MHS Leaflet, October 2023

Leaflet

A MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY PUBLICATION

OCTOBER 2023

The end of September marks a distinct change in the Garden, as autumn sets in and we start to think about the process of preparing the Garden for winter. Here at Elm Bank, the Garden first hits a new peak, with late season perennials and grasses, seen extensively in the Garden, still in their prime and the trees chiming in on cue with a succession of glorious transitions. Personally, as I write this, I am excited for one of the first trees to drop its leaves, the Katsura, Cercidiphyllum japonicum. There are several throughout the Garden, but my bated breath is for a grove of 10 we uncovered in the restoration of the historic Olmsted Garden. Tucked away beyond the garden canal, these multi-stemmed giants are loaded with leaves just primed to drop and carpet the exposed roots and soil with a carpet of vivid colour. If it happens before publication, a photo will be included below – if not, you must come and see in the next week!

The changing of the season also marks a turning in the cycles of Massachusetts Horticultural Society. Last week we marked the end of the financial year with a gathering of Trustees, Friends Council, Supporters and Volunteers. It was wonderful to get together and share the enthusiasm of a dedicated group who are all, in their varying ways, critical to our work of helping others through horticulture. We also celebrated our significant successes – an organization that has doubled in size financially since 2020, is serving nearly three times as many people and has both financial and leadership strength. We were also able to look forward to a year ahead with a full calendar of new programs, events and opportunities covering every aspect of horticultural and garden interest.

Importantly, we also recognized the service of our departing Board Chair, Finley H. Perry, who served an extended term as Chair and guided us with wisdom and tenacity through a period of astonishing change and growth. His voluntary service, as with all Board Members, is a vital component of our success and at times a heavy responsibility which has been carried with aplomb. We are grateful that he will remain just as actively involved as a Board Member and the incoming Chair of the Development Committee. Stepping into the Board Chair role is Gretel Anspach, a longstanding member of the Board who is particularly noted for her extraordinary level of service and leadership as a volunteer with MHS. We are particularly thrilled that someone so close to the voluntary service aspect of the organization is taking this role at a time when we are refocusing on developing exciting and expanding volunteer opportunities both at Elm Bank and also within our wider communities with MHS support.

James Hearsum President & Executive Director

Wednesday, October 4 Garden Tails Story Time 11-11:30am

Mah Jongg in the Garden 12-2pm

Friday, October 6

Back to Basics: Watercolor Painting 10am-2:30pm

Saturday, October 7 Education Station 10am-1pm

Fall Guided Garden Tour 10-11:30am

Monday, October 9 Garden Tails Story Time 11-11:30am

Tuesday, October 10 Where Bulbs Shine... On and On 6:30-7:30pm

Wednesday, October 11 Mount Auburn Cemetery Guided Tour 10-11:30am

Garden Tails Story Time 11-11:30am

Mah Jongg in the Garden 12-2pm

Friday, October 13

Beginning Watercolor, Six Session Course 2-4pm

DURING THE MONTH OF OCTOBER, WE WILL BE DISTRIBUTING FREE PACKAGES OF COMMON MILKWEED SEED ALONG WITH INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO GROW THEM AT: GARDEN TAILS STORY TIME, MONDAYS AND WEDNESDAYS 11-11:30AM, AS WELL AS EDUCATION STATION, SATURDAYS 10AM1PM. WHILE SUPPLIES LAST.

Saturday, October 14

Education Station 10am-1pm

Monday, October 16

Garden Tails Story Time 11-11:30am

Tuesday, October 17

MHS Book Club 1:30pm

Wednesday, October 18

Garden Tails Story Time 11-11:30am

Mah Jongg in the Garden 12-2pm

Friday, October 20

GBH Ask the Expert: Winter Garden Prep 12-1pm

Saturday, October 21

Education Station 10am-1pm

Fall Guided Garden Tour 10-11:30am

Sunday, October 22

Boston Haunted Walk 10am-12pm

Monday, October 23

Garden Tails Story Time 11-11:30am

Wednesday, October 25

Garden Tails Story Time 11-11:30am

Mah Jongg in the Garden 12-2pm

Friday, October 27

Setting Up a Seasonal Nature Journal 10am-12pm

Saturday, October 28

Education Station 10am-1pm

Floral Design: Principles and Practice 10-11:30am

Monday, October 30

Garden Tails Story Time 11-11:30am

Designing the Cottage Garden 10-11:30am

TO SECURE YOUR MEMBERSHIP DISCOUNT:

