MHS Leaflet, September / October 2024

Leaflet A MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY PUBLICATION

SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2024

TABLE OF CONTENTS

3

From the President's Desk James Hearsum

5

Leaflet's Legacy Meghan Connolly

6

Photos from the 138th New England Flower Show

8

121st Honorary Medals Dinner

10

Upcoming MHS Classes + Programs

12

Drop-In Programs

13

Youth and Family Programs

14

Donate a Tree for the 16th Festival of Trees

14

Green Partner Spotlight

15

A Wedding at Elm Bank

By Marianne Orlando

16

Preserving Historic Spaces

By Erin Fogarty

18

From the Stacks

By Maureen T. O'Brien

22

Preserve

By Catherine Cooper

27

Companions for Plants

By John Lee

31

Garden Opening Sponsors

MANAGING EDITOR Meghan Connolly mconnolly@masshort.org

Cover: Amateur Horticulture exhibits at the 138th New England Flower Show, September 21-22, 2024

From the PRESIDENT'S DESK Gardens are always moving forward through time in a constant process of renewal.

Therefore, thinking about preservation can sometimes be counter-intuitive to a gardener.

We like to experiment and test new ideas, try plants that we know died last time, but perhaps this time will succeed, and at times to rip up and rebuild.

Yet preservation done right is not a static, dusty looking back but a celebration of innovation rooted in legacy. It is taking the values, successes and joys of the past and building upon this strong foundation for a new generation. It need not be a replication of the past but a grounded reimagining of the future.

I like to think that Massachusetts Horticultural Society is becoming really good at this. You will see in this edition that the historic Olmsted Bros. designed ‘Asian Garden’ is being uncovered, revealing its hidden treasures for the first time in 60 years. This lost garden will return, but reimagined as a hub for our workforce development, education and mental health programs.

Similarly, the theme for the 138th New England Flower Show this fall at Elm Bank was ‘Heritage and Hope’, a deliberate rooting of the show in its peerless legacy yet acknowledging that after a 16-year hiatus for us, and 4 years for all, it is a new and future looking event.

Recently I was caused to reflect on the legacy that it is possible to leave behind from a life well lived. In a celebration of the life of our esteemed late editor, over 140 people gathered here at Elm Bank to share something of what he had meant to us. Wayne Mezitt was a man who left a legacy well worth preserving: A fourth-generation beacon of horticultural excellence in Weston Nurseries; a thriving Massachusetts Horticultural Society that he led through an extremely difficult decade to much better times; and most important of all, a large and loving family who are living out his values into the future.

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Wayne has left us a legacy that is worth preserving as an inspiration to us and future generations. It is for this reason that the Board of Massachusetts Horticultural Society has created a new medal named in his honor. The R. Wayne Mezitt Honorary Medal will be awarded annually to a practical horticulturist of exceptional accomplishment and potential. The awardee will be at mid-career or earlier (under 35 in most cases) from any ‘hands-on’ field. Unlike all other medals, this medal will both accept public nominations and convey a cash prize, for which an endowment campaign is currently underway. The first new named medal since 1927, the medal will be formally launched at the 2024 Honorary Medals Dinner with nominations accepted for the first award in 2025. MHS will commission an original medal design featuring the PJM Rhododendron and undertake a fundraising campaign for its endowment.

We each know as gardeners that we are creating something that will outlast us. As you enter the season of harvesting and preserving in your own garden, perhaps take time to ponder the lasting legacy that you will leave in other areas of your life. There are small actions we can each take today to create and shape the legacy we will ultimately leave behind.

Happy harvest!

James Hearsum President & Executive Director

S

ince joining MHS over three years ago, I’ve learned important lessons -- in the field of horticulture, in the field of marketing, in community, in myself. An eager post-grad who was freshly experiencing a world beginning to reopen, reunite, I saw the potential to build on the great things MHS had done with its community during the pandemic – knowing that they could only get better from there.

One of the most important first projects I started to work on was Leaflet. The goal was to work with Wayne Mezitt, who at the time was something of an untouchable legend in the industry. It was truly an honor to work so closely with him on something we both treasured: writing. Specifically, writings about the world of horticulture that made the field a little more accessible to people who may not have had lifelong careers, professional experience, or even a full garden to practice in.

