MHS Leaflet, August 2023

Leaflet A MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY PUBLICATION

AUGUST 2023

TABLE OF CONTENTS 3 4 6 8 13 14 18

22 26

From the President's Desk James Hearsum Upcoming Classes Events and Programs In First Person: Michael Dirr Italianate Garden Sketch

By Marianne Orlando Abundance

By John Lee Weeds: the good, the bad, and the ugly

By Catherine Cooper From the Stacks

By Maureen T. O'Brien 2023 Garden Opening Sponsors

Illustrations by Marianne Orlando

CONTACT EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Wayne Mezitt

waynem@westonnurseries.com

MANAGING EDITOR Meghan Connolly

mconnolly@masshort.org

FROM THE PRESIDENT'S DESK August can be a difficult month for gardening, but so rewarding if the effort is made. Filled with color and abundant with the pollinators we have worked hard to attract, it is full of life and the rewards of past labors. As it heats up, plan ahead to enjoy your garden.

For me, that means garden work in the early morning and entertaining late into the evening. There is nothing more full of joy than the lush harvests gathered at dawn, served to friends at sunset.

Here at Elm Bank, after a brief hiatus, the vegetable garden is again in production with the support of our new youth educator Libby. Not only does this provide a wonderful demonstration garden and food production, it is also participating in national plant trials and providing a hub for our summer camp horticultural programs.

Regular visitors will also notice changes in Weezie’s Garden for Children. The newly replanted pollinator garden area is starting to fill in and become a magnet for insects of all kinds. It is as popular with pollinators as the misting water-pad is with children! While there, look out for the Ribbit sculptures busy at work and play.

Gardening in August is not just about the harvest and the beauty, joyful as these are, but about creating memories. Involve your children and grandchildren in the process, teach them about nature, from the simplest to the complex, and let them enjoy digging in the soil and harvesting what you have grown. Some of my earliest memories are of picking and podding peas from our allotment, sitting in the front doorway as a tiny child with two giant bowls – one for peas and one for pods. These moments stay with us forever and might just be the spark to a lifelong love of gardening. Happy gardening!

James Hearsum President & Executive Director

We are saddened by the passing of former Trustee and Overseer Keith Hutchins, who, together with Elaine Fiske, acted as interim Executive Director from August 2003-January 2005. We are grateful for his dedication to MHS.

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DROP-IN PROGRAMS

Weekly Mah Jongg Drop-in Sessions Wednesdays at 12pm

Judge with Us! - Trial Garden Wednesdays 11-11:30am

MHS Book Club Third Tuesday of the Month at 1:30pm August 15: A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold

Education Station Drop-In Saturdays, 10am-1pm

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VIEW AUGUS

EDUCATION CLASSES

Colored Pencil Techniques for Botanical Subjects on Toned Paper Saturday, August 17 9:30am-3:30pm

White Flowers of Summer in Colored Pencil & Graphite Saturday, August 21 9:30am-3:30pm

FALL AND WINTER EDUCATION ANNOUCEMENT COMING SOON! STAY TUNED FOR A FULL LIST OF EXCITING AND EDUCATIONAL CLASSES FROM A VARIETY OF HORTICULTURAL TOPICS FOR THE FALL AND WINTER LOOK OUT FOR AN EMAIL MID-AUGUST!

ST CALENDAR

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GARDEN

Northeast Regional Perennial Plant Symposium Thursday, August 24

This year's Northeast Regional Plant Symposium is less than a month away! This event features talks from 4 regional plant experts. Don't miss this opportunity to learn more about perennial & native plants, meet (or reconnect!) with other plant professionals and garden lovers, and enjoy continental breakfast and catered lunch on a late-summer day at the Garden at Elm Bank. Secure your spot today.

Spectacular Native Plants: Beauty and Biodiversity of the Northeast Andrew Brand, Director of Horticulture, Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens

Let's Talk About This John Magee, Owner, Magee Design

Spoiled for Choice: Becoming an Informed Consumer of Native Plants Uli Lorimer, Director of Horticulture, Native Plant Trust Let your Landscape Work for You: Designing for Resilience and Sustainability Marie Chieppo, Ecological Landscape Designer; Accredited Organic Land Care Professional

PURCHASE TICKETS WHILE THEY'RE STILL AVAILABLE! 6 | August 2023

EVENTS

15th Annual Festival of Trees NOW ACCEPTING TREE DONATIONS!

