Houghton Garden: A Landscape Treasure

 By Richard B. Primack

 

“Gardening is civil and social, but it wants the vigor and freedom of the forest and the outlaw.” Henry David Thoreau in A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers

 

The Houghton Garden is an easily overlooked landscape treasure in the middle of Chestnut Hill. The garden was once recognized as one of the most outstanding private gardens in the country. While most of the flower displays are long-gone, the network of trails, groupings of evergreen plants, streams, and pond still create a magical environment in every season and one that is unlike anywhere else publicly accessible in Newton. 

 

In a recent article in the Newton Conservators Newsletter, Michele Hanss and I described the features of the garden, and its design, development, and subsequent decline. We also reported on the acquisition of the property as conservation land by the City of Newton and current management issues. 

 

While the garden is particularly beautiful in spring when the shrubs are flowering, it is also wonderful in the winter when rhododendrons and other evergreens stand out against the snow.

 

Photo 1: Rhododendrons covered with snow along a path.

 

Photo 2: The outline of Houghton Pond is readily apparent in winter, when it is covered with ice and snow and framed with evergreen shrubs. A tall, bald cypress with spreading branches, reminiscent of southern forests, can be seen growing on the opposite side of the pond.

 

Photo 3: At the base of the bald cypress are curious above-ground root structures called "cypress knees."

   

Photo 4: One of the garden's special plants is a large umbrella pine growing near the pond.

 

Photo 5: A close-up of the distinctive leaves and branches of the umbrella pine.

Here is a link to the article: LINK

Winter “Snow Wings” and Owls

By Richard B. Primack 

 

“Take long walks in stormy weather or through deep snows in the fields and woods, if you would keep your spirits up.” Henry David Thoreau in “A Winter Walk”

 

A January snowstorm with almost no wind allowed the snow to create wonderful scenes in the Webster Woods. The branches of trees and shrubs looked like a cotton-covered lattice work. 

 

Photo 1: Wintry scene at Bare Pond.

The snow-covered twigs of red maple trees appeared to be “snow wings.”

 

Photo 2: "Snow wings" at Bare Pond.

A great horned owl took up residence at the western edge of the woods near Elgin Street, hooting in the late afternoon and evening from its perch in a large pine tree. At times it could be seen perching on an exposed branch halfway up the tree. It was even visible on a series of photos taken with an iPhone from 150 yards away. 

 

Photo 3: The pine tree from 150 yards away. Can you see the owl?

 

Photo 4: The owl among branches of the pine tree.

 

Photo 5: A blurry photo of the owl.

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Brookline Faces Climate Change

 By Richard B. Primack and Pamela H. Templer

 

“The life in us is like the water in the river. It may rise this year higher than man has ever known it, and flood the parched uplands.” Henry David Thoreau in Walden.

 

As we discuss in a recent article in the Brookline Greenspace Alliance Winter newsletter, climate change is already affecting Brookline and these effects will become even more severe in coming decades.

 

The increasing frequency and length of heat waves means that air conditioners have become more of a necessity rather than a luxury, especially for vulnerable populations like the elderly and people facing health challenges. Outdoor sports, gardening, and other work activities are sometimes cancelled or rescheduled to avoid extreme heat. 

 

 

Figure 1: Hot spots in Brookline are concentrated north of the Green Line D Branch, and are found mainly in areas near Harvard and Beacon Streets.

With earlier Springs and later Autumns, people can enjoy more time gardening and cultivating a wider variety of plants. However, longer growing seasons can also increase the prevalence of plant and animal pests, invasive species and diseases, putting native species at risk. 

 

Less snow during milder winters does mean less work shoveling snow, however, less snow makes it harder to sustain winter sports like outdoor ice skating and skiing, and means a smaller snow pack which is an important source of water.

 

More rain is now falling in stronger downpours, increasing the risk of basement flooding and streets becoming impassable rivers, especially near the Muddy River and Chestnut Hill. Below-ground stations of the train systems could fill with water, putting the T out of action. 

 

As sea levels continue to rise, and hurricanes intensify, the Boston area becomes more vulnerable to coastal flooding. If Boston gets hit by a hurricane during high tide, seawater could flood much of the Back Bay area and along the Muddy River to Brookline Village.

 

 

Figure 2: Flood zones, historic wetlands, and historic brooks in Brookline. Note that the entire northeast of Brookline in the vicinity of the Muddy River is susceptible to flooding.

Climate change will also result in more droughts, increasing the risk of ground fires in brushy areas. Fires in surrounding communities can create clouds of smoke and hazardous air quality in Brookline.

 

To address all of these problems, we need to reduce our emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, make sure that infrastructure is designed and maintained to deal with the changing conditions, and plant more trees to cool local temperatures. We should also continue to talk about climate change and the need to both slow it down and adapt. 