In working with Wayne, I found a generous and inquisitive soul that always sought to share his wisdom and knowledge. He encouraged my continuing studies, he gave me recommendations for my bookshelf, he inspired my travels with stories of his own adventures. Equally, no matter how wise and knowledgeable, he always welcomed the unknown, a new perspective, and an attempt to try something new.

I’m honored that by continuing to work on Leaflet means carrying forward one part of Wayne’s wide-reaching legacy. As we continue this legacy, one that represents a perpetual connection between Wayne and MHS, I hope you see Leaflet as a valuable horticultural resource.

Much like the plants and gardens we all adore, we must approach life with an ability to adapt to our environment, external forces, and unexpected change in pursuit of growth. In this spirit of adaptation and growth, Leaflet is transitioning to a bi-monthly (6 times yearly) publication. We feel this frequency allows us to curate intriguing articles from both new and steadfast contributors that is timely but not oversaturated.

I’m also excited to share that we have found an Editor-in-Chief who is a longtime partner and contributor to MHS. David Barnett, President and CEO Emeritus of Mount Auburn Cemetery, is one of two new co-editors. I look forward to working with him and being able to continue our work of creating a valuable and accessible resource for the history, present, and future of horticulture.

Thank you for your dedication to Leaflet and to MHS. I hope you continue to share your personal connections to Wayne and Leaflet, as well as your constructive feedback on how we might be able to improve moving forward.

Meghan Connolly Marketing Specialist

Massachusetts Horticultural Society's 2024 Honorary Medals recipients will be celebrated at the Honorary Medals Dinner at the Garden at Elm Bank. This year, MHS will hold the 121st ceremony in a 193-year tradition of awarding medals to individuals and organizations for their contributions to excellence in horticulture for the public good.

The 121st Honorary Medals Dinner will take place Wednesday, October 30, 2024 at 6:30pm at Massachusetts Horticultural Society, The Hunnewell Building, 900 Washington Street, Wellesley, MA. The dinner will be preceded by an optional day-long symposium, featuring lectures by medal winners Doug Tallamy, Tom Ryan, Matt Cunningham, and Murphy Westwood. You can purchase your tickets for the awards ceremony dinner and/or the symposium by clicking the button below. Boston Society of Landscape Architects and MHS members receive symposium ticket discounts. Proceeds benefit Massachusetts Horticultural Society’s mission to promote the art and science of horticulture for the public good.

Tickets for the awards ceremony including dinner and drinks are $180; symposium tickets are $190 for General Admission and $160 for Boston Society of Landscape Architects and MHS members. Proceeds benefit excellence in horticulture at Massachusetts Horticultural Society.

RSVP TODAY 8 | September-October 2024

October 30, 2024 at 6:30pm The Garden at Elm Bank

RSVP TODAY MHS Leaflet | 9

UPCOMING

Guided Tours of the Arnold Arboretum October 2, 10 or 15 10-11:30am

© Tara Connaughton

Botanical Sketchbook: Fall in Monochrome October 15 & 17 10am-2pm

© Sarah Roche

Drawing and Painting for the Petrified November 16 & 23 9:30am-1:30pm

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CLASSES

Asian Paper Collage and Watercolor Workshop Friday, October 11 12:30-4:30pm

© Lauren Meier

Drawing Botany: The Sex Life of Flowers Saturday, October 19 9:30am-3:30pm

© Betsy Rogers-Knox

Beyond Basics: A Closer Look at Composition Tuesday, November 19 9:30am-1:30pm

Hands On Workshop!

Forcing Bulbs for Indoor Blooms Saturday, October 12 10-11:30am

Three-Session Workshop!

Wilding your Perennial Garden: Designing Pollinator Garden November 5, 12, 19 10am-2pm

© Jan Boyd

Sketchbook Serendipity with Calligraphy December 2 & 3 10am-3pm

© Sarah Roche

Celebrating the Season: Holiday Card Workshop Saturday, December 7 9:30am-1:30pm

Hands On Workshop!

Hands On Workshop!