ON DESKTOP

1. Select your preferred "Weekend" (Opening Weekend & weekends in December) or "Weekday" (Wednesdays & Thursdays; Fridays in December) timeslot

2. Add tickets to cart*

"MHS Member" tickets will be listed as the same price as standard "Adult" tickets until you apply your discount on the final screen

3. In your cart, click "Check out"

4. Before completing payment, locate the "Discount code" box The "Discount code" box is located on the right side of the screen under your tickets

5. Enter your Membership ID (up to 6 digits, numbers only)

6. Click "Apply", and the adjusted price should apply to your cart total

7. Complete contact and billing information, then complete purchase

ON MOBILE

1. Select your preferred "Weekend" (Opening Weekend & weekends in December) or "Weekday" (Wednesdays & Thursdays; Fridays in December) timeslot

2. Add tickets to cart*

"MHS Member" tickets will be listed as the same price as standard "Adult" tickets until you apply your discount on the final screen

3. In your cart, click "Check out"

4. Before completing payment, locate the "Discount code" box Click "Show order summary" toward the top of the screen and the "Discount code" box appear under your tickets

5. Enter your Membership ID (up to 6 digits, numbers only)

6. Click "->", and the adjusted price should apply to your cart total

7. Complete contact and billing information, then complete purchase

*Individual Members may purchase 1 ticket at the Member rate. Dual Members and above may purchase 4 tickets at the Member rate. To purchase additional tickets, please select the "Adult" ticket option at the non-member rate. If you're an Individual Member and would like to upgrade your membership, please contact membership@masshort.org for assistance.

by

In First Person

Grace Elton CEO New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill

For ‘In First Person,’ Leaflet Editor-in-Chief Wayne Mezitt interviews people in horticulture and adjacent fields by asking a standard set of questions about their work. The column offers an opportunity for people in these fields to share with readers about their passions, what motivates them, and how they define and measure success. Based on the idea that we’re often reluctant to talk openly about ourselves because of the potential for miscommunication or misinterpretation, Wayne transforms his conversation with interviewees into a personal story from the interviewee’s first-person perspective.

My parents have always been passionate about the outdoors; cultivating plants around our home and doing the right things for the environment. As a young child, our home was in Homestead, Florida near Everglades National Park, where my parents both worked, and our family was active in the Tropical Fruit and Vegetable

Society of Redland that met at the local Fruit and Spice Park. One of my earliest memories is wearing a “hat” my dad had fashioned for me from a pomelo rind at one of the meetings we attended. It was sticky and fragrant and the memory has stuck with me. I also recall air-layering lychee (Litchi chinensis) trees with him when I was four years old––my heart was set early on the love for horticulture.

From elementary school onward, my educational interests centered around horticulture. I’ve earned degrees from the University of Florida and the University of Delaware’s Longwood Graduate Program, and for three years, I served as adjunct professor and arboretum supervisor

at Temple University’s Ambler Arboretum. My conservatory internship at Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania and work at several gardens in England helped me recognize the importance of educational programs as well as plant collections in botanic gardens. Because of this, I have focused on honing my ability to communicate the importance of plants with the public. As director of horticulture at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden, I was able to build gardens were people could learn about and appreciate the value of plants and the environment in their lives.

Joining Tower Hill Botanic Garden

as CEO in the spring of 2017 gave me the opportunity to apply all the knowledge, skills, and enthusiasm I’d been developing with my education and career experiences. The 171-acre site had varying garden design styles and numerous growing environments: formal, naturalistic gardens, vegetables, orchards, meadows, hiking trails, woodlands, wetlands, conservatories, etc. The Garden also had a strong financial standing, with a $4.5M budget and a healthy and growing endowment which was built under John Trexler’s foundational leadership, followed by three other CEOs before me. The garden’s programs and admission numbers were

growing and there was a palpable sense of possibilities expressed by our members, staff, local community, and visitors.

