Honoring National Public Gardens Day – And Breaking Ground on My First Public Garden Design Project…

New Beginnings at the Brattleboro Museum and Art Center and Marlboro College in Vermont…

LaRock Excavating at Work…

Today is National Public Gardens Day, the second annual celebration of a day set aside to honor the importance of community gardens throughout the United States. Over the past year, I have occasionally written about public gardens in New England, and my goal to visit more of them. However, there has been a research-oriented reason for these visits which, until now, I have neglected to tell you about. National Public Gardens day seemed like the right moment to let you in on a very exciting project I have been involved with over the past year. This week marks a small, but special moment in my local community, and a satisfying professional milestone in my career. On Wednesday, LaRock Excavating broke ground on my design for the new Brattleboro Museum and Art Center Garden, a small public sculpture park and landscape honoring Linda Rubinstein’s service to this landmark of creativity and culture in the heart of downtown Brattleboro, Vermont. I was recruited by Judy Freed, chair of the BMAC garden committee, for this volunteer project approximately one year ago. My role on the garden committee has involved landscape consulting, the drafting of several garden design plans, and working with contractors to secure bids and scheduling. Now, at long last, we are finally breaking ground!

Although I have created many private, residential gardens, this is my first public garden design. This is also the first time I have worked with a museum board    -and committee- on a landscaping project. The garden will be important to many people, but because it occupies a prominent location between the Brattleboro Museum and Art Center and the Brattleboro campus of Marlboro College, it has a special communal and aesthetic significance.  The garden design has also been something of a logistical challenge, as it is situated at the corner of a busy downtown traffic intersection, (a hub serving as commuter rail station, Connecticut River bridge and VT/NH, MA state-line), serving an interstate community with various cultural, educational and commerce-driven activities….

A look at the base of one seating/planting area…

Public gardens are important for many reasons of course, but two of the most significant are the valuable green space provided to the community at large and of course the environment. I will be writing more about this challenging and rewarding project over the coming weeks; covering various design aspects of the multi-use space including the display of three dimensional artwork, support of local ecosystem with native plantings, creation of inviting social areas with wireless network access, communal seating and more…

A clean, fresh canvas for the new BMAC garden serving my local community…

Some of the most beautiful public gardens in the United States, large and small, were designed and constructed by volunteers, using funds raised through grants, gifts and private donations. My favorite large-scale public gardens in the U.S. include the Arnold Arboretum in Massachusetts; Brooklyn Botanic Garden, New York; Mt. Cuba Center, Delaware; The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, Arizona; and Longwood Gardens, Pennsylvania. What are some of your favorite national public gardens? And, what is your favorite local, community garden. How often do you visit these special places and how do you support them?

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4 Replies to “Honoring National Public Gardens Day – And Breaking Ground on My First Public Garden Design Project…”

  1. lulu

    good luck Michaela with you public garden installation.
    Kudo’s to you for all your hard work in this huge volenteer endeavor! The museum and community at large are very fortunate to have your artistic talent creating this wonderful space for them.
    GO Mich GO!
    xxoolulu

  2. Deb Weyrich-Cody

    Congratulations Michaela!

    Can’t wait to see more of your plans in place against that great backdrop of cedars and (Lime?)stone!

    Deb (hug sent) ;)

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