Be a part of what makes Festival of Trees so magical: the dozens of trees donated by community groups, local businesses and families! Come up with your pretty, wild, cute or unique theme and sign up to donate today.

DONATE A TREE

Ribbit the Exhibit

On View During Garden Hours through Labor Day

Come visit our froggy friends who are here for the summer season!

25 frogs have found themselves at home in the Garden at Elm Bank.

Find them all and read their backstories to learn about how these frogs are having fun this summer.

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In First Person Dr. Michael A. Dirr

Dr. Michael A. Dirr’s accomplishments during his five-decade-long horticultural career qualify him as an authentic horticultural guru. As an introducer of numerous woody plants, Mike has been instrumental in developing remontant hydrangeas––those that have the capability of reblooming on the current year’s growth. Remontancy is a revolutionary trait with exceptional worth, particularly for the blue hydrangeas (Hydrangea macrophylla types) that are so dear to Cape-Cod-ers, since this species is an unreliable bloomer in many regions. Here’s Mike’s story in his own words.

Remontant (reblooming) Hydrangea macrophylla: A brief history

My frustration with lack of consistent flowering on Hydrangea macrophylla moved my mental needle to consider alternatives to traditional breeding practices. Our Hydrangea breeding program at The University of Georgia (UGA) was in the cul-de-sac, having bred lots of pretty flowering plants, but nothing we considered much better than those developed by the early French breeders, Lemoine and Mouillere.

In fact, over 100 years later, H. macrophylla ‘Mme. Emile Mouillere’ (1909) is arguably the best garden white mophead, and we saw minimal improvements over traditional blue hydrangeas. I read many hydrangea books and research papers hoping to uncover unique genes for hardiness, reblooming, and disease-free foliage. If H. macrophylla flowered on new growth, akin to H. arborescens, then, when injured by climatic challenges, flowers would develop.

I began searching for H. macrophylla hybrids showing “remontancy”, the ability to rebloom on new growth, hoping we could find genes that would introgress (transfer this trait) to the next generation. Michael Haworth-Booth’s, The Hydrangeas, 1st edition 1950/5th edition 1984, discussed reblooming H. macrophylla cultivars, and in the 90s, my breeding program sourced over 200 cultivars to evaluate for remontancy. Disappointingly, none flowered freely after being cut back1 .

1 To determine remontancy, plants were pruned 50% after the initial flowering in mid-May to mid-June (Athens, GA). Rebloom time is 10-12 weeks.

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Hydrangea macrophylla 'Lady in Red' flower

The UGA program introduced [Heritage], the only plant to flower in spades. several pretty cultivars with slight remontancy, including ‘Lady in Red’, Princess Lace®, Midnight Duchess®, and Queen of Pearls®. I believe that ‘Lady in Red’ will play a significant role in later breeding, as it is winter hardy and flowered every year at the North American Hydrangea Test Garden, Heritage Museums and Gardens, Sandwich, MA. I visited the garden when there were no flowers on any H. macrophylla except ‘Lady in Red’, a H. macrophylla hybrid that incorporates H. serrata (mountain hydrangea) in its parentage.

The transformational breakthrough came on September 11, 1998, when I visited Bailey Nursery, Minnesota. In their hydrangea trial block was a ~100’ long row of a H. macrophylla cultivar with brown inflorescences, pink inflorescences and astoundingly, new flower buds developing. Was this the Holy Grail for breeding remontancy into H. macrophylla? The original plant was discovered in a St. Paul garden by a Bailey associate. I requested and was given cuttings which would be tested at UGA for the trait. On the trip home, I scribbled on my yellow pad the name “Endless Summer”. This was obviously premature, but soon proved to be the sea-change name for what was to come.

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Hydrangea macrophylla winter damage heritage 2014; 'Lady in Red' in upper left hand corner, 'Penny Mac' next to it just planted

Hydrangea serrata 'Mountain Mania' hybrids with colored foliage

Let’s back up and examine H. macrophylla flowering requirements.

Flower buds develop in response to short days and cooler temperatures.

