Dear Friends of Untermyer Gardens,
A recent major rainstorm once again wreaked havoc in the garden, elevating the urgency of our stormwater runoff problem. During a heavy rain, great plumes of water shoot down the sloping property and along the carriage trail, eroding soil, mulched trails, and plantings and muddying the cascades and fountains as they go. Samuel Untermyer’s drainage system is long gone, so we have to start anew. Stay tuned for this important initiative.
A recent major rainstorm once again wreaked havoc in the garden, elevating the urgency of our stormwater runoff problem. During a heavy rain, great plumes of water shoot down the sloping property and along the carriage trail, eroding soil, mulched trails, and plantings and muddying the cascades and fountains as they go. Samuel Untermyer’s drainage system is long gone, so we have to start anew. Stay tuned for this important initiative.
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The annuals in the Walled Garden are exceptionally vivid and lively this year. The dominant plant is the pelargonium or scented geranium, a commonplace beauty in our region that is especially beloved in Iran. Its jewel tones mix nicely with darker salvia, gomphrena, and calibrachoa, punctuated by a blackish-purple-leafed ornamental pepper. White euphorbia separates the beds. At the north pool, the pelargoniums have ruffled leaves and showy purple flowers. Intermixed are little explosions of another “overused” annual, cleome. Which goes to show that some common plants are popular for a reason, and how you arrange them makes their beauty shine.
Our first cohort of interns completed their session, having planted the Ornamental Vegetable Garden and made valuable improvements elsewhere. One of the interns, who is also quite musical, has the unusual name Kaouter. When I asked her about it, she explained that her family is from Algeria and that her name is Arabic for “a river in paradise.” What an amazing coincidence: our four canals in the Walled Garden symbolize the four rivers in paradise!
The year 2022 is the second of our weekly Family Adventure Tours, which take place on Sunday mornings. They are led by docents who devise fun ways for young people to experience the garden; they are aimed at children aged seven to twelve (accompanied by at least one adult). Clipboards are given to each child, who try to figure out the answers to various questions about plants, mythology, architecture, sculpture, and ruins. The tours, which last an hour, rotate among three areas: the Walled Garden, from the Vista to the Ruin Garden, and from the Temple of Love to the Dell. One little girl told me after a tour that it was the most fun she had ever had in her whole life!
He’s back! Here is Timothy in a video to discuss "A Green Screen."
He’s back! Here is Timothy in a video to discuss "A Green Screen."
Kind regards,
Stephen F. Byrns
President, Untermyer Gardens Conservancy
Stephen F. Byrns
President, Untermyer Gardens Conservancy
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