and take in the flora and fauna.

If you live in southeastern New England and have never visited the property, you must. Visiting the area from afar? Put this garden on your agenda. The property is located at 787 Shawmut Avenue, New Bedford, MA . For more information on the Haskell Public Gardens and other Trustees Properties, visit their website. https://thetrustees.org/place/allen-c-haskell-public-gardens/

Featured, Special Gardens

Our winter visit to the Montreal Botanical Garden

February 5, 2020 Katherine Tracey Leave a comment

Traveling always presents challenges…What to do when you have a 22-hour layover in Montreal? Book a hotel, get up early and take an Uber to the Montreal Botanical Garden, otherwise known as Le Jardin Botanique de Montréal…after all it is in the French-speaking province of Quebec. Yes, there was an icy layer of snow outdoors, but inside the 10 greenhouse complex, there was flora to excite even the most jaded botanist. Check out this sensational planted wall with Begonia, Pothos, Tillandsia, Prayer Plants and more.The orchid house was full of treasures. Epiphytic plants cascaded from the rafters.

Each greenhouse focuses on a specific plant group, with specimens arranged in an aesthetically pleasing manner. Here is the view from the catwalk in the Aroid, Cycad and Palm House.The Succulent Greenhouse … with Mexican themed architecturecloseup of the hanging Rhipsalis floccosa

More temperate plantings were found in the cooler Asian themed greenhouse.An exquisite 45 year old Penjing specimen of Pyrancantha crenulataSweetly fragrant Wintersweet, Chimonanthus praecox, which wouldn’t be hardy outdoors in Montreal or most of Massachusetts for that matter, was in full bloom indoors in January.There are many educational exhibits that are artfully conceived. Here cut stems of Red Twig Dogwood are inserted in a wooden platform, echoing the stems outdoors in the distance. Floating from the rafters above is a montage of recycled trash…yes…what we fill our landfills with.Another view of the recycled assemblage.Chris and I didn’t have time to walk the grounds, even though the winter landscape beckoned. The staff we spoke with were extremely knowledgable and quite proud of their garden, as well they should be. If you are looking for a flora filled winter escape, the greenhouses here are exceptional. We definitely want to return this summer or fall.

Featured, Garden Musings, Winter Interest

Now Revealed

December 5, 2016 Katherine Tracey 11 Comments

There is much to observe in the winter landscapes surrounding us here in New England. This past Sunday, Chris and I revisited nearby Weetamoo Woods in Tiverton RI. The deciduous trees have mostly let go of their leaves, and what is now revealed might go unnoticed earlier in the season or be at a totally different stage. For example, above, the pesky green briar offers subtle beauty with its zigzag lines and blue black orbs of fruit against the waning light.Now, without the distraction of spring’s brilliant greens or autumn’s blazing red and gold tones, natural stone, tree trunks and moss become the main attractions…Look at this end of a wall formation embossed with aged lichen and liverwortsThere are colorful surprises…even at some distance, this olive green Rock Fern, happily embedded in a fissure of this sculpted stone, stood out.A closer view of the fern’s habitat.A dry laid stone wall still stands proudly and has developed a patina money can’t buy.Life and sounds emanating from this creek announced the remains of an old saw mill nearby.
Chris, a master stone wall artisan himself, inspected an ancient arched stone bridge which spanned the creek further ahead.The vertical rhythm of tree trunks countered the soft crunch of oak leaves on the forest floor. Note to self: How simple, how peaceful.Dry laid stone walls, like this handsome and still structurally sound example in Weetamoo Woods, acted as boundaries for livestock in earlier days, and now mark “rooms” throughout the property. Here and there, a tree might take root at its base, but a caregiver has seen to it that bramble hasn’t obscured its presence.

We can all be thankful for the simple beauty of our local woodlands, preserved with sensitive editing by the stewards who care for them. Imperfections, such as a wall slightly tumbled, may not be tolerated in some of our more cultivated gardens but are celebrated where the natural landscape rules.

Is there a special woodland walk near you which you find restorative? Perhaps you would like to share a special place with our readers.

Featured, Gardens to Visit

February Postcards from Seattle

February 24, 2016 Katherine Tracey 1 Comment

Trees Dancing in the Arboretum

No, Spring had not officially arrived on our recent visit, but its signs were imminent…bulbs were beginning to shoot, the Hellebores were showing color, and ample precipitation had swollen tree buds. The most exquisite sights were the moss covered trees…..trunks and branches coated in almost day glow green.

Arboretum Maple

Volunteer Park Trio

Hellebores

The beautiful glasshouse at Voluntary Park

The beautiful glasshouse at Volunteer Park as the sun broke through.

A feature of the Orchid show inside.

