Category Archives: Gaiety Hollow

Open Garden this weekend April 9

04 Tuesday Apr 2017

Posted by in Gaiety Hollow, Garden, Lord & Schryver, Open Garden, Spring, spring annuals, Uncategorized

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Please join us at Gaiety Hollow for our first Open Garden of the season! Visitors may wander through the gardens at their leisure and speak with our volunteers stationed throughout the property. The garden will be open 1-4pm. Admission is $5 for anyone over the age of 16. Gaiety Hollow is located at 545 Mission St. in Salem, OR.

Below is a partial list of plants in bloom this week. Scientific names are italicized.

In the front yard and along the Allée:

Crab apple (scientific name Malus) just beginning to open by front door

Camellias

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Viburnum davidii 

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Skimmia japonica (female plants have red fruit, male plants have only flowers)

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Pieris 

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Rhododendron just beginning to open by the statue in the Allée

Hellebores

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Epimedium 

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In the Evergreen Garden:

Anemone hybrid

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Hellebores

Pieris 

Camellias

 

In the Flower Garden:

Crab apple (Malus) just beginning to open by back gate

Osmanthus delavayi under the crab apple

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Anemone nemorosa by the bench

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Tulips

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Daffodils (Narcissus)

Bellis daisies (Bellis perennis)

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Bleeding Hearts (Lamprocapnos spactabalis–try saying it out loud!)

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Forget-me-nots (Myosotis)

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Grape hyacinths (Muscari)

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Viburnum burkwoodii

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Prunus (aka flowering plum or cherries)

 

First tour of the season

28 Tuesday Mar 2017

Posted by in Gaiety Hollow, Garden, Lord & Schryver, Spring, Tours

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This past week was a whirlwind of activity at Gaiety Hollow. We had our first tour scheduled for Saturday and we wanted the gardens to look their best. Many, many thanks to the volunteers who put in over 60 hours of work to make the gardens shine.  Carpenters worked on the Pergola and cut plywood for guests and volunteers to walk on to avoid damaging the lawn. Garden volunteers filled up four large City compost bins with debris and needed to stash extra in the Service Yard.

Every day, we clean up more Camellia blossoms. You finish raking and turn around and there’s another one!
The morning of the tour, the gardens looked fresh and clean.

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Bobbie placed photos around the gardens so that guests could view the gardens in different seasons or years past.

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A sampling of camellias float in the pool.

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And daffodils and grape hyacinths were at their finest.

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We have more Garden Tours and Open Gardens coming up! The first Open Garden is April 9th, 1-4pm. More information on the website. We hope to see you in the gardens.

A Wet Spring…

18 Saturday Mar 2017

Posted by in Bill Noble, Drying Garden, Gaiety Hollow, Garden, House, Lord & Schryver, Spring, spring annuals

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I was in the garden today…dodging raindrops on the way into a meeting…and I reflected on how beautiful this garden is…even on the very dreariest of wet spring days…

I noted some boxwood trimming had begun…

the pergola construction was well underway…

making us glad that this structure will be there providing shade next summer…like it did last summer…and for many summers to come…

the rain has helped the new lawn in the drying garden flourish…

and once inside…the fire was going and Bobbie was welcoming Bill Noble to the meeting.

Bill is here in Oregon lecturing on the Cornish Colony in New Hampshire.  His lecture in Salem is this coming Sunday (March 19th) at 2:00 in the Dye House at the Willamette Heritage Center.    I KNOW you won’t want to miss this one.   Bill formerly was with the Garden Conservancy and now works as a consultant to many famous gardens, including our own.  He is a knowledgeable and lively person, pictured like this for publicity purposes…

and here are my meeting notes…

but today we had a little fun…

See you Sunday!

Sunshine and volunteers

11 Saturday Mar 2017

Posted by in Bill Noble, Gaiety Hollow, Garden, Lord & Schryver, Spring, spring annuals, Vintage Photos

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Yesterday felt like the first true day of spring. The sun was shining and we could see blue blue sky between the white fluffy clouds. For the first time this season, the volunteer gardeners were able to get some work done at Gaiety Hollow. Not only did they finish planting all the spring annuals, but they also tackled the hellebore leaves. What a weight off my shoulders!