Holiday Boxwood Topiary Tree Tuesday, December 10 10-11:30am

© Carol Ann Morley

Holiday Greens Workshop with NEUHSA Wednesday, December 11 10am-12:30pm

Holiday Boxwood Topiary Tree Wednesday, December 18 10-11:30am

Pen & Ink Techniques for Beginners January 3, 7 & 10, 2025 11am-4pm

Hands On Workshop!

Indoor Herb Gardens for Winter February 22, 2025 10-11:30am

Terrarium Workshop Saturday, March 15, 2025 10-11:30am

Nature in Ceramics: Designing with Sgraffito Saturday, March 22, 2025 10am-1pm

Create Your Own Flower Pot Figurines Wednesday, May 14, 2025 10am-1pm

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DROP-IN

PROGRAMS

MAHJONGG CROCKETT GARDEN BISTRO TABLES | WEDNESDAYS AT 12PM INCLUDED WITH GARDEN ADMISSION

October 15 Down the Garden Path by Beverly Nichols 12 | September-October 2024

YOUTH

&

FAMILY

LITTLE SPROUTS! A GARDEN CLASS FOR CHILDREN AGED 3-5 AND THEIR CAREGIVERS Little Sprouts is a monthly class designed to foster a love and sense of wonder for the outside world in your child. Each month, we will explore a seasonal theme through a 5-senses garden walk, story-time, a hands-on craft or activity, and a take home kit.

OCTOBER: LEAVES | NOVEMBER: WINTER HIKE

REGISTER FOR OCTOBER FOR LEAVES AND CRAFTS!

Education Station Saturdays from 10am-12pm

Garden Tales Mondays at 11am MHS Leaflet | 13

Donate a tree for the 16th Annual Festival of Trees!

Donated trees feature an entertaining, lighthearted, seasonal, or horticulturally significant theme. Our youngest attendees gravitate toward trees echoing well-known fictional and/or whimsical characters, animals, and sports. Guests of all ages are always excited by trees featuring a selection of gifts either on or under the tree!

Final detailed information is due October 14!

DONATE A TREE

Green Partner Spotlight Shop at Green Partner businesses to receive 10% off with your MHS Membership card!

Palmer, MA

Falmouth, MA

Lexington, MA 14 | September-October 2024

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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Preserving Historic Spaces

Erin Fogarty, Conservation & Historic Gardens Horticulturist When guests at the Garden ask me my favorite month in the garden, I’d be hard-pressed not to say September. The leaves are turning (but, crucially, not yet fallen), hydrangeas and grasses are starting to age into bronzes and pinks, and my favorite annuals and semi-annuals – dahlias and heirloom chrysanthemums – are reaching their peak. Most importantly, I find Autumn to be when I’m at my most reflective in the garden – what worked this season, and where we may want to make changes for next season: what perennials need dividing, which annuals to bring back next season, which woody shrubs might be on their last legs.

Preserving is something we’re doing a lot of these days in the Garden at Elm Bank. As the horticulturist who works on our historic spaces, preservation is a daily thought for me – keeping the intent of our gardens’ original designers – the Olmsted Brothers’ firm – alive, especially as we work to restore the Olmsted Asian Garden. Over the past few months, we’ve made big strides in our rehabilitation of the garden – including removing the diseased hemlocks around the old temple, doing health and safety assessments on some of our heritage trees, and transitioning more and more of the garden to lawn in order to keep the invasives down. These steps have allowed guests to walk through the garden formally for the first time in more than a decade; I get immense joy in seeing our folks of all ages engage with the area and the project at large.

Our manor house, too, is getting some much-needed love, with asbestos remediation throughout the structure, and window painting and sealing on most elevations proving the first step in “mothballing” – sealing and stabilizing

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Windows on the frontfacing facade get painted, July 2024

Katsura (Cercidiphyllum) trees by the Olmsted Asian Garden canal changing color in October 2023.

the structure in a way that keeps it as beautiful and repairable as it is, while also giving some time to consider future use and restoration. Assisting in this is the Massachusetts Historic Preservation Corps, a program that helps train the next generation of preservation tradespeople.

Preservation, however, does not always involve physical objects, spaces and structures – just as important is the preservation of cultures and traditions.