Tillandsia were dripping

In the Cactus house

Erica in bloom at the Kubota Garden entrance

A Kubota View

Nature did it….Green Roof Bus Stop, Bainbridge Island

The images, captured in between showers, were taken along the roadside, at the Washington University Arboretum, Volunteer Park and inside the Conservatory, and Kubota Gardens. We missed out on The Bloedel Reserve and Heronswood because of the rain, but there will absolutely be a next time!

Fall Interest, Featured, Garden Musings, Special Gardens

Photographing Plants, Gardens, Chanticleer

October 26, 2015 Katherine Tracey 8 Comments

A view from inside The Ruins

It’s been on my calendar for months: Oct. 23-25, a 3 day weekend at Chanticleer, taking photographs with guided instruction from Rob Cardillo and Lisa Roper. Rob is an accomplished garden photographer who recently collaborated with Adrian Higgins, garden writer for The Washington Post, to chronicle the seasonal beauty of this “pleasure garden” as well as honor the artistic creativity of the talented staff in Chanticleer, A Pleasure Garden. Lisa Roper is one of the horticulturists at Chanticleer, who combines her artistic training with horticultural knowledge to design, implement and tend special garden areas, most recently the celebrated Gravel Garden. Lisa takes much of the imagery that graces the Chanticleer website.

The Gravel Garden: Aster (Symphyotrichon) ‘October Skies’ with Grasses

I was also a tad worried. I knew that frost had struck the gardens just the week before (as it had here in my own garden), and I was wondering if the photo ops would be minimized by one freezing night’s wrath.

Fall color…Oak leaves in the Ruins

No need for concern, as a garden as beautifully composed as Chanticleer always has imagery to offer. There was luminous autumn foliage of course, and the grasses were at their prime, as well as seed pods which offered curious if not whimsical subject matter. I tend to look at things differently and find beauty in decay, as the garden surrenders to shorter days and limited temperatures.

An early arrival on Friday allowed me time to do some scouting as to where I should zoom in for image taking. The light in the garden was a bit harsh before 5pm, but this vignette on the covered porch had possibilities, so I made a mental note.

Chiaroscuro Orchid

Good thing I did, because Sunday morning brought drizzle and skies of gray, and the porch was a safe refuge. The light turned out to be exquisite. I haven’t succumbed to orchid addiction yet, but this Lady Slipper Orchid caught the light most pleasingly in a chiaroscuro sort of way. Overcast days can present opportunities.

Chanticleer: Outdoor Living Room

The Ruin and its surroundings have always been my favorite part of the garden, although I am apt to change my mind depending on the season. This outdoor living room, with its cut stone sofa and chairs, is both whimsical, functional, and works as year round sculpture.

Chanticleer…the reflecting pool with succulents

Within the walls of the Ruin is the most elegant raised reflecting pool. After taking several shots at different times from different angles, a few images were quite pleasing but this one really sang. Yes, I am a succulent fanatic, and isn’t it delicious the way the succulents are reflected, not only in the pool but on the polished stone apron as well?

An admission here: I was unleashing my individualist’s streak here trying to work out this composition. (I had stopped at the Barne’s Foundation on Friday morning and absorbed a lot of Impressionist and Post Impressionist sensibilities.) I wanted to capture the pattern on pattern of the Poncirus (Hardy Orange) with the tree trunks and fall foliage in the background. There wasn’t a positive response from my classmates when I shared this image, but y’know, I still like it.

This brings me to a strong recommendation: whether you’re a budding photographer or involved in any artistic pursuit, you should consider signing up for workshops with peers. It is quite astonishing how everyone sees things differently. Each individual has his/her own point of view, and most points of view are valid. Positive or constructively critical feedback provides you with an awareness you are unlikely to arrive at on your own. Our instructor, Rob Cardillo, always found something positive to say about each participant’s work, and was kind and generous with his instruction on how each image could be improved.

Fall Finale

One last note: if you’re someone who loves gardens and has never been, plan to visit Chanticleer. There are only a few days left before they close for the season on November 1st, but the 2016 season begins again early next spring. It is a public garden that is intimate, artistic, and full of horticultural treasures. It truly is a Pleasure Garden; there is no better way to describe it.

Featured, Special Gardens

the Allen C. Haskell Public Garden

October 7, 2014 Katherine Tracey 14 Comments

I have really really good news, and I know many of the customers we shared with the late renowned horticulturist, Allen C. Haskell, will be especially delighted to read this: Allen’s 6 acre New Bedford MA property will once again be open to visitors. The Massachusetts land trust organization, the Trustees of Reservations, purchased the property from the Haskell family in 2013. Under the Trustees stewardship, with Kristen de Souza at the helm as Superintendent of the Haskell property, the gardens and grounds are being restored and reinvented as the Allen C. Haskell Public Garden. The official opening day is Oct 26, 2014.