Then they require a period of chill hours (32 to 45°F) to flower in spring, as much as 1,000 but certainly less based on our research. H. macrophylla hardens its growth late in the fall and dehardens early in late winter or early spring when the inevitable freezes wreak havoc by killing the flower buds. With remontancy, H. macrophylla would initiate flowers on new-season growth, even without day-length or cooltemperature stimuli.

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Several graduate students worked with this new Bailey cultivar and quantitatively determined that it flowered on new growth. The word of this plant spread rapidly on the garden street. Concurrently, I tried ‘David Ramsey’, ‘Decatur Blue’, ‘Oak Hill’, and ‘Penny Mac’, all showing remontant tendencies. The five (‘Endless Summer’ included) were outplanted in 2008 at Plant Introductions, Inc (PII), a private breeding company that I owned with two partners. The 2014-15 winter killed them and all H. macrophylla in our area to the ground. The photos show new growth emerging with flowering on all in September-October.

Our UGA program now had genes for remontancy and needed to show that the trait could be sexually transmitted through controlled breeding.

Here are several of my favorites: •

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•

•

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‘Blushing Bride’ (‘Veitchii' × Endless Summer®) is a 2005 white/ pink/Carolina blue mophead with slight remontant facility and disease resistant foliage. My wife, Bonnie, considers it the most beautiful of the ES series. A magnificent planting resides in Wellfleet, MA, gracefully arching/brushing a picket fence.

Twist-n-Shout® (‘PII-HMI’) is a mauve/blue lacecap that resulted from ‘Lady in Red’ × ‘Penny Mac’; patented in 2009, it is a consistent rebloomer and superb breeding parent. In Maine, plants are in flower during our October vacations. In 2023, it was the only H. macrophylla to produce flowers in the Dirr garden. It is a parent of Bloomstruck®, Summer Crush® and the newest ES introduction, Pop Star®.

BloomStruck® (‘PII-HMII’) is an open-pollinated rose/purple reblooming mophead selection derived from 260 Twist-n-Shout® seedlings in 2009. It was introduced in 2014. The biggest complaint came from propagators who reported it flowered excessively as a young plant and vegetative cuttings were difficult to secure.

Summer Crush® (‘Bailmacfive‘) is compact with lustrous dark green foliage, raspberry red/purple mophead flowers. It resulted from a cross of ‘Hot Red’ (florist crop type) and BloomStruck® and was introduced in 2019-2020. Highly rated in the trials at the North American Hydrangea Test Garden.

Pop Star® (‘Bailmacsix‘) is the newest introduction (2022-23) and resulted from a cross of Twist-n-Shout® × Mini Penny-03-09. The habit is the smallest of the Endless Summer® series, moundedrounded to 3’ high and wide. The foliage is thick-textured, lustrous

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Hydrangea serrata 'Tuff Stuff x Io

dark green. Pink/ blue lacecap flowers are borne in supernumerary quantities. I was told by Bailey, when pruned, new flowers appear in ~30 days, making it the fastest rebloomer of the series.

The above were bred at The University of Georgia and PII. Bailey Nursery purchased PII in 2015, including the accompanying genetics. Bailey then started a new company, Bailey Innovations, and continues to breed remontant hydrangeas and other woody plants. Bailey’s marketing is top-shelf and although many so-termed “remontant” hydrangeas have been introduced to compete with the Endless Summer® series, none have been so successful to date.

To Bailey’s credit they introduced Endless Summer® The Original® in 2004 and allocated sufficient resources to market the plant, theming the brand using the familiar Cape-Cod-blue Hydrangea macrophylla container through five subsequent introductions. The original is the

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Hydrangea serrata 'Red Tuff Stuff' and doubles

owa'

largest selling H. macrophylla in the world with over 25 million sold to date. Bailey Nursery breeders continue to improve growth habit, foliage and remontancy, but they have yet to introduce a new version.

These new remontant H. macrophylla cultivars are significant improvements on this heirloom species, offering the potential for reliable blooms even in regions previously deemed unsuitable. At Premier Introductions, Inc (2020), our new breeding company, we’re continuing to hybridize H. macrophylla with lesser-known Hydrangea species to develop the needed survival characteristics needed to thrive.

We are hopeful that these groundbreaking improvements will continue to excite gardeners everywhere!