Primrose
Pansies
Bellis daisy
Hellebores
Grape hyacinth

The carpenters were also out working in the sunshine. One crew on the Pergola; one crew repairing the garage doors. If we get a spate of nice weather, we hope that both projects can be finished before the tour and open gardens begin.

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Chris and Tom work on the Pergola

In other news, we are really looking forward to Bill Noble‘s visit this coming week. Before starting his own consulting business, Bill was Director of Preservation at the Garden Conservancy and worked closely with noted gardens such as Longue Vue, the Gardens at Alcatraz, the Ruth Bancroft Garden, the Pearl Fryar Topiary Garden, and Hollister House Garden. He has been a great resource for the L&S Conservancy for several years. He will  be meeting with the board and committees this coming Friday and Saturday. And then, on Sunday, March 19, he will give a presentation on the Cornish Colony at 2pm in the WHC Dye House.

Bill

Edith Schryver cut her teeth at the Cornish Colony while working for Ellen Biddle Shipman. Shipman was one of the foremost designers of her time and known for her formal gardens and lush planting style. She was of the first generation of women to break into the male-dominated landscape architecture profession. There is no doubt of her influence on Edith Schryver.

Charles Platt Garden
Charles Platt Garden
Charles Platt Garden
Charles Platt Garden

 

Don’t miss this presentation! Not only is Bill a dynamic speaker, not only will he tie the Cornish Colony to the story of Edith and Elizabeth, but…There will be birthday cake!

Edith’s 116th birthday is on March 20th, but we are celebrating a day early with everyone who attends Bill’s lecture. Come for an energetic and lush presentation, stay for the cake! We hope to see you there. Don’t forget to register online.

Is it spring yet?

28 Tuesday Feb 2017

Posted by in Gaiety Hollow, Garden

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While the East Coast is bragging about cherry trees and magnolias in bloom, here in Salem we had flurries this morning. Winter has hung on tight this year. Nonetheless, spring is coming, slowly but surely.

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At Gaiety Hollow, the crocus have been blooming cheerfully for the past week or two. From my office window, I can also see snowdrops, camellias, viburnum, and hellebore in full glory. Early spring annuals are waiting eagerly in the Service Yard to be planted in the Flower Garden. Anna’s hummingbirds can be heard chattering in the shrubs.

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Next month, the Lord & Schryver Conservancy will begin our season of events. We will kick off with the “Mind the Gaps” Oregon Humanities conversation at Gaiety Hollow on March 3rd at 4:30pm.

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The second full week of March, we are delighted to host garden designer and preservationist Bill Noble. Bill will be here to talk with the board and help guide the Conservancy as we move forward. On March 19th, at 2pm, he will present a talk on the Cornish Colonies in the Dye House at the Willamette Heritage Center. Bill is an engaging speaker and will help us understand the link between the Cornish Colony aesthetic and Edith Schryver’s designs. Please, spread the word! There is plenty of room and we would love a packed house. Register through the website.

Our first garden tours will be later in the month, on March 25.

Please note–Our website address has changed! It is now lordandschryverconservancy.org. Update your bookmarks and tell all your friends.

 

 

Spring ??

23 Monday Jan 2017

Posted by in Driveway, Drying Garden, Gaiety Hollow, Garden, Lord & Schryver

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Probably not, but today, in this part of the world, it was sunny and 46 degrees and it felt so spring-like I thought that Gaiety Hollow might be the place to go.  I wanted to see how the sod had survived in the new garden “room” and what progress had been made on the driveway…I’ll let the pictures tell the tale…

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and there were a few little signs, even though we know very well there’s more winter ahead!

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Bonnie Hull, Garden Correspondent

January optimism

03 Tuesday Jan 2017

Posted by in Drying Garden, Gaiety Hollow, Garden, Lord & Schryver, Restoration

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Written by Lindsey Kerr, Curator/Garden Manager

Welcome to 2017!

It’s a cold January morning–10 degrees below normal for Salem–but we are excited about all the changes to come to Gaiety Hollow in 2017.

To kick off the new year, I arrived at work this morning to find that the men from Autumn Leaf Landscaping had completed the Drying Garden lawn restoration. The lawn was removed and a patio installed in the 1980s or 1990s. As part of the effort to take the gardens back to Elizabeth and Edith’s original design, we needed to remove the patio.