I spoke with Ross Moran, Southeast Engagement Manager for the Trustees, about what has transpired since the transfer of ownership and what is planned for the future. Utile Inc. along with Reed Hilderbrand Landscape Architects of Boston were brought in as design/planning consultants. The gardens at the front of the property remain as they were. Gone is the nursery area and several of the big greenhouses. In their place is an expanse of newly planted lawn, known as the Common, which will be an area for children’s play, picnics, and performances. Some of the space will be allocated for parking. The glasshouses are still there, but it has not been decided yet how they will be used.

The gardens were in need of an overhaul (as any gardener will tell you, it doesn’t take long for plantings to get out of control) and there was much pruning, pruning, (did I say pruning?), thinning, transplanting, and weeding. In less than a year, Kristen de Souza, along with her seasonal staff and volunteers, accomplished so much. Many wonderful aged specimens remain on the property, including Metasequoia (Dawn Redwood), Acer palmatum and griseum (Japanese and Paperbark Maple) and the pruning has given them new life. The bluestone walks, cobble and stone work still provide excellent bones for the landscape.

The charming small brick buildings, covered with Ivy and Parthenocissus, will be repurposed as a visitor center, the superintendents office, and much needed rest rooms. The Hathaway House, where Allen last lived, will serve as the superintendent’s residence, and the other home on the property may be rented. Plans are to use some of the greenhouses for teaching gardening techniques.

You will also be delighted to know that Gene Bertrand, Allen’s long time partner and nursery manager, has been brought on as an advisor. The engaging Gene will be on hand on Opening Day to give one of several guided tours.

More about the Opening Day festivities: Date/time: Oct 26, 2014 from 11am-3pm. The ribbon cutting ceremony will be at 11:30 am and the staff , volunteers, donors and stakeholders will be recognized for their contributions. The afternoon promises music for varied tastes: performances by the New Bedford Symphony Orchestra (classical), the Jethros, (lively, feel good music), and even a local hip hop artist. Gourmet food trucks will be on hand. There are numerous childrens activities planned.

The Allen C. Haskell Public Garden will be open year round, although winter hours may be more limited. If you can’t make it to the opening, plan to visit another time. For those of you who have never been, it is located at 787 Shawmut Ave. New Bedford MA. Contact southcoast@ttor.org for the latest information.

Featured, Special Gardens

Early evening at Hollister House Garden

September 8, 2014 Katherine Tracey 8 Comments

Early September evening in the garden

Simple Elegant Rill

Copper cauldron with waterlilies

Eupatorium coelsitinum edging granite steps

Reds and Purple and Gold

I spent the weekend in western CT, participating in the plant sale at Hollister House Garden. Garden structures, walls, walkways, rills and other water features are the backdrop (or focal points) for exuberant plantings in the English Garden Style. It’s formal and casual at once. It’s the garden so many of us wish we had.

Thank you George Schoellkopf for creating this masterpiece and sharing it with so many.

For more info on visiting the garden, follow this website

Featured, Gardens to Visit, Special Gardens, Spring Color

Almost Spring, at Filoli

March 1, 2014 Katherine Tracey 16 Comments

It’s hard not to have an inferiority complex when you are visiting the West Coast. Everything happens so much earlier here. We took an opportunity to escape New England’s enduring winter, and discovered signs of spring at Filoli, a beautiful estate garden just south of San Francisco in Woodside CA. We were able to get in some picture taking in between the downpours.

Some history. William Bowers Bourn II, owner of one of California’s richest gold mines and president of the Spring Valley Water Company, which supplied water to the city if San Francisco, built Filoli between 1915 and 1917. The Georgian style dwelling sits on an estate of 654 acres, of which 6 acres are cultivated gardens. Ownership changed hands in 1936 when Mr. and Mrs. William P. Roth (Lurline Matson, heir of the Matson Navigation Company) purchased the property. Mrs. Roth saw to the establishment of many of the gardens we see today. She added the woodland copse, the swimming pool garden and the screened-in teahouse, and built Filoli’s botanic collections of camellias, rhododendrons and azaleas.

Lucky for us, Mrs. Roth donated the estate in its entirety to the National Trust for Historic Preservation in 1975, including a healthy endowment to help support operating expenses. It is open to the public February through October, 10-3:30 pm. Filoli is closed on Mondays. For more info visit their website.

Featured, Gardens to Visit, Special Gardens, Winter Interest

Tower Hill Botanic Garden, an escape…

February 2, 2013 Katherine Tracey 8 Comments

Succulent display in The Limonaia

….from winter

That silly groundhog doesn’t know anything. February may be short but it is still winter, and March is usually a big tease. If you’re like me, you must be tired from being cooped up and could use a green escape, perhaps to see and smell something verdant.