In that vein, we are so excited to continue the long tradition of horticultural exhibitions at MHS with the New England Fall Flower Show, happening at Elm Bank on September 21st and 22nd. Visit, see demonstrations from worldclass florists, chat with other gardeners, or even show off a prized plant or crop in our horticultural exhibition classes. Or, simply use the flower show as a way to celebrate the joys of a successful harvest season and look forward to yet another classic New England Autumn.

“Preserve” can mean so many things, but I wanted to close by thinking about how we all, as gardeners, help preserve traditional trade. In gardening in a low-tech, low-impact way, we’re doing things – using similar techniques, tools, co-plantings, and more – the same way gardeners before me have been for millennia. I find a lot of peace and connection in this, and I encourage you to consider it next time you pick up a rake, divide a perennial, or harvest.

Hope to see you in the garden soon!

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"

'Chrysanthemums,' my friend commented as we moved through our garden stalking flower-show blossoms with decapitating shears, 'are like lions. Kingly characters.

I always expect them to spring.

To turn on me with a growl and a roar.'

Truman Capote (1924-1984) The Thanksgiving Visitor

"

Showy, ubiquitous, common are some of the thoughts that come to mind when thinking about chrysanthemums, But they are so much more. They are loved, revered and useful plants that are easily dismissed.

Recently, the Garden’s Growing Program Horticulturist, Venkatesh Babu Veerisetty announced that the Garden at Elm Bank is participating in the National Mum Trial Project with Harmony Harvest Farms that aims to revitalize American agriculture with heirloom Chrysanthemum production.

The trial Chrysanthemum plants are growing in the Trial Garden.

Mums are an ancient flower that is especially treasured in Asian cultures for its beauty, symbolism and medicinal value. Originally it was a small species but breeding developed new cultivars, many breath-taking and other others commercially mundane and ubiquitous. The mum made its way to the Americas in the early 18th century.

Feature: Chrysanthemums at Massachusetts Horticultural Society (MHS) and Elm Bank The Chrysanthemum has had a long relationship with MHS and Elm Bank. The Library collected books and prints on mums and they were the frequent subject of lectures. Interest in mums was keen among the members and they were exhibited at MHS’ first Annual Exhibition in September 1829. It continued to be the most frequently exhibited flower at the Fall Shows. Beginning in 1868, 18 | September-October 2024

it was the headliner of the Fall Harvest Shows that drew thousands of visitors into the late 20th century.

In addition to awards bestowed at the annual fall show, the prestigious Thomas Roland Medal was awarded to Chrysanthemum to the following breeders: 1936 – Elmer D. Smith, the “[F]ather of the modern Chrysanthemum in America” 1938 – Alex Cumming, Jr. “for his work in developing Korean hybrid chrysanthemums,” and 1942 – Vincent R. de Petris “for his work in developing improved hardy chrysanthemums.”

Chrysanthemums, E.D. Davis, Artist; William Say, Engraver, 1824. May 28, 1918. Engraving hand roulette on steel, printed in color and hand finished. MHS Collections, published on Digital Commonwealth website.

Hand colored engraved plate of a Chrysanthemum from MHS’ earliest book on Chrysanthemums. The book is part of MHS’ Original Library: The Florist's Directory, a Treatise on the Culture of Flowers, Maddock, J. London: John Harding, 1822.

Mums were an important avocation for Mrs. Elizabeth Cheney at her Elm Bank Estate in the late 19th century. Her gardener, John Barr, nurtured new and old variety plants in greenhouses on the Elm Bank Estate for exhibition at MHS. In 1896, the Visiting Garden Committee decreed that the Cheney and nearby Hunnewell displays were the best it had seen. Cheney’s 1900 winning greenhouses featured chrysanthemums that were six foot in diameter artfully arranged amidst decorative foliage plants as well as single stem blooms.

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Left: Medusa by Alois Lunzer (1840-1921). Right: Frontispiece of the chrysanthemum personified in Art Nouveau splendor as “Princess Golden Flower.”

The Golden Flower, Chrysanthemum: Verses by Edith M. Thomas, et al. Boston: L. Prang & Co. 1890. Donated and signed by the publisher, Louis Prang, 1890.