Italianate Garden at the Garden at Elm Bank

By Marianne Orlando

Marianne Orlando is a landscape architect turned freelance illustrator who loves plants, and does commissioned drawings of homes, pets and people. You can see samples of her work at www.marianneorlando.com.

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- ABUNDANCE By John Lee

John shares stories of Bert and Brenda and their gardening wisdom. These chronicles feature recipes, tried-and-true gardening practices, and seasonal struggles and successes. Bert and Brenda were first introduced in the March 2022 issue of Leaflet.

O

ne early summer morning, even before his feet touched the floor, Bert had an epiphany (even though he did not attend church and therefore was not schooled in such things).

What if…. And as soon as his feet touched the bare widepine floors, all earlier thoughts vanished. He was overcome with a sense of long-ago labor still appreciated every morning even if he occasionally had to pound down the occasional squareheaded iron nails that seemed to rear their heads every once in a while. Like everything else in their early-1800s homestead, the floor seemed to have a mind of its own as did the foundation of massive granite blocks. Their occasional minuscule settling let him know that anything round could be found in the northeast corner of their bedroom. And yes, there were a few plaster cracks in the walls under the 1950s edition wallpaper which covered up the damage he could not bother to fix - better just to paper over them.

These sorts of problems were what he and his wife loved about

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old houses. They were possessed of quirky character.

When Bert and Brenda's house was first built, the well was in the cellar. Brenda’s forbears, who were the earliest tenants, only had to go there to draw water and only as need be to cook and clean up. At the other end of the house was a three holer Privy with an outside clean out much as one would find at the foot of a chimney. Nowadays, both of these ‘mod-cons’ had fallen into disuse.

The well didn't meet modern Board of Health regulations and, to be honest, indoor plumbing was much more convenient especially as the weather turned wintry.

They did, however, keep up the wood-burning Home Comfort stove. It held court in their kitchen in part because it was so helpful.

Its main asset in these modern times was the copper-lined water jacket that had been replumbed to be self-replenishing and provided hot water for washing up the dishes collecting in the dish pan. Nowadays they also had

an auxiliary hot water heater as folks had a greater tendency to bathe and wash clothes. Gone are the days when Brenda's forebears went without bathing from snowfall until snow melt.

Usually, Brenda cooked because she was a bit persnickety about what foods played well together.

She tried to be sure that every dinner (now that ‘dinner’ was the evening meal) had color by which she meant that not everything on the plate was gray. She thought having a green vegetable and a colored vegetable would probably be good for an aging gastrointestinal system. Of course, there were things that Bert turned his nose up at. He deplored cooked carrots in any form - he even picked them out of his pot roast.

There were other things Bert turned his nose up at but beets in any form were reliable. Over their years together, she had gotten rather adept at manufacturing a plate that was pleasing to the eye and the palette. In the summer, she thought Bert's favorite meal was a pan-fried freshly-caught wild brook trout rolled in cornmeal and fried in bacon drippings.

On the side, ‘Harvard’ beets and cubed and roasted delicata squash were just the thing - manna from heaven (if there was such a thing).

Fresh strawberries and fresh jersey cream for dessert topped off the perfect meal.

When Forest and SB were on deck, Brenda was occasionally flummoxed. For several weeks

Blueberry Crisp

Preheat the oven to 375°F 5 cups of freshly picked and washed berries 3 tablespoons of flour 2 tablespoons of sugar Juice of ½ lemon and zest Toss the above into a 2-qt baking dish Then combine and spread over the berries: ¼ cup softened butter ½ teaspoon of cinnamon ½ cup brown sugar ¼ cup flour ¾ cup rolled oats Bake 45 minutes or until topping is nicely browned.

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they had been a low thrum of faux-Italian ruminations largely of the pie variety. No one liked the exceptionally exotic lamajuns from the bake shop in the village which tended to cater to tourists and the recently arrived. Frankly, if she was not going to bake, she preferred apple to pizza pie. But with summer at hand, a tomato pie was just the ticket. Brenda's mom had produced this very simple pie for years and everybody loved it.

It had been a blue-ribbon winner more often than not at various summer fairs.

made good use of the burgeoning tomato harvest arriving every day from the gardens.

