Preparing for New Plants in Spring – Please help us with the project
[caption id="attachment_567" align="alignleft" width="300"] "Before" view of side of town hall[/caption] On December 2, 2017, Robert Cunniff, Christine Harris, and JoAnn Robinson, members of the Friends of the Robbins Town Gardens; Master Gardeners, Emily Snyder and Diane Geis , Stephan Miller of the Arlington Garden Club; and Mona McKindley, historic arborist, worked to prepare a portion of the garden for spring planting. [caption id="attachment_566" align="alignright" width="300"] "After" view of side of town hall[/caption] For four hours they pruned, raked and sawed. They removed invasive vines, reduced the size of overgrown shrubs, and cut down dead and diseased trees. [caption id="attachment_562" align="alignleft" width="300"] Mona trims the Cherry Tree branches[/caption] While a few trees still remain to be pruned or cut down, the area at the side of town hall is…
We Have Begun to Restore the Garden: Preparing for Spring 2018 Planting
JoAnn Robinson, Christine Harris, Robert Cunniff and Patsy Kraemer met to compare plants growing at the side of Town Hall with 1938 Olmsted plan. They evaluated plant condition, identified those not in the plan, and scheduled them for removal. They also determined which plants should be pruned. Before work began, yews and rhododendrons were overgrown. Day lilies and hostas were slated for removal. October 27, the crew began work following the Friends’ recommendations. They trimmed back yews, pruned tree suckers, and removed day lilies, hostas, weeds and invasive plants. After severe pruning of lilacs, young, straight shoots may thrive. There is now dappled sunlight behind the rhododendrons and clear open space for spring installation of appropriate plants.
The Maple Street Gate and Friends
The Maple Street Gate and Friends If you ever had occasion to walk from the Robbins Library or the Rogers Pierce playground to Maple St, you likely noticed that the historic Maple Street Gate was in need of repair. The doorknob and latch disappeared long ago and sections had become very loose and required restoration. The Friends of the Robbins Town Gardens, of which I am a founding member, incorporated in June 2015. The Friends assists the Town of Arlington to protect, preserve, restore, and maintain the historic landscape and features in the Winfield Robbins Memorial Gardens as well as the grounds surrounding the Town Hall and the Whittemore-Robbins House. Noticing that the gate was in disrepair, the Friends encouraged the town to repair it. This past April, the gate…