September 13, 2018
Dear Friends of Untermyer Gardens,
Welcome to the gardeners' annual takeover! While Steve our president is away from his computer, we will share some of our favorite happenings from the gardens.
One of the projects we are excited about is the reclamation of Untermyer's original Gatehouse. The roofless shell of the two-story building, now visible below the Vista, just off the Old Croton Aqueduct in the northwest corner of the garden, has been in ruins for decades and so overgrown as to be nearly forgotten.
The existing soil within its walls was hopelessly contaminated with trash and countless broken bottles. We intend to cultivate an overgrown garden interiorscape in the open-air structure, so we decided to remove the existing soil and replace it with topsoil and our own compost. Because of its location in steep terrain, we were unable to use machines to remove the soil, and our entire horticulture staff dug out 20 yards of glassy soil by hand!
Dear Friends of Untermyer Gardens,
Welcome to the gardeners' annual takeover! While Steve our president is away from his computer, we will share some of our favorite happenings from the gardens.
One of the projects we are excited about is the reclamation of Untermyer's original Gatehouse. The roofless shell of the two-story building, now visible below the Vista, just off the Old Croton Aqueduct in the northwest corner of the garden, has been in ruins for decades and so overgrown as to be nearly forgotten.
The existing soil within its walls was hopelessly contaminated with trash and countless broken bottles. We intend to cultivate an overgrown garden interiorscape in the open-air structure, so we decided to remove the existing soil and replace it with topsoil and our own compost. Because of its location in steep terrain, we were unable to use machines to remove the soil, and our entire horticulture staff dug out 20 yards of glassy soil by hand!
In the coming months, we will make the Gatehouse into a ruin garden using a naturalistic, overgrown planting scheme. Planting pockets have been chipped into the cement of the walkway around the house, a tiny room behind the Gatehouse will be transformed into a subterranean grotto with a small fountain, and greenery will tumble over the retaining wall in front.
During the late summer, the aquatic plants in the north pool of the Walled Garden are at their peak. This year's plantings are grouped into small islands, and one gardener, Jessica Norman, decided to look at them from a different angle. She perched on a ladder above the pool and took these photos.
On Saturday, September 29, at 2 pm, the Untermyer Gardens Conservancy will host its first symposium. Join us for an afternoon with three head gardeners: Louis Bauer of Wave Hill, Andi Pettis of the High Line, and Timothy Tilghman of Untermyer Gardens. The three-part program includes introductions to each of the gardens by their directors of horticulture, a panel discussion about the successes and challenges of public gardens with noted garden blogger Shobha Vanchiswar, and a tour of Untermyer Gardens with Stephen F. Byrns and Timothy Tilghman.
RSS Feed