This valuable book is bound in rose cloth and India Silk and is illustrated with chromolithographs. It features poems by notable authors. MHS Collections.

△ Elm Bank Greenhouses, c. 1890s.

MHS Collections. Mrs. Cheney and her gardener, John Barr raised a wide variety of prize-winning chrysanthemum single blooms, cut flowers and plants that were used at the estate and exhibited at MHS. The hedge that ran three-quarters of a mile on the estate is seen in front of the greenhouses. Today, the only remnant of the three-quarter mile hedge that remains is the beech hedge enclosing the Italianate Garden. 75x25 foot greenhouse.

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▽ The Chrysanthemum Show on November 7-10, 1901 was the inaugural exhibition in MHS’ new hall on Massachusetts Avenue. Mrs. Cheney was one of the principal exhibitors at the show and received many awards. Photograph: MHS’ Transactions, 1901, p. 195.

MHS Book Club

The next meeting of the Book Club is on Tuesday, October 15th at 1:30 pm. in the Crockett Garden. The club will be discussing Down the Garden Path by Beverly Nichols.

All are welcome to attend.

This is the schedule for the Club’s upcoming book discussions:

October 15 Down the Garden Path by Beverly Nichols

November 19 Mischievous Creatures

by Catherine NcNeur

December 17 The Book Club will be sharing their favorite gardening magazines and catalogues!

January 21 Nature's Best Hope

by Doug Tallamy

COME VISIT! The Library is open on Thursdays from 10am - 1pm and by appointment. Please email Library & Archives Manager Maureen O’Brien for an appointment if you want to schedule a visit.

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P R E S E R V E

22 | September-October 2024

By Catherine Cooper

O

ctober is the swan song for tender perennials here in New England. September can offer balmy days which give the illusion of summer’s presence but reality arrives in October and the exotic and colorful plants that have adorned our outdoor spaces for the summer are usually treated as annuals and allowed to succumb to fall’s cold.

Although it does take some effort, it is possible to overwinter most tender plants to enjoy again the following year. This is often done by keeping them somewhere cool and dark, permitting them to go semi or completely dormant until favorable conditions return.

However, with a little extra effort, the tropical vibe we have enjoyed in our gardens can be brought indoors and enjoyed through the winter months. I have brought in a number of tender plants over the years and while some were a challenge to keep looking attractive and were a lesson in “really not worth the effort in a typical home environment”, it is interesting to see what can be achieved. For those who would prefer fewer demands on their horticultural skills, here are some tropicals that due to their smaller size and relative ease of care lend themselves to being used as houseplants.

The easiest ones to accommodate are begonias and geraniums (Pelargonium), particularly if they have been grown in individual pots.

Even if they have been part of mixed containers they can be separated out, potted up and given a tidying prune if necessary.

Given a bright sunny spot geraniums will continue to do well and even bloom. They do best in temperatures which we find comfortable and watering should be reduced during winter months as requirements are less.

Geraniums should be allowed to dry out between waterings, it being best to think of them as similar to succulents in their need for water, and like succulents they will not mind low humidity. Overwatering, especially if they are not placed in really bright light can lead to root rot and fungal disease. However, as with all plants, given the right conditions geraniums are easy care and rewarding houseplants.

In some ways begonias are easier to accustom to the conditions of our homes. They are shade loving plants and so find the lower light levels of indoors to their liking.

Certain types will be easier than others to place: the pendulous stems of trailing begonias with their often large flowers are more difficult to home than more upright growing ones. Angel wing, particularly compact varieties, cane

MHS Leaflet | 23

and rex begonias all make attractive houseplants. Like geraniums, they should only be watered when the soil surface is dry, however they do appreciate higher humidity than geraniums.

Boston ferns, so often a feature of shady porches, can also adapt to indoors.

While they might have hung from the eaves of porches, if space permits they look elegant sitting on a tall plant stand. They will need bright indirect light and as much humidity as you are prepared to give them. The change of environment can initially cause leaf drop, so it is worth pruning older fronds so as to spare too much mess as they adapt. Watering will also be reduced compared to summer needs, but bear in mind that by the end of summer a Boston fern usually has a good root system and therefore the pot probably does not have much space to hold water, so little and often might be a necessity.

