Dear Friends of Untermyer Gardens,
Last year saw some important changes at the Untermyer Gardens Conservancy. After six years as Chair, Ann Carmel passed the torch to Peter Boodell, our treasurer and a founding board member. The great-granddaughter of Samuel and Minnie Untermyer, Ann brought wisdom, business acumen, and heart in equal measure to her role. She has helped to transform the garden during the past decade, and we are most grateful for her continued presence on the board.
Last year saw some important changes at the Untermyer Gardens Conservancy. After six years as Chair, Ann Carmel passed the torch to Peter Boodell, our treasurer and a founding board member. The great-granddaughter of Samuel and Minnie Untermyer, Ann brought wisdom, business acumen, and heart in equal measure to her role. She has helped to transform the garden during the past decade, and we are most grateful for her continued presence on the board.
A Chicago native and a graduate of Princeton University, Peter Boodell is an investment banker at Indus Capital in New York City. While living in Yonkers a decade ago, Peter helped lead the successful effort to daylight the Saw Mill River in its downtown. He and his wife, Diana, live with their four children in Westchester County.
The Conservancy works in a public-private partnership with the City of Yonkers, which owns the garden. Anthony Landi, an outstanding Parks Commissioner since 2016, is now Deputy Mayor and has been succeeded by Steve Sansone, who had been the Deputy Commissioner. This is a vital relationship, and the Conservancy is pleased to continue it with Commissioner Sansone.
All too often, the impulse for tidiness can be counterproductive in a garden. I love looking out the office window during the winter to see sweeps of golden drying grasses swaying in the wind. It is a rare example of lavishness during this time of year. Yet all around us — outside the range of Timothy Tilghman’s influence, that is — landscaping crews cut grasses down to the ground, resulting in a sadly scalped look.
I was in Italy last fall and paid a visit to Hadrian’s Villa. You encounter a huge wall upon entering, and I was struck by its similarity to those of our Walled Garden. The ancient wall in Tivoli is built with diagonally set bricks (opus reticulatum) alternating with horizontal brick bands, many of which have fallen out. Look at our wall, its stucco scored in a diagonal pattern, delineated by thin bricks that are also falling out. Had our architect Welles Bosworth been recalling Tivoli when he designed our walls in 1916?
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We like to break up the winter doldrums with a few stimulating events. Please consider attending on February 13 our Winter Symposium about meadows, which will be presented virtually. Timothy will interview experts in the field to get ideas and advice for a new meadow at Untermyer Gardens, which is currently on the drawing board. The image of the beautiful, naturalistic meadow belies the substantial planning and design necessary to create it. This will be an excellent chance for all of us to learn how to introduce a meadow into our own landscapes large and small.
Kind regards,
Stephen F. Byrns
President, Untermyer Gardens Conservancy
Stephen F. Byrns
President, Untermyer Gardens Conservancy
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