ARS-MA FIELD TRIP TO POLLY HILL ARBORETUM 6/23/07

 

The Mass Chapter is going to visit Polly Hill Arboretum this June in honor of Polly's 100^th birthday. Polly began gardening seriously at her farm on Martha's Vineyard when she was 50 years old. That doesn't sound too unusual until you learn that she wanted to grow her things, trees included, from seed. To us she is best known for her introduction of the North Tisbury azaleas. She selected (not hybridized) her North Tisbury strain from  R. nakaharai, having acquired seeds collected in the wild and given to her by her long time friend Dr. Tsuneshige Rokujo. 

 

Although a real rhododendron enthusiast, Polly's horticultural interests included many genera. We should see the fruits of her efforts in magnolias, dogwoods, stewartias, and conifers. Bloom times are later on the Vineyard, but who knows what this spring season will be like after such a confusing winter (to plants and us alike). Nonetheless, there are bound to be many lovely plants to see. Our guide will tour us around the twenty acres she cultivated, crisscrossed by stone walls and showing their history as a sheep farm. Her goal in setting up the arboretum was to add to the plant diversity on Martha's Vineyard (poor, in her opinion), develop and introduce outstanding plants for American gardeners, and to serve as a sanctuary for plants that are threatened with extinction in their native habitats. In the process she made a beautiful place to visit.

 

Here is our schedule and the costs involved:

We go on our own to the parking facilities ($15 per day) for the Island Queen Ferry in Falmouth. The ferry leaves promptly at 9:00 am, so arrive in time to park and buy your ticket ($15 for round trip without car). We will be picked up by van at Oak Bluffs and driven to the Arboretum ($8 per person each way). Our private guided tour begins at 10 am and lasts a bit more than an hour. The Arboretum would appreciate a donation of $5.00, but accepts reciprocal privileges for members of the American Horticultural Society or the Arnold Arboretum.

 

We should bring our own sandwiches so we can have a picnic on the grounds. After wandering on our own, we will be transported back to the ferry to catch the 2:15 pm trip back to Falmouth. (This is the second to last trip of the day – anyone who wanders away and misses it has one more chance to leave the island!) We arrive back in Falmouth at 2:50 for the trip home.

 

We must know how many are coming in order to get the right number of vans to drive us on the island. Please look carefully at your calendar and call or email me if you are interested. Guests are welcome. Since we all get so busy in the spring, decide NOW to come, if at all possible, and put it on your calendar. The deadline to respond is June 18.

 

R.S.V.P. to Susan Harding: 781.259.0968 or dsh1965@comcast.net  by June 18.

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