Many recognize New Jersey as one of the first states in the Union, they think of its' manufacturing, even its' wonderful coastline, and as gardeners, we think of it as the Garden State with beautiful rolling hills and lush greenery. To learn more about the Garden State, Garden Smart visits Reeves Reed Arboretum in Summit, New Jersey. We feature a lot of beautiful gardens around the country and always relish the opportunity to introduce gardens with significant historical aspects. Reeves Reed Arboretum is one such garden, providing a unique look into the past.
Kent Manahan introduces the show. Kent is the news anchor of New Jersey Network's NJN News. Kent has been reporting the news for over 30 years and is a 5 time Emmy award winning journalist. Kent is pleased to join Garden Smart on a particularly beautiful day and proud to provide insight into the state. New Jersey is called the Garden State for a reason. New Jersey is home to over 60 public gardens and numerous private gardens, one finds natural gardens with native plants as well as formal gardens with exotic shrubs and flowers. New Jersey is also known for its farmland and those farms grow some of the best tomatoes, peaches, blueberries, cranberries, corn, etc. in the country. There is more grown in this state than most imagine.
But to visit Reeves Reed Arboretum is a special treat. REEVES REED ARBORETUM HAS A VERY INTERESTING AND IMPORTANT HISTORY. This land was originally inhabited by native Indians, in 1889 it became a country estate with specimen trees and flowerbeds. In 1916 it really moved forward because at that time Richard and Susie Reeves purchased the property and started to expand all the gardens. Susie was the driving force behind the gardens and hired different landscape designers to assist in the expansion. One of her most influential garden designers was Ellen Biddle Shipman. Ms. Shipman, we're told, was a very important figure in landscape architecture. She was probably one of the first women in the field, a field that was previously dominated by men. Once Ellen was established she hired predominately women which opened doors for many women that came after her. Her designs contained carefully proportioned relationships between the house and its' gardens. Kent confesses that as a home gardener she struggles with this concept around her own house. One wants their yard and garden to be just right for their own little space in the world. But, how should one then bring in the natural habitat yet marry that with the latest in plants and flowers? Ms. Shipman's gardens did that and importantly provided areas of quiet, domestic intimacy for women to be able to escape from their trials of life. Much of her acclaim arose from her beautiful border gardens which provided a really simple and effective means of growing many different kinds of flowers.
Ms. Shipman was involved in a number of unique garden designs and played a significant role in the design of this garden. Yet, very few of her gardens remain intact today. That's one of the reasons that Reeves Reed Arboretum is so important. These gardens are a beautifully maintained example of early 20th century landscape architecture which is known as Country Place Movement and they provide an important link to an important figure in American landscape architecture, Ellen Biddle Shipman. Joe thanks Kent for the interesting history lesson and is off to meet Peter Grant.
Peter Grant is the Horticulturist at Reeves Reed Arboretum and has a very interesting history himself. Her started in the landscape business when he was 14 years old, pushing a lawnmower around people's yards, making some money at that. He went to the State University of New York in Farmingdale, graduated from there and after a stint in the military attended and graduated from Delaware College. After that he got into a parks and shade tree operation in Burkett county, then went to work for AT & T Bell Laboratories as a horticulturist. They have several large research and development facilities in Northern New Jersey in which they strive to create a park-like setting for their employees. In his heyday he managed upwards of 600 acres and multiple locations. So, there was never a shortage of things to do. In 2003 he retired from that job but decided he wanted to get back into horticulture. He found an ad for the Old Westbury Gardens, Director of Horticulture, interviewed and struck a deal. After 4 years the commute to Long Island became too much, so he decided to look for something more local. Fortunately Reeves Reed was looking for a horticulturist and site preservationist. Telling the story of a site like this is something Peter finds intriguing and likes to do, so he accepted the job. He has been here about a year, trying to make it all happen.
Joe and Peter take a stroll around the property to learn more. They start with the obvious, the house. It was built in 1889 for John Horner Wisner, a merchant who traded in the Orient. He brought his family here to get away from the noise, smell, dirt and hubbub of New York City. That was possible because the train had come to Summit in the 1870's meaning there was a convenient method to commute to the City. At that time people of wealth put a lot of time and energy into their homes and grounds. It was a great way to display one's wealth. Early on there wasn't a tremendous amount of landscaping done, rather more clearing to make it look like an estate and less like a farm. There was a vista from the south terrace to New York City and they worked to maintain and accent that vista. In 1916 the property was purchased by Mr. and Mrs. Reeves. Susie Reeves was an ardent horticulturist, loved gardening and began to utilize some landscape architects to develop the more formal gardens that are on the east side of the house. As Kent discussed, the primary landscape architect was Ellen Biddle Shipman.
Peter's charge is to maintain the integrity of the original design of the gardens and the house. But over time the plant material and plantings had gotten away from the original intent of the architect. In the 1990's they realized that and began to restore some of the more formal gardens on the east side. They continue that transformation today. His charge is, really, to maintain the architectural integrity of what's here now and to continue to research and find out what was here to begin with and begin to restore it back to their beginnings. Last week, as an example, he spent several days working in the archives looking at pictures, trying to find old photographs of some borders that they will restore over time.
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