Dear Friends of Untermyer Gardens,
Our second seasonal cohort of Yonkers high school interns has done spectacular work; regrettably, their session is about to end. When I visited the ornamental vegetable garden last week, I thought it had never looked better. The garden has an aesthetic emphasis, and the food it yields tastes as good as it looks! The produce is shared with the Salvation Army, the Community Service Associates of Mount Vernon, the Eastchester Community Action Partnership, and the Yonkers YWCA, all of whom will distribute it to people in need. Huge thanks to the interns and especially the gardeners, John Jacono and Liz Dreeben, for their leadership of this important program, which receives critical support from the Thomas and Agnes Carvel Foundation, the St. Faith’s House Foundation, Con Edison, and CDBG/HUD.
Our second seasonal cohort of Yonkers high school interns has done spectacular work; regrettably, their session is about to end. When I visited the ornamental vegetable garden last week, I thought it had never looked better. The garden has an aesthetic emphasis, and the food it yields tastes as good as it looks! The produce is shared with the Salvation Army, the Community Service Associates of Mount Vernon, the Eastchester Community Action Partnership, and the Yonkers YWCA, all of whom will distribute it to people in need. Huge thanks to the interns and especially the gardeners, John Jacono and Liz Dreeben, for their leadership of this important program, which receives critical support from the Thomas and Agnes Carvel Foundation, the St. Faith’s House Foundation, Con Edison, and CDBG/HUD.
A large stretch of North Broadway was coned off a few days ago for a flotilla of vehicles announcing a fashion shoot. Ralph Lauren has come to Yonkers! I have often said that our Persian Pool, originally the Untermyer family’s swimming pool, is one of the two finest pools in America, the other being William Randolph Hearst’s pool at San Simeon, California. I am pleased to see that Ralph agrees. The elegant model reclining in a deck chair (below) might have stepped out of the pages of The Great Gatsby.
As you may have noticed, this has been a banner year for hydrangeas. Our hydrangea borders flanking the perimeter of the Lower Terrace have never looked better. Forty-nine hydrangea varieties are artfully mixed with other herbaceous and woody plants, which creates a much more interesting vignette than a planting solely of hydrangeas. The showiest ones have been hybridized to have sterile flowers, which are not attractive to bees, unfortunately. However, those with a combination of small fertile flower clusters surrounded by larger sterile flowers are covered with bees. We have both types, so check them out yourself to observe the differences.
Timothy Tilghman, our head gardener extraordinaire, is offering a very special treat on Thursday, September 12, when he will lead a Sunset Tour of the garden and share his abundant knowledge about plants and his brilliant design talent. The horticultural world is now paying attention to Untermyer Gardens, and it is thanks to Timothy, who has guided the garden’s development over thirteen years and made it a sensation. His tour will conclude with refreshments at sunset, a rare opportunity to enjoy the garden after closing hours.
The City of Yonkers added a popular improvement to the garden this year: a water fountain/water bottle refill station just inside the Walled Garden. We considered selling bottled water, but it is so much more environmentally responsible to encourage people to use refillable bottles than disposable plastic ones.
Let me call attention to the two concerts taking place at our amphitheater in August. The first one will be this Sunday, August 4, and feature the outstanding Persian musicians Sahba Motallebi and Reza Mohsenipour with the theme Persian Music & Spiritual Health. Then, on Sunday, August 11, the Victor LaGamma Jazz Quartet returns for their tenth performance at the garden. They are sure to draw a large and enthusiastic crowd. Come enjoy the sounds of music as birds and butterflies flit about the paired columns, the sphinxes, and the north pool aquatics.
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