Not to be out-done, and strongly encouraged by everyone, SB took it upon herself to do something with blueberries that were now ripe for daily picking. However, having never made anything even as difficult as oatmeal, SB thought the easiest recipe might be a crisp because it had few ingredients and took little time to prepare (therefore less chance to screw up).

It turned out that this pie also Meanwhile, in the gardens, Bert struck a chord at home – easy to and Forest were not really getting make and easy to freeze. It also along as well as they had been.

Savory Cheese and Onion Pie Preheat the oven to 350°F

Basic pie crust (10 inch pie) (try wholewheat flour or ½ + ½ ) 10 oz. cheese: ½ Swiss + ½ Gruyere 2 Tablespoons flour 2 large onions 4 Tablespoons butter 1 teaspoon chopped basil 2 large firm tomatoes, sliced 2 large eggs ¾ cup cream Prepare pastry. Grate cheese and toss it with flour. Melt butter in a large skillet, slice onions and saute until golden. Spread one third of cheese over bottom of crust, then onions -- heat tomatoes with basil in fry pan and top onions. Cover with cheese. Beat eggs and cream and pour in, sprinkle nutmeg. Bake for 35-40 minutes.

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Forest was developing a singular aversion to weeding – especially small crops that needed more attention than he thought they deserved. This year, Bert, for no apparent reason, had become enamored of leafy bitter greens that matured quickly and were at least interesting to look at. Forest could not reckon with the idea of growing anything (in a garden, no less) that no-one else really liked to eat. Having grown up hungry and without the unfortunate inspiration of glossy seed catalogues, he told Bert that if he wanted bitter (or other) greens, they could be had for free all over the yard - dandelions, stinging nettle, chickweed, fiddleheads and watercress for the asking just out the door (and no cultivation necessary). Bert kind of resented

having this explained to him.

Albeit he and Brenda had eaten wild greens as kids and had had their fill (even of the ‘exotic’ fiddlehead fern now, apparently, the rage). Brenda’s solution to the bitter bounty was pots of savory soup. She usually used some kind of lightly browned Italian sausage as base to which she added chicken or vegetable stock, chickpeas and leftover veggies. She finished the soup with several handfuls of whatever greens no-one wanted in their salad. (If she had a chicken carcass on hand, she forwent the sausage. Otherwise the recipe did not change much. Come fall, she’d throw in a potato or two to make the soup a bit heartier. This soup also froze well.)

Well-loved and well-used recipe card for the Savory Cheese and Onion Pie.

John Lee is the recently retired manager of MHS Gold Medal winner Allandale Farm, Cognoscenti contributor and president of MA Society for Promoting Agriculture. He sits on the Governor's Food Policy Council and UMASS Board of Public Overseers and is a longtime op-ed contributor to Edible Boston and other publications.

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WEEDS:

By Catherine Cooper

W

eeds are definitely more prominent this year than last. One of the few benefits of last year’s drought was that even the weeds struggled and they were not as prolific as usual.

By contrast, at the time of writing this article the weather has given us ample rain and vegetation of all kinds has responded with vigorous growth.

So yes, the weeds are doing well, but as the saying goes “a weed is just a plant in the wrong place”.

Very true, and by this definition I have coneflowers and blue mist flowers (natives both) that can be considered weeds in some locations due to their self-seeding enthusiasm. However, part of the blame for this can be laid at my feet, as I never rush to deadhead and in fact leave the coneflowers for the birds, and while the birds do consume a good portion of the seeds, enough fall to the ground to become next year’s volunteers.

Coneflowers & Daisy Fleabane

Coneflowers and blue mist flowers can easily be defined as “good” in that they are natives with attractive flowers and are beneficial to wildlife, but what

the good the bad & the ugly about the other plants that can find their way into our gardens?

Take for example Japanese knotweed. Introduced as a garden ornamental in the nineteenth century it has escaped cultivation and is now problematic in many states where it outcompetes native flora. Its rhizomatous roots are difficult to eradicate and due to the popularity of its flowers with pollinators, it readily produces seed. Its displacement of native plants definitely puts it in the “bad” category, but the fact that it was once considered ornamental means that it was considered “good” in the past.

In its native Asia it is used as a vegetable and is the source of remedies for several medical conditions, which therefore means it can’t be considered all bad or good nor particularly ugly.

