Blog Archives

The Long Walk

8/31/2022

Dear Friends of Untermyer Gardens,

The long walk down the Vista to the bottom of the hill is becoming even more interesting. The sunflowers in the Vegetable Garden, a tribute to Ukraine, are quite tall and handsome, with various yellow and red varieties coming into bloom. Nearby, the pergola is getting its first bit of shade thanks to some Persian watermelons, whose tendrils are quickly climbing the grid of twine stretched between the columns.

Farther down, the recent underplanting of two thousand or so perennials at the Rhododendron Walk is becoming established. As Timothy Tilghman says, it is beginning to look like a garden, not just a group of rhododendrons engulfed in mulch.

Since June, we have been fortunate to receive the able services of Hannah Emilius, an intern from Sarah Lawrence College. She helped with many tour groups and classes but, most important, she drafted a written strategy to significantly expand our education outreach to the public schools. Hannah conducted valuable research on comparable programs elsewhere, in particular how to use the garden as a teaching tool while adhering to New York State educational standards. We thank her and Sarah Lawrence for this critical boost as we continue to grow our education game.

Please join us for the final performance of the 2022 Minnie Untermyer Concert Series when Lori Belilove and the Isadora Duncan Dance Company return on Sunday, September 4, at 6:00 p.m. The garden will be at its colorful peak and provide a splendid backdrop for modern dance—historic and contemporary—from the same company that performed here in 1923 and 1932.

“For Ukraine,” a poignant new piece set to the music of the stirring Ukrainian national anthem, promises to pull at the heartstrings. Limited tickets are available.

Timothy is back to talk about the annuals lining the canals in the Walled Garden.

Kind regards,

Stephen F. Byrns
President, Untermyer Gardens Conservancy

Ancient Air Conditioning

8/11/2022

Dear Friends of Untermyer Gardens,

The double hydrangea border flanking the Temple of the Sky in the Walled Garden is now in top form. What I like most is its mix of hydrangeas and other plants, an antidote to the clichéd sweep of monolithic hydrangeas. Hydrangeas with different heights and shapes, varicolored flowers, and contrasting leaf colors alongside other woody and herbaceous plants make for a sophisticated and dynamic mosaic.

It’s high time to give a shout-out to our steadfast gardening team of eight horticulturists, who are devoted to deploying thriving plants in an artistic manner. We are thrilled that our longtime gardener Drew Schuyler, a hometown Yonkers boy, has been promoted to assistant head gardener. Drew graduated from the Professional Gardeners Program at Longwood Gardens and had previous experience in San Francisco’s public parks, Vallarta Botanical Gardens in Mexico, and Great Dixter in England. Possessing an encyclopedic knowledge of plants and a keen eye for beauty, he is a strong right hand to Timothy Tilghman.

Top row: John Jacono, Drew Schuyler, Liz Dreeben, Maryam Farzaneh, Stewart Molina
Bottom row: Timothy Tilghman, Jazlynne Gonzalez, Mario Irigoyen

The excessive heat we have been experiencing has made me more aware of the cooling effect of the Walled Garden. Ancient Persian gardens evolved in a hot climate, and this effect was intentional in their design. It is quite startling—and delightful—to feel the temperature drop as you enter our Walled Garden. The shade cast by the huge trees, the flowing water, and the sturdy masonry enclosure of the walls create a special kind of air conditioning. This truly is “the heavenly, new-transfigured splendor” of Paradise with its “laughing” spring as described in Wagner’s Die Meistersinger.

An interesting consequence of the exceedingly dry weather is the reemergence of the long-lost footpaths at Untermyer Gardens that had disappeared over the years and whose underlying gravel makes the topsoil dry out faster than surrounding areas. Timothy pointed out one in what we call the Long Garden, which once had a central path flanked by a 400-foot-long double flower border. Opposite our new circular stairs and configured around a previous bed now covered with grass, one can discern a ghostly square path that apparently formed an approach to the central path. When restored, it will be a nice complement to the circular beds of the vegetable garden above and the other geometric elements nearby.

Timothy is down in the cool Rhododendron Walk, with some information to share.

Kind regards,

Stephen F. Byrns
President, Untermyer Gardens Conservancy

The Long Walk

Ancient Air Conditioning

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