Tower Hill’s robust Board of Trustees and proficient, experienced, professional staff considerably streamlined my entry into my new role. I had always prided myself on being a collaborator, using the skills of others to effectively achieve outcomes greater than I could have accomplished by myself. And having built such a broad network of mentors and colleagues from my previous work experiences, some with global influence, added to my credibility in the New England Botanic Garden community.

When the Worcester County Horticultural Society moved its headquarters from downtown Worcester to Tower Hill Farm in 1984, a 50-year Master Plan for the organization was developed. Several revisions had taken place in the intervening years, and the Board completed a major overhaul of the plan in 2016, a year before I arrived, envisioned to be a 30-year plan. Several initiatives from that plan had already begun, focusing on the commitment to enhance gardens, improve infrastructure, address deferred maintenance, and ultimately increase visitation. As I arrived, we were in the early

design stages of a major parking expansion, upgrading garden entry to reduce existing constraints, and improving accessibility so each of our 200,000+ visitors could experience more of the gardens.

I have always been focused on engaging the next generation with the natural world. My master’s thesis centered on how children’s gardens can serve as a teaching tool as well as the first invitation to a botanic garden for many families. When I was approached by a recruiter about considering the job at Tower Hill, one of the most appealing aspects was that I would be involved in designing and building a children’s garden from scratch. Until now Tower Hill had no gardens specifically designed for children. A few years before I joined the garden, the Board and staff recognized the value of engaging more children and their families. Ultimately a garden specifically focused on children, to be called “The Ramble”, was warmly endorsed. Funding for this major improvement was underway with just under $4M raised, and its design had already gone through a few iterations. At the same time, the Garden was the early stages of designing many of the other infrastructure improvements. I came at a unique moment where I was able to redirect design of both the Ramble

and the supporting infrastructure, as well as raise an additional $16.5M to realize these projects and grow our endowment.

Among the conundrums I faced as I began my career here was the confounding name for our organization. We already suffered under the confusion of formally being the Worcester County Horticultural Society, and with our physical location in Boylston, most everyone referred to us as Tower Hill Botanic Garden––that amalgamation is a mouthful of complexity for most people! Additionally, that complicated moniker fell far short of accurately describing our mission and appeal. If we genuinely intended to be a world-class public garden, we needed to revise our name to better designate exactly what we are and the mission we strive to deliver.

In 2019, we began a five-year strategic planning process. This involved numerous components, including internal research, member meetings, focus groups, and advisory committees from various community groups, ultimately involving more than 1,000 people. Although we didn’t specifically ask the participants about our name, they overwhelmingly came to the same conclusion that the name didn’t

describe what we were trying to do both on and off the “Hill.” After additional study, the final name choice approved by the Board was “New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill”, respecting both the inputs from the strategic planning process and the broader region that we are trying to represent as well as the original name of the farm and the 35 years of being named Tower Hill Botanic Garden.

It's always a challenge to know how successful we are when we evaluate our progress. I’m strongly encouraged by the steady increase in our membership and visitation since I came on board. Even with the Covid challenges and our physical location being away from centers of population, we are the 8th most visited museum in the state, according to the Boston Business Journal, we have over 11,000 household members, and we invited 217,000 visitors to our site last year. We have also nearly doubled our annual budget since I started, growing and investing our staff, increasing our garden areas, and increasing our educational programs, including outreach into our community. We’re able to measure the number of visitors season-by-season, revenues from membership and educational courses, garden admissions, and shop sales, along with grants and gifts we’re awarded for

operations and projects. But I also feel that it is important to measure less quantifiable metrics like subjective visitor ratings, online reviews, customer service feedback and visitor impressions. I very carefully read and analyze what the public is saying about us and I work with my staff to continually improve what we are offering.

My personal measure of success is how well we contribute to the happiness and satisfaction of our members, our visitors, our community, accomplishing our mission of creating experiences with plants that that inspire people and improve the world. We aim to exceed expectations as we strive to live up to our new name and become a key resource for everyone interested in horticulture in this region. So far, I am extremely proud of the progress I have made happen at NEBG and I can’t wait to see where we go next.