To complicate matters further it seems honey made from its flowers is quite desirable - a case maybe of making lemonade when given lemons.

The few stems of knotweed in my yard picked the unfortunate location of the base of several large pines to plant themselves.

Unfortunate for the knotweed that is, as it struggles to grow there, and not having time to deal with it properly I just pull the stems when they are about 2 feet tall.

Yes, it comes back, but it is not really onerous to pull half a dozen stems a couple of times a year.

What I consider bad, and pull whenever I see it, include oriental bittersweet and garlic mustard (invasives both) and poison ivy.

This last plant, a native vine with handsome glossy leaves causes its well-known allergic reaction in me, and so while I don’t mind it in woods and conservation land I don’t want it causing me any dermatological problems in my own back yard.

my purple coneflowers and the effect couldn’t be better. One other bonus of this plant is that rabbits like to eat its leaves while young, which keeps them from consuming other more valuable perennials.

Clasping Venus’s Looking Glass (Triodanis perfoliata) is another annual plants that colonizes disturbed soil. It only grows to one foot tall and is a single stem with pairs of rounded leaves from which an individual purple bellflower will emerge. Nowhere near as vigorous in habit as daisy fleabane it makes a pretty edging in the dry stony areas abutting pathways.

However, while I might remove I also have some perennials that poison ivy, I have several I’m excited to have in the wilder “weeds” that I allow and even areas of my garden. They are actively encourage. A laissezfaire approach to weeding has introduced me to the following native wild flowers over the years and they exist alongside my more conventional plantings.

Daisy fleabane (Erigeron annus) is an annual plant that reaches three feet tall and in June and July is a mass of small white daisies that bees find attractive. It selfseeds prolifically, so I strongly recommend caution in allowing it to take hold, but at the time of writing it is blooming in among

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◁ White vervain (Verbena urticifolia)

intriguing common name of broadleaf enchanter’s nightshade.

It is not from the nightshade family and has stems with delicate white flowers. Its botanical name is Circaea canadensis, so given as it was believed to be one of the plants the ancient Greek witch, Circe, used to make her potions. In reality though it has no magical properties nor really any medicinal or culinary uses: it is just a pretty native perennial.

And lastly on my “good” list is another native plant that I recently spotted as it had reached maturity and poked its head above the surrounding cultivated perennials: white vervain (Verbena urticifolia). It too has spikes of small white flowers, which are also highly attractive to pollinators. Like the previous two plants it is not flamboyant, but can grow quite tall - mine is around 4 feet tall in order to be seen above the other plantings.

not prolific and as they are not dramatic in appearance could well have been pulled as undesirable weeds in the past. The first I became aware of this year is common figwort (Scrophularia nodosa). It doesn’t win any beauty contests as its small cupped flowers are a dull brown, but the bees love it. Everything from large bumble bees to tiny mining bees in dry weather you can hear the humming emanating from this plant while in flower.

I’m not suggesting anyone might want to garden the way I do Growing nearby is another native gardens are as personal and plant, which I hadn’t noticed individual as those who create and before this summer, but I’ve maintain them, but the definition since seen it in other woodland of a weed is also a matter of locations.

This goes by the personal taste.

Born in England, Catherine learned to garden from her parents and from that developed a passion for plants. Catherine is in charge of the greenhouse at Weston Nurseries Chelmsford. When not at Weston Nurseries, she can often be found in her flower beds or tending to an ever-increasing collection of houseplants.

◁ Venus's Looking Glass (Triodanis perfoliata)

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We lay aside letters never to read them again, and at last destroy them out of discretion, and so disappears the most beautiful, the most immediate breath of life, irrecoverably for ourselves and for others.

"

"

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 – 1832)

The Society’s correspondence is important ephemera that often provides documentation of its operations, but also often reveals the authors’ personalities, opinions and motivations.

While working on the Papers Project, it became evident that Society Founders, William Kenrick and General Henry Dearborn, enjoyed both a professional and personal relationship. Kendrick letters to Dearborn, reveal a friendship that allowed for expression of unfettered opinions on controversial subjects and matters of the day. This correspondence led us to learn more about Kenrick.

Featured Collection: Papers

William Kenrick (1789-1872) was a life-long resident of Newton, Massachusetts, a prominent nurseryman, an author, a developer and an early abolitionist.

