The Most Wonderful Time of the Year
We're preparing for the 12th annual Festival of Trees

Mass Hort’s annual Festival of Trees at The Gardens at Elm Bank is a delight to visitors of all ages during the holiday season. While this year will operate differently than years prior we hope you'll continue the tradition and join us for the holiday season. If you're interested in donating or sponsoring a tree for the raffle, you can learn more here.

This event is our largest fundraiser, we can't make it possible without a team of volunteers, learn more about helping out. 

Upcoming Programming

Guided, Garden Tour
October 7, 10am

Big, Beautiful Arrangements

October 21, 7pm

Ethnobotany: Humans & Their Use of Plants, Virtual Lecture
October 29, 7pm

Final Weekend

Music in the Garden

Thank you to everyone who joined our 2020 concert series, Music in the Garden. While it didn't start out as planned, we are still ecstatic with the outcome and hope to continue in 2021!

Join us this weekend for our two final performances

Saturday, October 10
3pm
Velléda Miragias & Friends

Sunday, October 11
3pm
Piano Quartet - Wellesley Symphony Orchestra

There are weeds, and then there are Weeds.

We're highlighting a great invasive plants article from the Boston Globe, The enemy plants in our backyard and how to get rid of them

Written by Jon Gorey, this article hosts a whorl of information alongside great photos to help with identification.

Weekly, Drop-in Storytime

Listen in on the storybook adventures narrated by our Garden Educator, Melissa Pace. Bring a blanket or chair and join the squirrels, birds, and other garden creatures as we spread out in the grassy Maple Grove, picnics welcome! This event is included with garden admission or Free for Mass Hort Members.

Wednesdays, 11am

Reserve your entry tickets online. 

Notice Anything Different? 

Hint: Take a peak at The Goddess Garden 

You have to visit before the end of season (Nov.1) to see the newfound glow of Flora, Ceres, and Pomona. These ladies underwent a much needed cleaning led by Bill Evans, the one who restored them over 20 years ago! A weeks worth of elbow grease and special "slurries" has really made these roman goddesses stand out.
Originally sculpted by Martin Milmore, these statues have had quite the journey in their lifetime. We're so happy to have them looking their best, see the before and after photos.

Featured Articles

Japanese Knotweed—Really a Problem Invasive

Flower: Exploring the World in Bloom 

October Horticultural Hints

The Apple Antidote to a Covid Autumn

Japanese Knotweed—Really a Problem Invasive

by Wayne Mezitt

MHS Trustee

Japanese bamboo, Mexican bamboo and Japanese fleece flower are other common names for Polygonum cuspidatum (it is called Fallopia japonica in Britain), widely considered one of the most invasive plants in this region (and many other locations worldwide). Whatever you call it, once this ubiquitous plant shows up in your landscape, you should make every effort to eliminate it before it becomes unmanageable. 

Introduced to England as an ornamental plant around 1825, Japanese knotweed started being used in USA for hedging, screening and erosion control later in the 1800’s. Although the appearance of its stems resembles bamboo, it is actually an herbaceous member of the buckwheat family. Its above-ground parts die during the winter, and all new growth springs from its underground rhizomes. Now naturalized nationwide, it forms dense thickets along roadways, stream-banks and abandoned waste areas, and increasingly in landscape plantings. 

Japanese knotweed is easy to spot any time of year: its round, green-speckled, red-brown (in summer), inch-thick, hollow stems are thick and woody, standing tall even during the winter. Six-inch sprays of tiny, greenish-white flowers sprout from leaf axils in mid-summer, followed in autumn by a profusion of dangling, triangular, winged nut-like seeds as the foliage turns yellow. 

Thriving in any sunny location and reaching 6-10 ft. high, its vigorous underground rhizomes sprout thick stems at every node, quickly spreading to 20-30 ft. wide and more. It dominates landscapes and crowds out anything in its path and also invades new areas with its prolific seed production.