I’d love to know your thoughts: my email address is GElton@NEBG. org.

Finley Perry, outgoing Board Chair, demonstrates his oldtime cider press in action with his homegrown apples from a decadesold tree in his yard.

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

HARVEST

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.

As soon as Bert’s bare feet hit the wide pine floors this morning, it was painfully obvious that there was a change of seasons in the air. Brenda had hung the throw rugs out to air the day before to give each one a good beating so’s to not keep every mote of garden dirt under foot for the winter. She did this every year; it was like religion in the house – there were things that needed to be done according to season and beating the rugs spring and fall was just one of the Augean chores that needed attention. There were other domestic burdens that also needed attention but Bert would take care of some of them (like banking up the foundation to keep winter’s hoary breath from freezing the pipes).

Her responsibilities were mostly in line with putting up the end-ofseason produce that Bert brought in from their gardens. Of course, there were his favourite stand-bys like chow-chow which Bert enjoyed beside his venison meatloaf. He was still ‘young’ enough for a walk in the woods early on late-fall mornings. He would visit the hemlock haunts where apparently only he knew that deer like to bed down beneath. For Bert at this point in his life, deer season was not much different than fishing season except that they each book-ended the growing season (which was his pride and joy). Of course, it would be nice if he brought home a few fish or bagged a young buck, but that really was not the object of the exercise anymore. Mostly, he just needed to get out of the house for a few hours and enjoy the change of seasons, muse forward and back and be by himself with his thoughts. Once planting time set in, it seemed like there was a race to the finish.

The root cellar was filling. His help-mate (with his help, of course) had canned or frozen every bit of their bounty. Nothing had gone to waste. That said and done, he could feel unencumbered occasionally and entitled to visit a larger world managed, or so he thought, by a higher authority. If there had been an early dusting, Frost’s “Dust of Snow” often came to mind. It was a short verse and not necessarily relevant to days past, but it was lyrical and there never was a dearth of crows whose job, it always seemed, was to alert any unsuspecting doe or buck that an uninvited guest was at their doorstep and to hurry them along. On these forested forays, Brenda always packed a little lunch. He always liked a bit of her Sunny Sweet Potato Salad. This time of year, all the requisite ingredients were always in good supply.

Sunny Sweet Potato Salad

Serves 8

Keeps 2 days

2 sweet potatoes & 2 Idaho potatoes cut into 1/2 inch cubes

1 cup mayonnaise

3 Tbsp chopped mango chutney

2-3 Tbsp curry powder

4 scallions

1 Tbsp flat leaf parsley salt and pepper

Whether or not Bert actually brought home a deer was not terribly urgent. Lugging a carcass (even a spike-horn) out of the woods had become an onerous task. Brenda fretted about whether Bert could manage it anymore. Besides, they could always trade with neighboring farms for what little red meat or poultry they wanted. This year, trading would be a nice service to offer the neighbors many of whom had suffered significant losses thanks to their ‘monsoon’ summer that had washed out roads and fields in the area more than once. In their memory, what might be considered a catastrophic storm might come along every few years. This year, many of their neighbors, especially those downslope, felt an unusual consanguinity with their fellow farmers in the Brahmaputra delta who seemed to get flooded out annually – homes and livelihoods destroyed by rising waters carrying mayhem in their path. But this summer it was not the occasional hurricane, it was the endless deluge-like events each one seemingly worse than the last which made farming a fool’s errand in retrospect.

Nevertheless, there were scattered days of sunny weather if little heat. The sweet corn was good where planted on higher ground although, this year, successive plantings were more apt to over-lap. The tomatoes, on the other hand were unusually tasteless for the lack heat and sunshine. Yes, the heirlooms sized up well (due in part to the excess moisture) and most varieties had good color but none of them tasted like much - Brenda was not putting up much in the way of tomato puree for a change. However, Bert again won the biggest and best-looking tomato at the annual Tomato Contest down at the Grange Hall. In fact,

although the summer had seemed busy, there’s been a lot more eating than preserving this year what with Forest and Sue B underfoot. As she looked back on the cool, gray weather this year, the kitchen was more about consuming the harvest and less about putting it up. Honestly, Bert really hadn’t cottoned on to the ineffable appetites of younger