 

Here is a link to the article: LINK

 

Visit to the Fairbanks Museum Part 3: The Nearby St. Johnsbury Athenaeum

 By Richard B. Primack

 

“To affect the quality of the day, that is the highest of arts.” Henry David Thoreau in Walden.

 

A short walk from the Fairbanks Museum is the St. Johnsbury Athenaeum, an extraordinary late 19^thcentury building representing Victorian French Empire style.

 

  

Photo 1: The building has a strong Victorian outline.

 

The Athenaeum contains a library in the front half and an art gallery in the back half.

 

 

Photo 2: Black walnut woodwork, spiral staircases and balconies, and elaborate moldings and carvings give the library a distinct 19^th century impression. 

 

The back of Athenaeum contains an art gallery with paintings by European and American artists. 

 

 

Photo 3: Gilt-framed paintings are shown in natural light coming in from a large skylight above.

 

Photo 4: The art gallery is dominated by the enormous painting Domes of Yosemite by Albert Bierstadt.

 

Many of the American paintings were associated with the Hudson River School. 

  

Photo 5: Autumn on the Ramapo River – Erie Railway, 1876 by Jasper Francis Cropsey.

 

Visit to the Fairbanks Museum Part 2: Old and new exhibits

 By Richard B. Primack

 

“Old deeds for old people, and new deeds for new.” Henry David Thoreau in Walden.

 

The Fairbanks Museum, founded in 1890, is a fascinating mixture of the old and the new.

Photo 1: Old style displays of owls, showing them perching on a tree in an artificial pose.

Photo 2: More modern displays show birds acting in a natural setting, such as these upland sandpipers.

 

The museum has a very unusual collection of old-fashioned pictures built using insect parts.

Photo 3: A portrait of George Washington made in 1909 from 7665 insects. 

Photo 4: The head of Washington is created using butterfly wings.

 

Photo 5: The lettering is done with shiny beetles. 

 

Along with these older exhibits are more modern ones, such as a display of insect nests. 

Photo 6: A cast of a Florida harvester ant nest.

 

The museum has recently completed a new extension to provide a more interactive space for visiting school groups. 

 

Visit to the Fairbanks Museum Part 1: Long-term phenology records

 By Richard B. Primack and Amanda Gallinat

 

“What is it to be admitted to a museum, to see a myriad of particular things, compared with being shown some star's surface, some hard matter in its home!” -Henry David Thoreau in The Maine Woods.

 

Together, we recently visited the Fairbanks Museum in St. Johnsbury, Vermont to begin a collaboration with its museum staff. Our goal is to analyze how flowering times are responding to the warming climate.

 

The museum has many excellent natural history displays, exhibited in a large barrel-vaulted hall. 

Photo 1: Bears are a highlight of the museum.

For over 120 years, volunteers have been collecting the first plants to flower in the local area and displaying them on a table in the museum, called the Wildflower Table. 

 

When flowering plants are brought into the museum, they are identified, labeled, placed into vases of water, and then displayed. 

Photo 2: The Wildflower Table in late spring being tended by Joanne.

As part of the process, museum staff and volunteers have recorded plant species and their first flowering dates in ledger books. This project combines the excitement of fieldwork in the wild, with the discipline and long-term perspective of a museum. 

Photo 3: Staff members Allison Gulka-Millard and Beau Harris examine a ledger book in the museum archives.

Flowering dates were first recorded in 1903, and have continued to the present. We were excited to learn that volunteers have also recorded bird arrival dates in the past. 

Photo 4: A close-up of a flowering ledger.

The museum has also been recording daily weather records continuously for over 125 years, making it the second oldest weather station in the U.S. This is a great resource for phenological research. 

Photo 5: The weather station with the museum in the background. 

We will be working with museum staff members to analyze the phenology data and contribute to a museum exhibit highlighting how flowering times in St. Johnsbury have been impacted by climate change.

Photo 6: Some of the team -- Adam Kane, Richard, Amanda, Allison Gulka-Millard, Anna Rubin, and Mark Breen.

 

 

 

Plant Poster Day 2024: Batch 3

 By Richard B. Primack

“I should keep some book of natural history always by me as a sort of elixir – the reading of which would restore the tone of my system and secure me true and cheerful views of life.” Henry David Thoreau in his Journal.

 

In the closing days of my BI 305 Plant Biology course in December 2024, we had a poster session during which each student presented some aspect of botany that they wanted to learn more about and share with the class. 

 

Here is the third batch of posters: 

Poster 16: Paige and Beach grass

 

Poster 17: Rachel and Long Island vegetation

Poster 18: Simone and Water lilies

Poster 19: Stephano and plant behavior

Poster 20: Sybil and wheat biology

Poster 21: Veronica and Amazon aquatic plants

Poster 22: Victor and Fraser fir