March 2022 club meeting focus on garden history and design
On a bright and breezy March morning, members gathered at the Rye Free Reading Room to meet and hear from guest speaker Nola Anderson on her book "Immersion: Living and Learning in an Olmsted Garden"
During the business meeting, members were thrilled to hear from Field Trips Chair Marianna, as she outlined a series of truly wonderful opportunities coming up including the GCA Daffodil Garden in Central Park, the GCA Annual Meeting Flower Show and Sleepy Cat Farm.
Chris Duncan spoke about the culmination of the Club's Olmsted200 project with Daffodil Day on May 1. The event, held at Rye Town Park, will combine young growers from all over Rye coming to display Daffodils that they have grown as well as see the entire community coming together to appreciate the beauty of the 20,000 newly planted Daffodils.
It was lovely to be back in person with delicious refreshments and the return of the Teacup Challenge!
For a more detailed report on the Business Section of the meeting, members can access the minutes on our webpage under the members section.
Following the Business Meeting, Nola Anderson then took to the stage to speak about her experience of immersing herself in her Olmsted garden.
When they bought The Chimneys in Massachusetts, 30 years ago, Nola was a complete novice in the garden. Over the years she became a talented, experienced gardener with the skills and vision to take on her Olmsted designed garden. She learned how to make it her own in a way that honored his legacy, whilst reimagining the spaces in a personal way that made sense for her family.
Her insights on flower and foliage selections, speaking up when you feel your landscape architect may not be taking you and your garden on the right path, color sequencing were invaluable and the photos she shared of her garden were simply stunning.
Nola shared that she found a great resource in local nursery and garden center owners and encouraged us to seek ideas and advice from them. She also discussed her mentor Patrick Chasse who worked on the gardens with her for many years before she spread her wings.
It's fair to say that members were entranced by Nola's candid story of the highs and lows as she transitioned from a property owner to a master gardener and steward of the gardens.
She left us with a final quote - a reminder of the true nature of gardening...
'A Garden is never finished; that's part of the allure'