In your yard, small plants should be carefully and thoroughly dug out, taking care to leave not even the smallest piece of root--it will grow into a new plant. Be sure to dispose of all parts of knotweed where they cannot regrow, not in your compost pile! Cut-back all new shoots continuously as they emerge; this helps starve the root systems. Alternatively, a foliar application of glyphosate herbicide (Roundup, or similar) will set-back new growth, but treatment must be repeated every time new shoots appear. Another method is to apply glyphosate concentrate directly to each stem as it is cut, enabling the herbicide to translocate to the root systems and weaken them.

Eradicating larger established infestations of Japanese knotweed is a more complex process, and it can take a year or more; Japanese knotweed’s rhizomes survive for a long time underground, even when new shoots are continuously cut off or treated with herbicide. 

A diligent control program that combines mechanical and chemical management can work, although you may need to call upon a professional for more extreme infestations. In any case, once you see this invasive pest moving into the landscape, be sure to take appropriate action to help impede its further spread.

Wayne Mezitt is a 3^rd generation nurseryman and a Massachusetts Certified Horticulturist, now chairman of Weston Nurseries of Hopkinton and Chelmsford, MA, and owner of “Hort-Sense”, a horticultural advisory business. Wayne currently serves as a Trustee for Massachusetts Horticultural Society at The Gardens at Elm Bank in Wellesley, MA.

Flower: Exploring the World in Bloom 

Reviewed By Patrice Todisco 

Flower: Exploring the World in Bloom 

by Phaidon Editors 

352 pp. Phaidon Press Limited . $59.95 

For centuries flowers have inspired artists and artisans.  Their influence is celebrated in Flower: Exploring the World in Bloom, a comprehensive survey of the role flowers play in art, history and culture.  Containing 300 full-color images curated by a panel of international experts of art historians, museum curators, botanists, florists, and horticulturalists, the result is akin to visiting a virtual museum devoted to more than 4,000-years of the subject. 

This is an ambitious work.  To fully illustrate the symbolic impact of flowers on the everyday lives of people throughout time, Flower: Exploring the World in Bloom showcases an eclectic range of artistic styles and media.  Familiar still-life paintings by well-known artists are included, as are multimedia pieces by contemporary artists.  To further stimulate inquiry, the images presented within its pages are not arranged in chronological order.  Instead they appear, regardless of period, in pairs chosen to highlight the contrasts and similarities between each.  

The depth and breadth of research is impressive. Ceramics, metalwork, jewelry, tapestries, furniture, manuscripts, books, fashion, floral arrangements, interactive digital installations, photographs, and ephemera such as seed packets, postage stamps and cigarette cards are profiled. Each image is accompanied by interpretive text that identifies the artist, details how the piece was made, and provides historical context.  

One learns that the classically baroque hand colored engraving January from Twelve Month of Flowers (c. 1730-1750) by Pieter Casteels III and Robert Furer, illustrates thirty-three varieties of flowers and served as an early gardening catalogue.  It is paired with third-generation Bohemian glass artist Leopold Blaschka's, Bouquet of Flowers (1857-1890) constructed of glass, wood, wire and metal.  Glass flower models were important  teaching tools, and the Ware Collection of Glass Models of Plants at the Botanical Museum of Harvard University, created by the Blaschkas between 1887 and 1936, is their finest collection.   

The juxtapositions of paired images underscore the many ways in which flowers have inspired diverse forms of artistic expression. While one wonders how the panel of international experts selected what to include and what images would be compared with each other, the result is intriguing. A 2020 fine art print by Britt Willoughby Dyer is paired with a 1939 film promotional image from The Wizard of Oz; a gelatin silver print of buttercups by Henry Troth from 1900 is compared to the 1968 oil painting, Buttercups by Lucian Freud; and a 1915 earthenware vase by Sara Galner for Paul Revere Pottery of Boston is contrasted to the woodcut, Bullfinch and Weeping Cherry c. 1834 by Katsushika Kokusai.  

An introduction by gardener and author of The Tulip, Anna Pavord, provides an overview of the history of flowers throughout time as context for the collection of images.  She aptly sets the stage for what is to follow, observing the countless ways in which flowers have served both practical and symbolic purposes.  Whether appearing in a fresco of Flora from Pompeii or as an image of a rose on Instagram, flowers are catalysts for creativity, a universal motif applied throughout cultures in a multiplicity of forms and  images. 

