Category Archives: Garden

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!

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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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Fall is Here!

26 Monday Sep 2016

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

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After a too-long absence I stepped into the garden today and as usual was delighted by the fresh beauty awaiting me on this bright and sunny and warm fall Sunday.

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At the back gate I noted the wonderful copper covering of the curved wooden element on the gate frame…to keep the water out of the wood I presume, and before long it will be as green as the gate but TODAY the copper shone in the sun…

9-25-1The flowers I watched the volunteers plant in the spring are in their last real blaze…

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and I then headed to the grape arbor to see the progress the builders have made.  They are, bit by bit, replacing all the wooden elements without disturbing this key central bit of hardscape.  It has been fascinating to watch…

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They are even removing the comfy bench and lattice under the arbor (where I have spent a LOT of time looking and drawing)…here it is in spring

L&S winter 2013 arbor and boy

and today dismantled for repair and replacement…

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and here’s a vintage shot of the arbor…

Knight Library Home Garden Pergola looking east Lantern Slide

This week I hope to meet up with the builders and bring you more inside info…until then, watch out for those September spider webs!

 

Summer Arbor Project

26 Tuesday Jul 2016

Posted by in Gaiety Hollow, Garden, Lord & Schryver

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Stepping into the garden this morning was the usual pleasure…in this case the pleasure of high summer in a gorgeous garden…a cool summer morning, a riot of blooms…

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but pretty much immediately I knew something was afoot…

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the skilled volunteers have the slow and tricky problem of replacing all the wooden members of the gorgeous grape arbor (without disturbing the vines)…board by board.

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during the Strands’ years in the garden their son Dale had carefully tried to preserve the arbor and it’s original fabric…

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but these “fixes” have now rotted as well…another solution involving concrete bases so wooden members are not in contact with the soil…as well as pressure treated wood for the bases…

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It’s slow and painstaking work but they are making headway…and then there’s the matter of paint…

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Stay tuned for a progress report.  One more glance…

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In Memoriam

11 Saturday Jun 2016

Posted by in Gaiety Hollow, Garden, Lord & Schryver

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Gardens have so many functions when you stop to consider it.  They provide us with places to work, to think, to create, to celebrate and to mourn.  They offer us the positive joy and renewal of spring and growth, and they offer the silent solace we often need in times of sadness.

under the arbor

the allee

Gaiety Hollow sits in an historic residential neighborhood, born in 1987 and parented by Dwight Smith.  Dwight and his wife Pat lived in a nearby 1932 Clarence Smith designed house which also had a Lord & Schryver garden (1938),

Dwight's House

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and they became interested in the Lord & Schryver narrative, of which they had become a part .  Dwight worked for the Oregon Department of Transportation and researched and wrote extensively about bridges and highways in the state of Oregon, co-authoring “Historic Highway Bridges of Oregon” with James Norman,

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as well as preparing the nomination document for the Gaiety Hill/Bush’s Pasture Park Residential Historic District.

Sunday, at Gaiety Hollow, friends and family gathered to remember Dwight…and how he would have appreciated such a gathering in this garden.  Words were spoken, acquaintances were renewed, toasts were made to Dwight and his friendship, his ironic humor, his love of preservation, and all things Oregon.  And a silent toast from at least one person to the garden itself.   Salute!

beginning to gather

Before

chocolate things