Tag: The Trustees

What a treat it was to escape the office yesterday and head to North Andover’s Stevens-Coolidge House and Gardens during the peak of their spring tulip bloom. The circa-1729 farm and early 20th century Colonial Revival home were bequeathed to the Trustees in 1962. Thanks to a two-year renovation to the 91-acre grounds by the Trustees, this sylvan oasis 30 minutes north of Boston has never looked better. They’ve built a new entrance and parking lot, replete with the opening of the Garden Gateway building crafted from a former maintenance shed and now containing classroom space, gift shop, and snack counter. They also doubled the size of the garden and planted thousands of bulbs and hundreds of perennials, trees, and shrubs. The tulips in all shapes, sizes, and colors were glorious to witness in the bright morning sunshine yesterday after two days of rain. Lilacs are just starting to bloom and then comes an explosion of peonies. So don’t get discouraged if you can’t get the timed tickets you want at first. There will always be something in bloom this spring and summer. Go anytime for a therapeutic walk through these gardens and meadows. Better yet, bring a picnic!

Formerly owned by the Choate Family of New York before it was bequeathed to The Trustees of Reservations in 1958, Naumkeag is a 44-room Berkshires “Cottage” from the Gilded Age, filled with arts, antiques, and collections around from around the world. But it’s the outdoor gardens that truly inspire, a masterpiece of 30 years of collaborative work by former owner, Mabel Choate, and her dear friend, Fletcher Steele, one of America’s first modern landscape architects. Described by the Library of American Landscape History as a “playground for the imagination,” The Trustees have just completed a 3-year, $3 million garden and landscape restoration project designed to rejuvenate the gardens and bring them back to Choate and Steele’s original vision. The transformation includes the renovation of Fletcher Steele’s iconic Blue Steps, one of the most photographed features in 20th-century American landscape design.

This entry is excerpted from my latest book, New England in a Nutshell. The book/ebook is slated to published on July 2nd and you can pre-order now at Amazon or at the independent bookstore, Northshire, located in Manchester Center, Vermont and Saratoga, New York. The ebook includes all hyperlinks to listings. The paperback includes front and back cover illustrations from Manhattan-based artist, Sarah Schechter, and a small sampling of photos from Lisa, who accompanied me on many of my assignments, resulting in published work for the Boston Globe.