Eight pages are devoted to a comprehensively annotated and illustrated timeline spanning from c. 3000 BC (Lilium candidum  now called the Madonna Lily, is one of the first domesticated flowers) to 2019 (the peony is chosen as China's national flower, replacing the plum blossom chosen in 1928).  Other reference materials include select biographies of artists, a glossary and a section titled 'The Meanings of Flowers' by Shane Connolly, providing a brief history of many of the flowers that appear in the book and their significance across cultures. 

 Especially refreshing is the inclusion of lesser known works by famous artists such as Ellsworth Kelly, Josef Frank, Alexander McQueen, Piet Mondrian and Robert Mapplethorpe.  Taking their place along with images that we all know and love, they provide an opportunity to see their creators through a new perspective. Additionally, the inclusion of contemporary artists, who may be unfamiliar to the reader, provides an opportunity to engage with the subject in real time, reminding us that art is not static and we are not simply observers of nature, but active participants in the creative process.

Flower: Exploring the World in Bloom is the latest installment in Phaidon's bestselling Explorer Series which includes Plant: Exploring the Botanical World. It is a large book with rich content that can be enjoyed on may levels. Designed to appeal to a diverse audience from florists, gardeners, botanists, and general readers to artists, designers, and art historians there is something here for everyone.  My one issue is the font size which is small for such a large book.  This is particularly noticeable in the introduction.  

From ancient Egypt to Andy Warhol, Flower: Exploring the World in Bloom, celebrates the beauty and diversity of the natural world as represented by floral motifs throughout history.  From the familiar garden blooms, wildflowers and flowering trees that we all know and love to the exotic species we can only dream about, the universality of flowers span culture and time.  Flower: Exploring the World in Bloom, provides an opportunity to experience that journey from the comfort of your home.



Patrice Todisco writes about parks and gardens at the award-winning blog, Landscape Notes.

October Horticultural Hints

by Betty Sanders

Lifetime Master Gardener

Cleaning up the perennial bed doesn’t mean cutting to the ground.  I used to cut down all my perennials in October, but no longer.  I now leave up the flower stalks with seed heads for the birds.  Migrating birds appreciate the food.  And it is vital for those species that over-winter in New England.   In addition to less work for you, the birds make your garden a more interesting place throughout the winter.  Always vigorously clean up any plant that has battled disease this year. Again, you’ll save yourself work and enjoying your garden more in the spring.  

Always vigorously clean up any plant that has battled disease this year. Again, you’ll save yourself work and enjoying your garden more in the spring.  

  Bulbs.  Your tulips should be in the ground now, and small bulbs such as crocus, snowdrops, and grape hyacinth should be going into the ground by mid-month.  Hold off planting daffodils until later in the month.  To keep squirrels and other varmints from digging up and eating your bulbs, dust them with lime as you put them into the ground, and then add a layer of lime on top of the planted area.

The lime interferes with smelling the bulbs, and is an important in ‘sweetening’ the soil for these plants that come from a part of the world with much less acidic soil.  If you have very aggressive rodents, add hot pepper or chili powder to bulb coating.  

Don’t count on rainy weather.  A look at past gardens notes tells me that we have had some level of drought every year in the last decade.  And 2020 has been no exception.  If your soil feels dry down several inches, water any trees and shrubs that will need the water over the winter. 

So as not to waste water, set your hose up to slowly deliver the right amount (one to five gallons depending on the size of the plant) rather than spraying the entire garden.  You can also use a bucket or other container to slowly deliver the right amount of water to the plant’s roots. Think critically about your plantings to see if you have any water hogs that could be replaced with less demanding plants next spring.  

Finish harvesting the vegetable garden.  Many inland areas of eastern Massachusetts saw a freak, mid-September frost that put an end to tomatoes, peppers and other warm-weather crops.  If you were spared, complete your harvest of these tender vegetables now.  Then, turn your attention to harvesting, cleaning and storing your remining cool-weather fresh produce.  

Remove potatoes before there’s a hard frost.  Dig them out carefully and then brush off soil, but do not wash them before storing.  And keep them out of the light.  Potatoes do best if allowed to cure for a couple of weeks in a cool, dark place.  Place newspapers under them while the skin hardens.  Do not try to store any that have nicks or bruises, use them immediately.

