24Apr 2023 by Christine Harris

Earth Day Clean Up A Great Success

Articles, Uncategorized, What's New
The Friends of the Robbins Town Gardens and the Arlington Rotary sponsored a clean-up day in the Robbins Town Gardens between the Library and the Town Hall. We were lucky – with the weather and the turn-out of volunteer helpers.  Several members of the Arlington Rotary, the Friends of the Robbins Town Gardens,  the Arlington Garden Club, and other Arlington residents gathered to help “spruce up” the garden in preparation for the Spring and Summer seasons.   Leftover leaves and sticks from the Winter were raked out from beneath the bushes and bagged for disposal in leaf bags donated by Shattuck Hardware.    A lot of invasive plants were pulled up and some of the compacted soil in the garden beds was turned over and fertilized.  The curves in the beds were more sharply defined, and…
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05Apr 2023 by Christine Harris

What’s Happening in the Garden in April?

Articles, What's New
We can’t wait till spring! Can you?We know the Town Garden will soon be waking up. Flowering trees will dazzle us with their beauty, leaves will push their way out of those expectant buds on the stems, and the water will soon run down the ripple again. We are so incredibly lucky to have that garden oasis right beside the Town Hall! The Board of the Friends of the Robbins Town Gardens wants to tell you what we have planned for this coming year and let you know all the different ways you can join us in enjoying, restoring, maintaining, and preserving our garden. We’ll start by having a CLEANUP DAY ON EARTH DAY APRIL 22nd. Come meet neighbors and friends and work together to spruce up the garden. We…
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31May 2018 by Christine Harris

Robbins Town Gardens Restoration Project gets a Garden Historian

Articles
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…
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11Dec 2017 by Christine Harris

Preparing for New Plants in Spring – Please help us with the project

Articles
[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…
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14Nov 2017 by Christine Harris

We Have Begun to Restore the Garden: Preparing for Spring 2018 Planting

Articles
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.  
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