Glazed zucchini - Serves 4

2 lbs medium zucchini (5-6 inches long)

2 Tbsp olive oil

2 cloves garlic

1 tsp salt

1/4 cup water

1 Tbsp thinly sliced fresh basil

Trim the zucchini. Soak it in cold water for 30 minutes to freshen it. Drain the zucchini and pat it dry. Halve it lengthwise, then crosswise into quarters. In a large skillet, combine the zucchini, oil, whole garlic cloves, salt, and just enough water to cover the bottom of the pan. Cover and cook over medium heat for 5-7 minutes, until the zucchini begins to soften.

Remove the lid, raise the heat to high and cook, stirring, until the liquid evaporates and the zucchini is glazed with the oil and beginning to brown lightly.

Remove the garlic (the zucchini will be somewhat fragile), carefully stir in the basil, add more salt, if you like, and serve.

house-guests until lately when he realized that his late-season crops were kind of thin. Even the lettuces were not sizing up, his garlic crop was about half what he expected and the sunflowers could barely hold their smaller-than-usual heads up. But given these sorry revelations, Bert, with Forest’s help, had still been sufficiently providential. They certainly were not going to starve and for the first time in a long time maybe the larder would be pretty well cleaned out come next year’s harvest. “Who knows”, he told his wife, “it can’t be this bad two years in a row.” “Remember the droughty ones” was all she said.

One of the later crops to mature in their garden was a big harvest of shell beans otherwise known as French Horticultural beans. Bert could not think of any particular reason they should be French. He thought they were very traditional Yankee beans. What’s more, he knew they were about ready to harvest when he heard the first flocks of Canada geese overhead and there was a hint of frost in the air. He was endlessly

impressed by their level of self-organization – each goose in the slipstream of the one in front thus saving energy for the long flight south. Then Bert would start combing through the plants looking for the desiccating pods, their bright red flecking turning tan. At that point, he would pull whole plants and bunch them before hanging the bunches to air-dry on the clothesline in the shed. Once the pods were brittle, he and Brenda would make an evening or two of ‘shelling’ the beans while watching the Red Sox try to salvage another sorry season. Weeks earlier, he had harvested handfuls of pods bright with their ‘tongues of fire’ markings. These they shelled immediately to make succotash with the some of the summer’s sweet corn. They could have made the same dish with lima beans but they preferred the older Narraganset version which was just corn-off-the cob and fresh shell beans. Like the native Americans, succotash had been a staple throughout their lives whether times were good or bad: it was a good source of plant-based protein, fiber and vitamin C. Nowadays, Brenda would scrape and freeze corn for future meals The dried beans kept well. What could be wrong? Nothing a little salt, pepper and butter couldn’t remedy.

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.

The Society’s mission is “to promote the art and science of horticulture” while staying true to its founding motto, ‘Commune Bonum,’ for the public good. This mission remained consistent throughout Society’s 194-year history. That mission is focused on horticulture, not real estate.1 Today, some people confuse the Society’s mission and significance with its former building on Massachusetts Avenue in Boston opposite Symphony Hall, lamenting its move to Elm Bank.

Prior to moving to Elm Bank at the end of the twentieth century, the Society had three Horticultural Halls. The Society took pride in its buildings and was cognizant of beauty, design, modern systems and quality materials in their construction. The buildings supported the Society’s mission by providing venues for the Society’s meetings, exhibitions and income to support its programs. However, over the years, the buildings became outdated and became burdens on the Society’s finances and operations.

The move to Elm Bank was prompted by the fact that the building in Boston was in dire need of repair and updating, something the Society’s mission and finances could not support. After several attempts to address the issues responsibly, the Society opted to move to Elm Bank where it entered into a favorable lease agreement with the Commonwealth, thus enabling it to continue its mission in a historical and horticulturally rich setting. Next month’s “From the Stacks” will feature a brief history of the historic Elm Bank landscape.