Begin to harvest your final round of root crops.  Carrots, beets, kale, spinach and radishes that you sowed as the warm weather crops were removed in August and early September should be ready for the dinner table now.  They are generally frost hardy and usually can be left in the ground into November.  Cover them with light cloths if a subfreezing night is forecast.  Serving fresh vegetables from your own garden is one more thing to be thankful for on Thanksgiving.  

The Apple Antidote to a Covid Autumn

by Neal Sanders

Leaflet contributor

Between us, Betty and I own 14 face masks.  Four of them are of the blue surgical variety and two are wince-worthy, home-made efforts from patterns printed in our newspaper back in March.  Eight, though, were crafted from the best silk ties from my long-ago working days.  

 These masks were sewn by two home-sheltering college students and look quite professional.  I was even offered fifty dollars for one of them – an authorized replica of the cover of the Beatles Sgt. Pepper’s album – while standing in line at a bakery one recent Sunday morning (I turned down the deal).

The masks, which hang on a rack by the door into our garage, are a continuing, cautionary reminder of the reality that, seven months after we first recognized we had a pandemic on our hands, the out-of-doors are still a place where a dangerous disease lurks and chance encounters on a walk around the block – let alone in supermarkets – are inevitably awkward exercises in you-go-that-way-and-we’ll-go-this-way social distancing.  And, this is in a town of 11,000 that had reported fewer than 50 Covid-19 cases as of September 30.

Even trips to gardens, with all their color, texture, and scents; are sobering reminders of the ‘new normal’.  We have enjoyed day-trip sojourns as far away as Maine and as close as Elm Bank, but every trip has been an exercise in safety: masks must be worn at all times and hand-sanitizing stations are placed wherever you might be required or tempted to handle something. Even with timed tickets to limit crowds, garden paths are the scene of polite pas-de-deux to determine who will backpedal to the nearest cove to let the other party pass with a six-foot buffer.

On the last day of September, however, Betty and I made an annual pilgrimage to a place un-scarred by the events of 2020.  Each year, when the Macoun apples are ripe, we make at least one near-hundred-mile round trip to a commercial orchard located on a hilltop outside Route 495.  There, we fill a large bag with apples and, for quality control purposes, enjoy one or two along the way.  

The orchard has 15 varieties of apples (each trunk is color-coded) on 60 acres, but we inevitably head directly for the Macouns, an apple with superb taste that is also ideal for cooking.  There were only five cars in the parking lot when we arrived so, as soon as we were out of sight of the farm stand, we shed our masks to enjoy a warm, early autumn day.

It was a leisurely exercise: we inspected five trees before we picked our first apple.  I grew up knowing only Red Delicious apples that had withstood withering heat and oppressive humidity on their 600-mile trip from orchards in the mountains of North Carolina to supermarket shelves in tropical Miami.  Betty, on the other hand, grew up in upstate New York’s apple country and has sworn by Macouns for decades.  She inspects each candidate and takes only those that meet her high standard.

We devoted more than an hour to filling our admittedly large bag and, in the time, saw just one lone, bag-toting picker pass down a path 50 feet distant.  When the winds were right, we also heard voices which turned to be orchard employees picking off ladders seven rows away.

We also just… wandered.  The orchard thoughtfully mows the aisles, so moving from one tree – or variety – is an easy task.  There are also vistas where you can take in the surrounding terrain.  In such a place, and with masks stowed in pockets, it is possible to forget about the world and its troubles for an hour or so.  We certainly did.

The apples will become crisps, cobblers, snacks, and a special treat called the Molly O’Neill Upside-Down Apple Walnut Cake.  In a few short weeks, long before they have had an opportunity to soften or lose flavor, our bag of apples will be gone.  But, while they last, they will be a reminder of both a pre-mask path and the hope of a mask-free 2021.

Neal Sanders’14^th mystery, ‘A Murder on the Garden Tour’ was published in February.  You can find it at Amazon.com and in bookstores.

The Gardens at Elm Bank

Open 7 Days a week, Until Nov. 1

12 - Dusk, Last entry at 5:30pm

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