Kenrick became a partner in his father’s (John) nursery in Newton, Massachusetts. By 1836, Kenricks’s nursery was reputed to have had an inventory of one half million trees and shrubs. Kenrick is known for his fruit culture and the promotion of the Mulberry tree, Morus multicaulis.

He was also the author of The New American Orchardist and The American’s Silk Grower’s Guide. In 1835, the Society presented Kenrick

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with a special award for his “successful efforts at procuring scions of new fruits from Europe, and for his valuable treatise on fruit trees.” By the 1840’s, Kenrick began to develop part of his holdings into a residentIal district, now known as the Kenrick Parks Historic District.

Portrait of William Kenrick in the Society's Archives.

Kenrick was a Founder, Counsellor and a member of the Society’s Standing Committees on Fruit Trees, Fruits, and Synonyms of Fruit.

Kenrick’s father, John (1755-1833), was known for his philanthropy and antislavery leadership.1 John was president of the New England Anti-Slavery Society, which he supported financially. In 1817, he authored the abolitionist tract, The Horrors of Slavery. Likely influenced by his father, Kenrick was also an abolitionist.2

The Library maintains nine letters from Kenrick to Dearborn. While the letters discuss Society business, several letters diverge into other topics including politics between the North and South, Mount Auburn, and slavery. Kenrick was likely influenced by his father’s abolitionist views.

Read Kenrick’s letter dated April 15, 1833 that discusses trees and monuments at Mount Auburn and the grave robbing here.3

Advertisement for the Nursery of William Kenrick in the August 8, 1838, New England Farmer and Gardener’s Journal, Vol. XVII, No. 5, p. 39.

See Obituary: “Death of John Kenrick” Liberator, April 6, 1833, pg. 3.

Kenrick corresponded with Horace Mann on this subject. Mann’s papers are at Massachusetts Historical Society.

3 Here is an interesting article about Harvard and grave robbing in the 18th century.

1 2

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MHS Book Club The next meeting of the Book Club is on Tuesday, August 15 at 1:30pm.

Meetings take place at 1:30pm in the Crockett Garden. If the weather is poor, the meeting will be in the Education Building. All are welcome to attend.

Here is the line-up for the Book Club's upcoming book discussions: » August 15: A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold » September 19: The Brother Gardeners by Andrea Wulf » October 17: Soil: The Story of a Black Mother’s Garden by Camille Dungy » November 21: Otherwise Normal People: Inside the Thorny World of Competitive Rose Gardening by Aurelia C. Scott » December 19: Strange Bright Blooms: A History of Cut Flowers by Randy Malamud » January 16: Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer

The Windows – New Children's Books on Frogs!

Animals and insects play an important role in our living environment, especially in our gardens where they live, eat and propagate themselves and our plants. The Society is celebrating frogs this summer with the delightful “Ribbit the Exhibit” that features eighteen human-size copper frog statues by artist Andy Cobb. They will be on display throughout the Garden through Labor Day. These charming

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General Henry A. S. Dearborn, Society Founder and its first President, serving between 1829-1834. This portrait hangs in the Library at Elm Bank and was painted by Jane Stuart, (1812-1888), Gilbert Stuart’s daughter.

and whimsical frogs present an enjoyable opportunity to discuss the frogs and toads that live in your own garden with your children.

Factoid: Did you know that toads are a sub-classification of frogs, meaning that all toads are frogs, but not all frogs are toads?

Help Grow our Collections

Thank you to the Library at Longwood Gardens for its generous donation of books. Consider making a donation from the Society’s Amazon Smile Wishlist. It is just a click away!

COME VISIT!

The Library is open on Thursdays from 10am-1pm, by appointment and when the lights are on. Please email Library & Archives Manager Maureen O’Brien at mobrien@masshort.org for an appointment if you want to schedule a visit.

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SILVER

BRONZE

PLATINUM

THANK YOU TO OUR 2023 GA

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The Julie and Dennis Murphy

ARDEN OPENING SPONSORS

y Family Foundation

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The Garden at Elm Bank Open April 1-October 31 Classes, Programs Year-round www.masshort.org

Massachusetts Horticultural Society 900 Washington St Wellesley, MA 617.933.4900