1 The words “This edifice is erected …for the purpose of encouraging and improving the practice of horticulture” were inscribed silver plates placed in the cornerstones of the first and second Horticultural Halls. History of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society 18291878, pp. 151, 172. This purpose was not abandoned in the Society’s move to the third hall.

Transactions 1901, p. 8.

Buildings should serve people, not the other way around.

John C. Portman, Jr. (1924-2017)

Featured Collection: Society's History: Horticultural Halls

First Horticultural Hall (1845-1863) was at 40 School Street in Boston on the site of the Latin School House, across the street from where Old City Hall was later built. This granite building was the first horticultural hall built in the United States. Designed by architect Richard Bond, it had a large hall for exhibitions, a library and business room. Retail units on the first floor provided income to the Society. The building was sold in 1860 to Harvey Parker for an extension to his Parker House Hotel. Sketch by Fitz Henry Lane (1804-1865), Lithograph by Lane & Scott. Society’s Collections.

Second Horticultural Hall (1863-1901) was at 100102 Tremont Street on the corner of Bromfield Street, across from the Granary Burial Ground. It replaced the Mongomery House Estate, once a popular public house. Gridley

J. F. Bryant and Arthur Gilman were the architects. Stores were on the ground floor; the Library and an exhibition hall were on the second level and another large hall was on the third level. The building’s Concord white granite façade was adorned with Roman goddess statutes by renowned sculptor Martin Milmore: Ceres, goddess of agriculture; Flora, goddess of flowers; and Pomona, goddess of fruit trees. Ceres is said to be a replica of a statue in the Vatican. These goddesses now reside in the Maple Grove at the Society’s current home at Elm Bank.

By the 1890’s the space was inadequate for the Society’s activities and the building’s systems were antiquated. The building was sold for $600,000 in 1900 and demolished in 1901. Image: Heliotype Printing Company, c. 1880. History of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society. 1829-1878, p. 176-177. Society’s Collections.2

Third Horticultural Hall (1901-1999), designed by Wheelwright and Haven, is located at 300 Huntington Avenue at the corner of Massachusetts Avenue, opposite Symphony Hall. Its footprint is almost a half-acre and it cost $515,997 for the land and buildings. It greatly enhanced Society operations with the most modern construction, utilities and fireproofing. Its design considered visitor comfort and accessibility, as well efficiency of operations. Innovative

2 The first meetings of the New England Woman Suffrage Association in 1868 and the Massachusetts Woman Suffrage Association in 1870 were in the second Horticultural Hall.

and beautiful Guastavino tile was used on the floor and some of the vaulted ceilings. Meeting rooms and a large banquet hall were in the basement. The ground floor contained a lecture hall, a small exhibition hall and the main exhibition hall. The balconied library, offices, meeting rooms and storage space occupied the second story.

Built primarily as an exhibition hall, the growing popularity of the Society’s flower shows required holding its annual event elsewhere. By 1985, the exhibition halls were not being used for their intended purposes and needed restoration and renovation. The Society entered a 38-year lease with developers that allowed the Society to remain in the premises while subletting part of the building for offices.3 This agreement gave new vitality to the Society, which increased membership and provided additional funds for its programs, while freeing it from the burden of maintaining the building.

In 1992, the building was sold to the adjacent Christian Science Church which honored the Society’s lease. Northeastern University purchased the building in 2020 for office and classroom use. Its current tenants include Boston Magazine and Museum of Fine Arts’ William Morris Hunt Memorial Library. It is undergoing review for Landmark Status by the City of Boston. Watercolor, 1906. Society Collections.4

Factoid

Ten-year-old Miss Lucy H. Brewer of Hingham exhibited 102 varieties of beans that she had cultivated at the Society’s Annual Show in 1864!5

3As part of the lease, the lessee expended $4 million for the restoration and renovation. During the 1985 renovation, the vaulted ceilings were retained. However, some Guastavino tiles were damaged. Since the tile was no longer made, craftsmen duplicated the look of the old tile to replace the damaged tile. The outside of the building was cleaned with little alteration. Innovative design maintained the character of the original building and provided for increased security for the Society’s Collections.