Later this year, I will research and plan the rehabilitation of the beds on either side of the Drying Garden. This will be a challenge because documentation is almost non-existent on this small garden. Elizabeth and Edith were, perhaps, like you and me when it came to designing their home garden–they moved plants here-and-there on impulse and forgot to note it in their journals. Or, perhaps, they did plan and take note but, sadly, those plans and notes were not kept after their deaths.

The next big project to come is the rehabilitation of the driveway. Not the sexiest project, it still needs to be done. Portions of the driveway will be re-poured, a new gate installed (based on Edith’s plans from the 1930s), and the lawn adjacent to the driveway regraded and improved.

As spring comes to the Valley, we will fill the Flower Garden with flowers that Elizabeth and Edith loved. Our plant choices and design are based on historic images and purchase records kept in the archives at the Knight Library at the University of Oregon.

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The most exciting news is that the gardens will be open two times a month, April-September. Never before has the general public had such access to Elizabeth and Edith’s home gardens. Visitors can see the restoration in process and enjoy the beauty of Elizabeth and Edith’s designs. 

We hope to meet you in the garden!

Happy New Year!

28 Wednesday Dec 2016

Posted by in Gaiety Hollow, Garden, Lord & Schryver, Vintage Photos

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I was back in the garden today, finally.

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Winter in the garden means work of the chilliest sort.  Curator/garden manager Lindsey Kerr is working on the beds, and the workers from Autumn Leaf Landscaping are digging out the “Drying Garden”…

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As I was having a chat with Lindsey Kerr and she mentioned to me a couple of photos from the 1980’s of how that section of the garden used to look… and sent them along…

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We cordially invite you to join in the efforts of the Lord and Schryver Conservancy to not only retrieve this beautiful 20th century garden, but to help it survive on into the 21st century with new audiences and new activities…none of which can go forward without the help of our generous donors.  Thanking you in advance!

Note original grass, espaliered Camellia sasanqua.

Stormy Weekend

15 Saturday Oct 2016

Posted by in Gaiety Hollow, Garden, Lord & Schryver

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We’re in the middle of stormy weekend here…we left the fireside for a coffee and I did a quick tour of the garden.

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Interestingly, aside from the grape leaves on the arbor, the fall color visible is mostly from trees in the neighboring yards…Gaiety Hollow is still green, but fading.

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Arbor progress is being made…in spite of less than ideal conditions…

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and a few tiny bits of color have floated into the pool…

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Stay dry out there!!

Meet Lindsey Kerr!

30 Friday Sep 2016

Posted by in Gaiety Hollow, Garden, Lord & Schryver, Vintage Photos

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Today was our new garden advocate/curator’s first meeting with the volunteers at Gaiety Hollow.  Lindsey Kerr is newly arrived from Connecticut where she has been managing a private estate garden since finishing her graduate work.  I went along to meet Lindsey so I could introduce her to you, but first had to wander the garden.  On Friday the story is a little different than my usual solitary adventures.  The people who do the work to keep this garden beautiful are actually in the garden every Friday…

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Serious dead-heading was going on…

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work on the bench and the arbor progresses…guess who?

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Name tags were in order today…

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tools and snacks at the ready…

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…special delivery from Amazon…

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Gretchen and Lindsey talk boxwood…

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a maverick.

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I take a turn through the garden…

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our vintage view for today…

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before getting down to work.  I wanted to get a picture of Lindsey and the volunteers “in the garden”…so here they are.

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And here’s Lindsey Kerr.  As she settles in, she will be in the garden everyday.  She’ll be learning about Oregon plants and climate, as well as trying to absorb the history of Elizabeth Lord and Edith Schryver as plants-women and architects.  She feels this is especially important so that she understands the right plant choices and care of the garden going forward.  She is interested in meeting you and looks forward to jumping into the Gaiety Hollow community with both feet.  Soon she will be writing blog posts about her daily activities in the garden as well as her thoughts for the future.  You will enjoy meeting her, I know.

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In the meantime…watch for those spider webs…this one especially beautiful this morning, filled with dew.

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