Great Article on Menotomy Indian Hunter and Arlington’s Native Peoples
https://iconsofarlington.com/2019/08/12/menotomy-indian-hunter/?fbclid=IwAR2ESnayAGQvLKOCPmSDGA7n0ygTthRMsGZfT9JwNPPQSQZvGz99uGNmYAU
Tree near Town Hall to be Removed
https://yourarlington.com/arlington-archives/town-school/selectmen/14653-trees-071818.html
Robbins Town Gardens Restoration Project gets a Garden Historian
http://arlington.wickedlocal.com/news/20180510/guest-column-robbins-town-gardens-restoration-project-gets-garden-historian By Ingrid Gallagher, Board Member Friends of Robbins Town Gardens / arlington@wickedlocal.comPosted May 10, 2018 at 3:00 AM Wicked Local Arlington Mona Mckindley is a garden historian working with the Friends of the Robbins Town Gardens to restore the plantings in Arlington’s historic landmark gardens. Following the specifications laid out by Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. in his firm’s 1939 redesign of the iconic gardens, Mckindley is committed to a plant restoration the Olmsteds would approve. “The design is an artwork that is being recreated, so we respect the artists and try to reproduce it faithfully. We do not augment or elaborate; we restore what was there,” said Mckindley. “The design of the spaces between Town Hall and Robbins Library is an example of the work of America’s favorite design firm of the era. The design…
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…
Wicked Local’s Article of Dec. 4, 2017
Wicked Local's Article of Dec. 4, 2017 on Plans to Restore the Winfield Robbins Memorial Garden - click on the following link: http://arlington.wickedlocal.com/news/20171204/plans-to-restore-robbins-memorial-garden-unveiled
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…
Invasive Plants at the Robbins Town Gardens
“Relating to, or characterized by military aggression” is the Merriam-Webster definition of the word “invasive,” and one that fits Asian bittersweet, the most rampant four-star invading plant in the Robbins Town Gardens. The aggressor has no enemies except humans. Volunteers from the Arlington Garden Club, Massachusetts Master Gardeners and Friends of the Robbins Town Gardens work to keep the vine under control; and, for the most part, succeed. They have pulled down enormous strangling masses that have festooned trees; they have dug up—as much as possible—the tenacious carrot-orange roots; they have refused to be seduced by the red and gold berries; they pass the word: never plant Asian bittersweet! Like marauding Asian bittersweet, other unwanted, persistent plants in the Gardens, such as Japanese barberry and Multiflora rose, were first imported…