4 Description of the New Building of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society.

5 History of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society 1829-1878, p. 344.

In the Windows: Books on gardening in the fall & books for sale

MHS Book Club

The next meeting of the Book Club is on Tuesday, October 19th at 1:30 pm. in the Crockett Garden. The club will be discussing Soil: The Story of a Black Mother’s Garden by Camille Dungy. If the weather is poor, the meeting will be in the Education Building. All are welcome to attend.

Here is the line-up of the Club's upcoming book discussions:

» 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, 2024: Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer

» February 20, 2024: Brave the Wild River: The Untold Story of Two Women Who Mapped the Botany of the Grand Canyon by Melissa Sevigny

» March 19, 2024: The Seed Keeper by Diane Wilson

Help Grow our Collections

Thank you to Pricilla Williams, Lesley Frost, Heidi Kost-Gross and Colleen and Richard Fain for their generous contributions to our Collections. Consider making a donation to the Library's Collections from the Society’s Amazon Smile Wishlist. It is just a click away!

COME VISIT!

The Library is open on Thursdays from 10 am to 1 pm, by appointment and when the lights are on. Members have borrowing privileges. Please email Library & Archives Manager Maureen O’Brien for an appointment if you want to schedule a visit.

While here, check out the Little Free Library in front of the Education Building. You will find magazines and duplicate copies of books from the Library, all free!

We have been doing some housekeeping and are keeping the LFL stocked with a variety of pamphlets, some useful, some intriguing and others curious. Grab a few to keep yourself occupied while waiting in line, commuting or having a snack! You might learn something that will enhance your garden or conversations.

A festive squash ensemble, by Marianne Orlando

HOW TO CHOOSE A DEER REPELLENT

By Greg Ecsedy

Nearly every New England gardener wrestles with deer damage, and no wonder. In central and eastern Massachusetts, some 30 to 50 deer per square mile vie for food. Spring through fall, they eat 6% to 8% of their body weight – that’s 9 to 12 pounds per day for the average 150-pound deer. No wonder your perennials and shrubs lure them to your yard.

What’s a gardener to do? Fencing works well but isn’t practical in every situation. What’s more, enclosing a large area is costly, sometimes prohibitively so.

Deer repellents can do an excellent job, provided you choose an effective one and use it correctly. Here are some questions to ask when choosing a deer repellent:

How does it work? Some repellents repel deer with a foul smell or an odor that makes deer think a predator is in the area. Others deter with taste – helpful, but plants generally sustain some damage before deer discover that they’re unpalatable. Still others use a combination of methods, which often increases their effectiveness.

How safe is it? If you have children and pets roaming your yard, you need to keep them safe. You also want to be sure that you’re not adding harmful chemicals into the groundwater.

Have there been efficacy studies? Of course, the ultimate test of a repellent is how well it works, and there can be big differences. One of the most impressive independent studies we’ve seen was conducted by the Connecticut Department of Forestry and Horticulture on evergreen yews, which are effectively deer candy. The study tested 10 leading deer repellents against a physical fence, as well as no protection at all.

The fence provided 100% protection, followed closely by Bobbex Repellent at 93%. The next best repellent, Hinder, lagged behind at 83%. The others ranged from 50% (only 1% higher than no protection at all) to 78%. Clearly, not all deer repellents are created equal.

Does it wash off? Another consideration is how well the repellent stands up to heavy rain and watering. If it washes off easily (or, in the case of granules, washes away), it’s no bargain.

Will it protect plants of any height? Some repellents spray directly on plants, while others are sprinkled on the ground. Beware the latter choice, as they tend to protect only the plants closest to the ground.

Can you use it year-round? Deer browse on shrubs can be terrible in winter, when their other food is scarce. Check that the repellent you’re choosing can be used year-round without damaging plants.

What do customers say? Before you buy, see what other customers have to say. Check reviews on the manufacturers’ website and/or on Amazon. Look for products with overwhelmingly positive reviews and very few negative ones. Is it guaranteed? Not many deer repellents come with a money-

Bobbex being sprayed.

back guarantee. While guarantees typically only cover product costs, not damaged plants, it’s nevertheless rare for repellent manufacturers to stand behind their products with any kind of money-back guarantee.

