The Swellesley Report

More than you really want to know about Wellesley, Mass.

Wellesley Gardeners’ Guild visits The Gardens at Elm Bank

by Leave a Comment

The Wellesley Gardeners’ Guild (WGG) kicked off its civic year by touring The Gardens at Elm Bank at the Massachusetts Horticultural Society’s Wellesley headquarters. Tour highlights included a turn around Mass Hort’s Trial Garden; the Goddesses Garden; the kid-friendly Weezie’s Garden; the Italianate Garden; and the Bressingham Garden, created by British design powerhouse Adrian Bloom in 2007.

Here are some pics:

Wellesley Gardeners' Guild
Wellesley Gardeners’ Guild members, masked up and ready for their tour. Photo credit: Beth Shedd Photography
Elm Bank Reservation, Wellesley
WGG started off the tour at the Trial Gardens, a cooperative effort between Mass Hort, the Massachusetts Flower Growers’ Association, and the University of Massachusetts. In this space, a wide variety of annuals, perennials, and vegetables are grown as a trial to see how they will do in the New England climate. New, unreleased, and old standard types of each variety are grown side-by-side and judged on how they perform. Results can be found at All-American Selections.
Elm Bank Reservation, Wellesley
Mass Hort’s Hartley Botanic Victorian Lodge has been a centerpiece of the Trial Gardens since 2017. The 19′ x 11′ handmade aluminum structure was made possible in part by a generous donation from Mass Hort Trustee Scott Bierney’s (Bierney lives in Needham now, but called Wellesley home for many years).  Bierney wanted Mass Hort to have a place where for visitors where flowers would brighten gloomy days in winter and give hope that spring was on its way.

Elm Bank Reservation, Wellesley

Elm Bank Reservation, Wellesley
Weezies Garden, installed in 2004. The active garden space designed for outdoor place-based youth education includes  an Enchanted Woodland, a Tea Party Garden, a Pollinators Garden, Sandbox Archaeology area, green arbors and plant tunnels, water features, and more. Kids of all ages love this area, which was extensively renovated in 2015.

 

Elm Bank Reservation, Wellesley
The Elm Bank manor house, viewed from Bressingham Garden. The garden was installed in 2007 and installed over two very hot summer days by over 200 volunteers. Designed by plantsman Adrian Bloom of Bressingham, England, it is a four-season garden that uses mass planting techniques to create visual impact.
Elm Bank Reservation, Wellesley
Bressingham Garden
Elm Bank Reservation, Wellesley
The Italianate Garden’s Copper Beech hedge provides the “walls” of the garden.
Elm Bank Reservation, Wellesley
The New England Unit of the Herb Society of America maintains this teaching garden.
Elm Bank Reservation, Wellesley
Autumn interest in the herb garden.
Elm Bank Reservation, Wellesley
Ceres and Pomona, two of the three Roman goddess statues that stand guard at Mass Hort.

Elm Bank can always use volunteers looking for a meaningful and rewarding experience. They need help with everything from weeding and mulching to helping out in the library and the office. You don’t need a green thumb — the staff trains and guides volunteers.

Share
Linden Square, Wellesley
iCode, Wellesley
Write Ahead

Wellesley not among racial equity grant recipients, but still working toward action plan

by Leave a Comment

Wellesley Town HallWellesley was not among the six communities awarded a coveted Racial Equity Municipal Action Plan (REMAP) grant from the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) and its partners.

The goal of the grant program is to provide cities and towns with “technical assistance to create racial equity action plans and to take meaningful action to advance racial equity,” according to MAPC, which is partnering with the Government Alliance on Race and Equity and the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston on the program.

Wellesley, one of 22 communities to apply, knew from the outset that the process would be competitive. Amy Frigulietti, the town’s assistant executive director, says Wellesley hopes to reapply for the next round of grants next year.

“In the meantime, I will work with the Board to identify additional resources and opportunities for technical assistance and guidance on creating a municipal racial equity action plan. MAPC also indicated that they will be providing resources and support as well,” she says.

Wellesley announced that it was applying for the initial grant in mid-August during a Board of Selectmen meeting at which “Wake Up, Wellesley” participants shared their insights on diversity, equity and inclusion with board members and the public.

