Clippings From the Garden

March 2007

 

The garden committee would like to thank all of those who have given support and encouragement, volunteered their time and expertise, and to those who have generously contributed to the cost of maintaining and restoring the Italian and Rose garden at Maudslay State Park. Without you, the gardens would just not be the same. Again, thank you.

In 2003 the garden committee had a very successful fund raising campaign and was encouraged by the response. As a result, we have been able to purchase all the beautiful flowering plants you have seen in the gardens over the past 3 years. In addition to plant material, we have purchased materials for plant maintenance, soil improvement and mulch. An endowment fund was initially established by two very generous donations in 2003. This fund has continued to grow and is currently at $6,800. The Garden Club of Newburyport gave the committee a large donation which established a fund for an irrigation system. This system was installed in September 2006 in both the Rose and Italian gardens costing $4,400. We anticipate a more lush looking garden in 2007. Stefanie Hufnagel is working with the Department of Conservation and Recreation to obtain permission to install a wall fountain where there once was one in the Italian Garden when the property was owned by the Moseley family. A fund of $3000 for the wall fountain, established by a single donation, will cover some of the costs for this project.

Once again we invite you to join us in supporting this important project endorsed by the Garden Conservatory. This organization has pioneered the preservation and restoration of historic gardens since 1989. We hope you agree that restoring and maintaining the gardens at Maudslay deserves the support of everyone who enjoys this wonderful treasure. Your investment will enhance our ability to safeguard the future of Maudslay' s exceptional gardens. Please send your contribution for the garden to the MSPA Garden Committee, Curzon Mill Road, Newburyport, MA 01950. A donation of $25 to $100 or more would be greatly appreciated. If you would like to volunteer in the garden and/or on the garden committee please email me at gardenwork2@earthlink.net.

 

Sandee Liversidge

Chair, Maudslay State Park Association Garden Committee

PURCHASE BOOK ABOUT THE ORIGINAL MAKING OF THE GARDENS AT MAUDSLAY

Martha Brookes Hutcheson was the original landscape designer, retained by the Mosleys in 1902, to create a designed landscape and gardens for their 1,100 acre estate in Newburyport, MA. Martha later wrote a book in which she details the making of this garden and several others she designed. The Spirit of the Garden, published in 1923, contains dozens of photographs of Maudslay's landscape and garden both during and after the implementation of Martha's designs. The text will guide the reader through Martha’s personal principles of landscape design developed as a result of her formal education, travels and artistic eye.

The book has recently been republished and is available through the Maudslay State Park Association Garden Committee. To purchase a copy, either visit the Park Headquarters where they are for sale for $ 38.90 or send $38.90 plus $5.00 for shipping, a total of $43.90, to Maudslay State Park, Curzon Mill Road, Newburyport, MA 01950 requesting that the book be sent to you. Please be sure to include your mailing address and phone number.