Due to the Coronavirus, monthly program meetings
are postponed until further notice.
are postponed until further notice.
MV Garden Club Members’ Gardens
August: Nancy Kilson and Martin Klotz
August: Nancy Kilson and Martin Klotz
My husband Martin and I purchased our home in West Tisbury in June 2012. That first summer and fall, we planted a few Oriental lily bulbs and many daffodils and began dreaming. The next season we started work on creating a better screen between our property and Indian Hill Road. Soon we were planting many viburnums and evergreens, and pulling out lots of invasive Russian olives and bull briar. Nancy planted many perennials above the stone wall in the backyard, where once there were only a few yellow coreopsis.
A year or two later we met Carly Look through a Polly Hill garden tour. She guided us in our initial plantings of Hinoki chamaecyparis and Cryptomeria japonica as we developed our first woodland and screening gardens. Every fall we plant a few more trilliums in this area, which also holds many rhododendrons, calycanthus, hollies, anemones and hostas. We edged part of our driveway with a row of redbud trees and Japanese maples. Then we put in a bed where Nancy planted 15 or 20 peonies surrounded by lily bulbs. Then came the rose garden. Then the tree peony bed. Then an improved front walk garden. And the beginnings of a collection of daylilies from specialty growers Nancy found after joining the American Hemerocallis Society. All of this is possible thanks to an 8 foot deer fence that Mitch and Ned Posin built for us a few years ago, after we found out about what happens to exposed rhododendrons over the winter.
In 2019 we again collaborated with Carly to create a second woodland garden out of what was once a mess of scrub, brush and bull briar in between our main and guest houses. The old ‘muddle in the middle’ is now a beautiful shady expanse full of Hinokis, oak leaf hydrangeas, rhododendrons, aronia, hollies, multiple types of viburnums and other trees and shrubs, blooming sequentially throughout the spring and summer. Delightful!
Most sections of the garden feature something to see in spring, summer and fall, and we get to be here for those seasons. That has not stopped us from planting things that bloom in winter and early spring, with dreams of years to come! Above, we have posted a few snapshots of our bearded iris collection, our peonies in bloom, and the colorful edges of our rose garden, all of which had gone by for this year when we made our late July 2020 video.
We welcome visits from members of the Garden Club of Martha’s Vineyard!
A year or two later we met Carly Look through a Polly Hill garden tour. She guided us in our initial plantings of Hinoki chamaecyparis and Cryptomeria japonica as we developed our first woodland and screening gardens. Every fall we plant a few more trilliums in this area, which also holds many rhododendrons, calycanthus, hollies, anemones and hostas. We edged part of our driveway with a row of redbud trees and Japanese maples. Then we put in a bed where Nancy planted 15 or 20 peonies surrounded by lily bulbs. Then came the rose garden. Then the tree peony bed. Then an improved front walk garden. And the beginnings of a collection of daylilies from specialty growers Nancy found after joining the American Hemerocallis Society. All of this is possible thanks to an 8 foot deer fence that Mitch and Ned Posin built for us a few years ago, after we found out about what happens to exposed rhododendrons over the winter.
In 2019 we again collaborated with Carly to create a second woodland garden out of what was once a mess of scrub, brush and bull briar in between our main and guest houses. The old ‘muddle in the middle’ is now a beautiful shady expanse full of Hinokis, oak leaf hydrangeas, rhododendrons, aronia, hollies, multiple types of viburnums and other trees and shrubs, blooming sequentially throughout the spring and summer. Delightful!
Most sections of the garden feature something to see in spring, summer and fall, and we get to be here for those seasons. That has not stopped us from planting things that bloom in winter and early spring, with dreams of years to come! Above, we have posted a few snapshots of our bearded iris collection, our peonies in bloom, and the colorful edges of our rose garden, all of which had gone by for this year when we made our late July 2020 video.
We welcome visits from members of the Garden Club of Martha’s Vineyard!
A special Horticultural Hint |
August Horticultural HintsInvasive Alert!
Save Our Monarchs. A very nasty weed is coming into seed now. Swallowwort is a relative of milkweed and often confuses monarch butterflies looking to lay their eggs. While milkweed both feeds and acts as nursery for monarch butterflies, swallowwort is a death trap. Eggs laid on that plant will die shortly after hatching when they feed on its toxic leaves.
Swallowwort was imported into New England in the 19th Century. Today, it is becoming endemic. But it can be controlled. If you see swallowort’s unmistakable seed pods on your property, cut them down, bag them, and send it to the trash. Mark the spot and, next year, start early mowing or cutting it down as it emerges. If you keep at it, it will eventually die. Look for stands of swallowwort as you take walks. If they’re not on your property, strip off the seed pods so they won’t mature. More Horticultural Hints for August are available by clicking here or by going to the resources tab. |
If members have any news or announcements
that you think should be shared on the website,
please email the Garden Club at: gardenclubmv@gmail.com
that you think should be shared on the website,
please email the Garden Club at: gardenclubmv@gmail.com
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The Martha's Vineyard Garden Club, established in 1924, is an island-wide community organization of almost two hundred members (including many seasonal residents), who share a passion for gardening, conservation, and maintaining our unique environment. Our monthly meetings are both educational and social; our programs are varied and designed to meet personal and community needs. New members and guests are always welcome.
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