24 | September-October 2024

Alocasia is another tender plant that makes an interesting houseplant with its dramatic leaves. They, like many houseplants require bright, indirect light and these plants fall in the warmth and high humidity camp if they are to keep going indoors. While they like consistently moist soil during the summer months, during winter watering should be cut back as an indoor environment reduces the amount needed compared to summer.

Dramatic leaves of a different sort are the main feature of ti plants, cordyline fruticosa. With sword shaped leaves, often in shades of red and green they can add a pop of color to indoors. They too need warmth and humidity to perform at their best, but will do fine indoors given sufficient moisture and some humidity.

This selection of tropical plants that can work as year round houseplants is based on several factors. Size plays a role - not everyone can find room for large plants such as bird of paradise or palms, although both of these can be grown indoors. Others such as canna lilies and dahlias are better stored as dormant tubers and replanted in the spring. While fig trees, tropical hibiscus, lantana and plumeria can be allowed to go dormant with no ill effect, citrus trees should not as they will bloom during the winter months and hence it is necessary to give them as much warmth and light as possible to encourage flowering and ripening of existing fruits. Just remember if citrus flowers indoors you will need to play the role of pollinating insect with a small, soft bristled paintbrush!

So if you want to keep that tropical feel throughout winter, these are a few suggestions for plants to bring into your home. Of course, many plants can be grown indoors, providing you have the means and willingness to replicate their natural environment. While begonias regularly feature throughout the winter as far as I am concerned, at various times I have also kept coleus, abutilon, pentas and frost tender ornamental sage, but for me it ultimately comes down to space and a willingness to experiment and see what tropical plants can be preserved until the following year.

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

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Did You Know You Can Make Charitable Donations Directly from Your IRA? Individuals aged 70½ and older can make Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs) directly from their IRAs to the Massachusetts Horticultural Society.

These distributions count towards Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) and can reduce taxable income, even for those who do not itemize deductions. For more details, please contact your financial advisor or visit the IRS website.

Thank you for considering supporting us in this way!

26 | September-October 2024

COMPANIONS FOR PLANTS

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.

Brenda had recently asked about why Bert thought a neighbor’s garden looked so peaked. It seemed to get regular water and, heaven knows, the neighbors seemed to spend an inordinate amount of time tending to the few rows of pallid pepper plants, listless lettuces and enervated eggplant. On the other hand, when she took a gander at Bert’s verdant vegetable, it was clear that the neighbor misunderstood something about stewardship. What had Bert come to understand that the neighbor seemed to have missed? What mystified Brenda was that even at the heart of the seasonal harvest, she regularly spotted the neighbor’s car outside the local IGA. After a while, Brenda could not let this thought go. Why was their produce patch so paltry? Even the weeds looked weak.

Finally, feeling defeated by what seemed like a loss of imagination (and being a bit weary having been on her feet in front of the canning kettle all day) she brought it up with her husband. Bert put her mind to rest instantly. Husbandry, he said. Brenda inferred that such a terse riposte simply meant ‘taking care of business’ whatever that may mean. Certainly, she held strongly to the thought that Bert was, and remains, a good husband. He obviously cared for and about her.

They were devoted to one another, conserved their resources (i.e. were economical) and co-operated effectively. Simply put, they helped each other out largely by skillfully understanding the needs of the other usually without the need to inquire. Or, even more simply and in the best possible sense, Bert was the male partner in their (long-standing) marriage. He, however, never thought about such things in such a clear-cut, simplistic fashion. He did what he did for Brenda because it gave him pleasure and tremendous satisfaction.

They were, as the saying went, a ‘well-oiled machine’ – a couple of cups of coffee in the morning got their day started and they were off and running.

They usually shared their thoughts on how the next twelve hours were to be put to good use and without thinking made a date for a light mid-day meal MHS Leaflet | 27

so’s they’d not run out of gas before what needed to get done was actually accomplished. (They both hated retiring with any loose ends to start the following day. Better a clean slate than a pile of dirty dishes to greet the morning!) She thought that made him a great ‘husband’.