How do I use it? Even the best deer repellent can let you down if not applied correctly. Always read and follow the label instructions.

Some spray repellents come ready-to-use, while others are sold as concentrates that require mixing – a more economical but less convenient alternative. If using a concentrate, be sure to mix it in the concentration specified by the manufacturer.

Consider the weather before applying spray repellents. Most need several hours to dry on the plant, so shouldn’t be applied just before it rains. In some cases, applying repellents when the temperature is very high or below freezing can cause plant damage. Check the label before you spray. In addition, applying on a wind-free day ensures that you’ll protect your plants without spray blowing back on you.

Finally, keep your plants protected year-round. In springtime, when plants grow rapidly, apply repellents every 10 to 14 days. From fall into winter, deer browse more widely as food supplies dwindle. Keep your plants and shrubs – especially evergreens such as rhododendron,

arborvitae, holly and yews – protected throughout the entire year.

If you live in an area frequented by deer, it’s only a matter of time before they snack on unprotected plants and shrubs. You put a lot of thought, planning and back-breaking effort into your landscaping. To keep it protected, choose a deer repellent wisely and use it regularly as directed. Your garden will thank you!

Lush garden featuring deer-favorite tulips in bloom.

A single 150-pound deer consumers 9-12 pounds of food per day.

Japanese Woodland Peonies

By Wayne Mezitt

This time of year, one of our most thrilling autumn-welcoming pleasures is enjoying the unique, spectacular display produced by the seed pods on Japanese woodland peony (Paeonia japonica & P. obovata). All summer these plants have thrived in the high shade under the magnolia and holly in our front yard, spreading their lustrous foliage to cover the ground and subvert competing weeds, creating a summer sea of undulating green. And every September we marvel as their unusual, tawny, star-fish-shaped summer seed pods split open to reveal shiny blue seeds on bright scarlet stalks, lasting for several weeks until dropping or taken by birds, only to appear years later in other parts of our yard.

Way back in the 1990s I accompanied Gary Koller, then the Arnold Arboretum’s chief horticulturist, on a visit to Barry Yinger’s western Pennsylvania nursery “Asiatica”. Barry’s depiction enticed me to purchase two pots labelled Paeonia japonica (extremely expensive!), which I immediately put into my garden, as he recommended, in the shady, rich, organic soil under a massive saucer magnolia (M. soulangeana) that my grandparents had planted decades before in our front yard.

My two small plants bloomed the following spring, but I noted that they had different flowers and didn’t bloom at the same time. It took another decade for me to determine that these were two separate species (both confusingly called “Japanese woodland peony”). One turns out to be Paeonia japonica which opens its Stewartia-like, delicate single-white bloom very early in May, just as the bracts on our dogwoods are beginning to expand. The other is Paeonia obovata, revealing its similar, but single pink flowers about two weeks later in mid-May.

In the interim of their ambiguous identity back then, both species began self-seeding adjacent to their initial plantings; they soon entirely covered the ground in their shady grove. More recently, they’ve also been appearing further away from their “home-base”, sometimes hundreds of feet distant,

choosing their own germination locations where they can thrive and thrill us with their surprise springtime blooms in unexpected places.

With their early blooms and autumn fruiting, both species of Japanese woodland peony are true season-extenders, a benefit which we’ve always valued in our gardens. And their different flowering times regulate their seed production too; the seed pods of both species look identical, but since P. obovata blooms later, it also opens its seed a couple weeks later each autumn, effectively extending the visual appeal for many weeks.

Japanese woodland peonies are rarely offered for sale at garden centers, likely because they are so different from the June-blooming peonies familiar in most of gardens. Like any peony, they are deciduous and easy to establish this time of year, but their capability to thrive in more shady conditions renders them a unique choice for many gardens. If all this entices you and you want to try some in your garden, be alert for their availability and grab a plant or two when you have the opportunity––you’ll be glad you did!

Much of this article is excerpted from Wayne & Beth’s new book “For the Love of Gardening”, available online or at any of Weston Nurseries’ stores (without shipping) for the discounted price of $34.95.

THANK YOU TO OUR 2023 GARDEN

The Julie and Dennis Murphy

Family Foundation