New funds for Innisfree

Innisfree is closed to the public during the winter but will reopen in late April for its daffodil weekends.

Innisfree Garden

New funds for Innisfree

MILLBROOK — Innisfree Garden, the nonprofit botanical garden just north of Tyrell Lake, became the first historic landscape to receive a Technical Assistance Grant from the Preservation League of New York State.

Announced Monday, Jan. 22, the Technical Assistance Grant (TAG) for $4,000 was one of 19 awarded in support of cultural nonprofits and municipal sites that maintain New York state historic sites and resources.

With the aid of the award, Charles Birnbaum, president and CEO of The Cultural Landscape Foundation, will write a white paper describing Innisfree Garden’s design and agenda for continued responsible stewardship, a paper he began work on in 2015. It will be used to direct stewardship efforts of Innisfree’s Cultural Landscape Report.

“This planning process will impact preservation, management and the interpretation of historic resources,” said Birnbaum.

Kate Kerin, Innisfree’s landscape curator, said that Innisfree Garden was pleased to have support from such an renowned organization: “We are honored to be the first historic landscape to receive a Technical Assistance Grant from the preservation League and its partners. Funding for this project will enhance our stewardship efforts for years to come.”

The $4,000 grant is the maximum amount bestowed by the Preservation League for a technical assistance grant. The program, in its 10th year, has grown to be a foundational part of the League’s offerings. The League’s president, Jay DiLorenzo, said that their grants “often [provide] pivotal seed funding needed to jumpstart more comprehensive preservation work. We have seen firsthand how these grants open the door for bigger projects and further investment.”

Innisfree Garden, at 362 Tyrrel Road in Millbrook, was originally created for Walter and Marion Beck in 1930 by landscape architect Lester A. Collins, who was guided by Chinese landscaping principles, and used mostly native rocks and vegetation. The garden is also renowned for its many water features including springs, streams, waterfalls, and a lake.

Though closed for the winter season, the garden will re-open to the public for its regular season on May 11 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Preview weekends for “Early Spring Flower Viewing” are scheduled for April 20 & 21 (for members only), and, for the general public, on April 27 and 28, and May 4 and 5.

Many programs are scheduled at the garden throughout the spring, summer and fall seasons.

As a matter of public safety, and to preserve continued access to the garden for years to come, Innisfree Garden asks that no one visit the garden until it has officially reopened in the spring.

For more information, see www.innisfreegarden.org.

Latest News

Haystack Festival brings literary minds to Norfolk

The Great Room at Norfolk Library filled to capacity for the Haystack Festival.

Jennifer Almquist

Just after noon on Sunday, Oct. 6, attendees of Norfolk Foundation’s Haystack Festival spilled out of the red Shingle Style Norfolk Library into brilliant October sunshine, emerging from the final book talk of the weekend (excepting an event for young readers later in the day). The talk, which was a conversation between horse experts journalist Sarah Maslin Nir and author David Chaffetz, was rife with equine puns and startling facts. The tongue-in-cheek use of the word “cavalier” brought laughs from the engaged audience, while Nir disclosed that horses eat for a full 16 hours a day.

The talk brought levity and humor to the festival’s conclusion, while also diving into the serious history of the relationship between society and horses. Chaffetz explained horses were fundamental in the formation of large empires: “We don’t see empires until horses became fundamental to the political state.” Nir elaborated that the “wild” horses in North America are not native, but feral horses descended from animals brought by Spanish imperialists. “No tea grows in England,” she explained, “it is the result of empire – and so are horses.”

Keep ReadingShow less
Project SAGE's solemn vigil

"The Red Sand Project" is intended to draw attention to often overlooked domestic violence issues in the Northwest Corner.

Natalia Zukerman

To mark the start of Domestic Violence Awareness Month, Project SAGE held its annual community vigil on Tuesday, Oct. 1, at Community Field in Lakeville. Project SAGE is a community-focused organization dedicated to supporting, advocating, guiding and educating victims of relationship violence through a range of services and outreach programs.

A large group of people gathered quietly in the center of the field where they were handed packets of red sand. Red Sand Project, created by artist and activist Molly Gochman, is a participatory artwork that uses sidewalk interventions and earthwork installations to encourage people to reflect, connect, and take action against the vulnerabilities that contribute to human trafficking, modern slavery, and exploitation.

Keep ReadingShow less
Northwest Corner artists unite for Clay Way Tour Oct. 19-20

Pottery of all sorts will be on display at the Clay Way Tour, featuring 26 area artists.

Provided

Now in its 8th year, The Clay Way Studio Tour is an annually held event featuring some of Connecticut’s best potters. Twenty six artists will show their work among nine studios.

The Tour takes place in Litchfield County Connecticut and Wingdale, New York Oct.19 and 20 from 10 a.m to 5 p.m. Potter and organizer Jane Herald explained the origin of the tour.

Keep ReadingShow less