A few of their more cynical, maybe younger, neighbors thought Bert was married to his gardens. He was often out there from dawn ‘til dusk doing God-knows-what as near as some could tell. But Bert was nothing if not a good husbandman. As he tended to the needs of his wife, so he also had a relationship with his gardens. While it may not have been especially spiritual, it was certainly pastoral. If the good lord had a flock, Bert was blessed with a magnificent garden that thrived on his care and devout ministrations. In his salad days when they had periodically attended services in their tiny neighborhood chapel, he had often remarked to his wife that the pews seemed to be organized by families (often extended families). This seemed strikingly harmonious even though it might seem that certain families appeared to ‘own’ their pew. This had got him thinking about his gardens and what should be planted where and with whom. What if his congregation of verdant miscellany could be organized by family, growing habit, relative maturation or cooperative compatibility? What could be wrong with such a divinely inspired idea? Well, yes. It soon turned out that familiarity breeds contempt and neither the brassicas nor the tomatoes were happy in bed with any of their respective cousins or relatives in successive years. Hence, the reason that Bert had so many small gardens that only seemed inefficient. Over the years and in conversation with less hide-bound gardeners who tended to mix things up, Bert figured out that what might have passed for sheer silliness, might actually work. Certainly, it wasn’t will-power on his part. So, yes, it seemed that most aromatic herbs not only did well with his brassicas but his idea of scientific inquiry concluded that cabbage moth damage was greatly reduced. But that did not solve the 28 | September-October 2024

club root problem. That was solved by a leafy greens/root vegetable/cut flower rotation which pleased Brenda no end. She loved having fresh flowers in the house nearly as much as she delighted in a fresh green salad every day.

So, while he thrilled at the success of carrots with Swiss chard or beets with broccoli, Brenda greatly enjoyed the companionship of summer phlox while hanging out the wash on a bright summer’s day.

But as July rolled into August, Bert could only anguish over which of his companion planting experiments was really bearing the most fruit. As usual, some plantings did better than others and for the life of him, there

seem no definite rhyme or reason.

Most likely it was too hot, too cool, too wet (but never too dry – that could be managed). In any case, he was blessed with a bountiful harvest. Cat-faced tomatoes canned up just as well as blemish-free and there were always more than a few beauties to capture the eye of the judges at the local fairs where he was always a top contender.

While Bert took enormous pride in the fairs, Brenda Usually spent some part of her August mornings putting up the tomato harvest when the kitchen was coolest. Her recipe was simple, to say the least (although she had babbled MHS Leaflet | 29

in more extravagant endeavors). She hewed to the 1930 edition of Fannie M. Farmer’s Boston Cooking School Cookbook. She knew it was reliable because Fannie Farmer’s cookbooks had been reprinted 1,486,00 times since they first came out in 1896 - that was the very definition of a ‘reliable’ resource.

Brenda simply wiped the tomatoes (just in case!), cubed them and stewed them in an enormous sauce pan quite slowly for about 20 minutes (unless she got distracted). She seasoned them with a little salt and pepper, put a couple of jars in the fridge and canned the rest. Brenda liked this recipe because in

August, there was no telling what the resultant stew might be turned into.

Come later in the fall, she might even turn some of it into catsup which she did by cooking down the stewed fruit until beginning to thicken and adding a little cider vinegar, garlic from Bert’s garden, a bit of sugar and some cinnamon. Of course, the amounts were all determined according to her tastebuds and Bert’s preference (tolerance?) for spiciness. Generally, she put up several gallons of the puree because it was so useful in so many recipes that they loved year ‘round. However, being easily distracted by what else might be on the stove or in preparation, Brenda might also have added Colman’s dry mustard powder, ground cloves or some other dried herb just to see if it made a difference to her catsup. Bert never offered a complaint. She did try to vary the recipe by the year so as to avoid confusion.

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

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THANK YOU TO OUR

2024 GARDEN OPENING SPONSORS PLATINUM

GOLD

MHS Leaflet | 31

The Garden at Elm Bank Open April 1-November 26 Classes, Programs Year-round www.masshort.org

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Massachusetts Horticultural Society 900 Washington St Wellesley, MA 617.933.4900