Fortunately for me, I didn’t have to travel very far. I grabbed my camera, hopped in the car and within an hour and 15 minutes, I was at Tower Hill Botanic Gardens in Boylston, which is located in central Massachusetts just northeast of Worcester. What a tonic for the senses.

As you enter the Stoddard Visitor Center, you are greeted with many options: a book/gift shop to browse, a cafe where you can refuel, a series of glass windows and doors which offer views and access to the newly installed winter garden, and immediately to your right, the beautiful Limonaia, a cathedral like conservatory featuring succulents, camellias, bromeliads, palms and you bet, citrus in bud and fruit.

It just so happened that on the day of my visit, The Worcester Horticultural Society’s annual event Flora in Winter was taking place at both Tower Hill and the Worcester Art Museum (so I made a date with an old friend and caught that show too, but I won’t digress further!) On display throughout the visitor center were exotic floral arrangements by both professional and amateur designers.

But enough talk for a moment, let me show you what I saw.

Billbergia nutans, an epiphytic bromeliad

Camellia ‘Mabel Bayard Thayer’

Acacia….love!

Another species of Acacia

Abutilon megapotamicum, aka Chinese Lanterns

Asparagus densiflorus, Foxtail Asparagus Fern… Love, again

Flora in Winter Arrangement Detail

Winter Flame Dogwood, and a chilly statue overlooking the Winter Garden

A corner view of the Winter Garden

It is amazing to see the evolution that has transpired at Tower Hill since its inception some 26 years ago. The first planted area was the Harrington Apple Orchard, a collection of heirloom varieties that would someday be lost if it were not for the stewardship here. Numerous new garden areas have been created over the years, and the latest, the Winter Garden, was opened to the public in November of 2010. The bones are in place and already the plantings are taking shape. Come visit for ideas on which hardy plants will add winter color and form to your landscape.

Tower Hill is open year round, Tuesday through Sunday, 9-5 (Closed Mondays). Admission is free with membership, otherwise, $12 per adult (seniors $9).

For much more information, including upcoming events visit: http://www.towerhillbg.org

or call: 508.869.6111

Featured, Garden Design, Gardens to Visit, Special Gardens

A Garden Cemetery: Mt. Auburn

September 28, 2012 Katherine Tracey 1 Comment

Strolling through Mt Auburn Cemetery

As Halloween approaches, our human curiosity regarding death and the afterlife gets played out in various and perhaps even gleeful ways. Macabre decorations adorn our dooways and activities associated with this autumnal celebration fill community calendars: haunted house openings, pumpkin extravaganzas, cemetery strolls. One cemetery you absolutely must consider if you are so inclined is Mt Auburn Cemetery, America’s first Garden Cemetery in Watertown/Cambridge (…more details after the images).

A view of the cemetery from one of the hillsides.

Another view.

A formal entrance to a family plot.

A touchingly sad gravemarker.

Another unique grave marker.

Sheath of grain embellishment on an above ground crypt.

An ancient weeping Japanese Pagoda Tree, Styphnolobium japonicum pendula

Paperbark maple, Acer griseum, with its rich exfoliating bark.

Fading yet Verdant

The concept of a garden cemetery came about in 1831, when the citizens of Boston were looking for a practical and aesthetic solution for burying the city?s deceased. The original architects of Mt Auburn Cemetery, Jacob Bigelow, Henry Alexander Scammell Dearborn and Alexander Wadsworth drew their inspiration from the hauntingly beautiful Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, remarkable for its rolling hills, ancient trees, winding paths with distinctive “street” names, magnificent sculptures and elaborate grave markers. They envisioned a beautiful and tranquil setting for families to gather and find peace.

A walk through Mt Auburn Cemetery today assures us that the early founders achieved their goal. The landscape of rolling hills, ponds, sylvan paths and garden artifacts offers a tranquil sanctuary for both the living and the dead. Magnificent trees, labeled as you would expect in any arboretum, dominate the grounds. Elaborate and exquisite garden statuary is everywhere. Lanes and paths are named after botanical subjects. On any given day you will encounter folks from all generations enjoying this peaceful escape from urban life: birders, young mothers with strollers, and joggers.

Enjoy this visual stroll, and if you live within a reasonable distance, plan a visit to Mt Auburn Cemetery soon. It is open to the public every day of the year, although the gates close at different times depending on the season.

Garden Foreplay

Tag Archives: gardens to visit

Haskell Public Gardens, a treasure preserved

Our winter visit to the Montreal Botanical Garden

Now Revealed

February Postcards from Seattle

Photographing Plants, Gardens, Chanticleer

the Allen C. Haskell Public Garden

Early evening at Hollister House Garden

Almost Spring, at Filoli

Tower Hill Botanic Garden, an escape…

A Garden Cemetery: Mt. Auburn

plants, gardens, beauty