Grant recipients are Bedford, Framingham, Lynn, Natick, Revere, and Stoughton.

Share
Page Waterman, Wellesley
London Harness, Wellesley

Leadership expert to be Wellesley Rotary Club’s October speaker

by Leave a Comment

Wellesley Rotary Club
Julian Hill, motivational speaker

Human resources manager and John Maxwell Leadership and Personal Development Speaker Julian Hill will be the featured speaker at the Oct. 6th, 7pm– 8pm Zoom meeting of the Wellesley Rotary Club.

During his motivational talk, the East Hartford, Conn., resident will draw on how his decade-plus of human resources management expertise coupled with his personal experiences have helped him overcome the obstacles of growing up with a single parent who suffered from addiction.

The Rotary Club of Wellesley is one of Wellesley’s oldest community service groups and conducts local programs to benefit the Town of Wellesley. The public is always invited to any Rotary program. Due to COVID-19, the club is conducting all meetings on Zoom. Please check the web site www.wellesleyrotary.org for times. If you are interested in attending, please send an email to [email protected] for a Zoom Meeting invitation.

Share
Pandemic Aftermath

Elizabeth Seton Residence online auction this week

by Leave a Comment

The Elizabeth Seton Residence of Wellesley Hills celebrates its 40th anniversary this year. And while it would like to be hosting its annual Meet the Need dinner fundraiser, this time around it will host an online auction through this Friday, Oct. 2.

Inspired by what’s been a challenging and heartbreaking year, staff members at the skilled nursing and rehabilitation facility performed and produced a music video that gives a glimpse into what things have been like for them and residents. It also serves as a way to thank so many who have contributed to the facility via meals, protective gear, and more.

Share
Linden Square, Wellesley

Vampires will have competition for blood in Wellesley this October

by 2 Comments

The Wellesley Council on Aging and Wellesley Police Department will separately host community blood drives in October with American Red Cross.

The first drive will take place on Wednesday, Oct. 14 at the Wellesley Council on Aging’s Tolles Parsons Center at 500 Washington St.

The second drive will take place on Thursday, Oct. 29 at the Wellesley Police Department at 485 Washington St.

Both drives will run from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Appointments are required to ensure the health and safety of Red Cross donors, employees and volunteers.

Sign up to donate today at www.redcrossblood.org and enter the sponsor code WellesleyCBD.

red cross logo wellesley

Wellesley Halloween update

Share
Pandemic Aftermath, Wellesley author

Wellesley Historical Society to present virtual lecture on Belvedere neighborhood

by Leave a Comment

The Wellesley Historical Society will host a free virtual lecture about Wellesley’s Belvedere neighborhood on Wed., Sept. 30, 7pm. Keith N. Morgan, professor emeritus of the History of Art & Architecture and of American & New England studies at Boston University, where he taught from 1980 – 2016, will discuss the area and how it matters in the broader context of suburban development in the U.S.

Wellesley Historical Society

Professor Morgan’s lecture, titled The national and regional context for the Belvedere neighborhood: Wellesley’s premier example of suburban planning, will focus on:

Why suburbs matter as a cultural form in the United States
What characteristics make the Belvedere neighborhood distinctive
How the neighborhood part of an evolutionary suburban environment for its time

Professor Morgan will discuss the national background for the Belvedere development and how the neighborhood relates to comparable suburban subdivisions in the Metropolitan Boston area. He will examine the role of two families in the creation and control of what was the largest real estate development in Wellesley when it was first built, and what defines the area as a place of significance.

Advance registration is required. Please email Amanda Fisher, Executive Director of the Wellesley Historical Society, at [email protected]

More on the presenter:

[Read more…]

Share

Wellesley shut out in low number license plate lottery

by Leave a Comment

low plate numbersFor the first time in at least four years, no Wellesley drivers have won a low plate vehicle license plate number in the state’s annual lottery.

Typically, at least one or two Wellesleyites secure these random low numbers in the name of prestige, tradition, or something.

About 12,000 applications were received for a chance to win one of 100 plate numbers, such as 6P, 751, V35, K5, 2042 and T31. The lottery was even live streamed for the truly hard up for entertainment.

 

Share