WEBVTT 1 00:00:02.720 --> 00:00:06.400 Broadcasting from Studio A Here at Proven Winners, Color Choice Shrubs. 2 00:00:06.440 --> 00:00:10.960 It's The Gardening Simplified Show with Stacy Hervella, me Rick Weist, 3 00:00:10.960 --> 00:00:15.640 and our engineer and producer Adrianna Robinson. Well, happy birthday 4 00:00:15.720 --> 00:00:19.039 America two hundred and fifty years and what a great 5 00:00:19.160 --> 00:00:25.440 way to celebrate by maybe going to a great American garden. 6 00:00:26.679 --> 00:00:28.399 I think that's a great way to celebrate. 7 00:00:28.600 --> 00:00:30.679 You know, I think so too, And that's why we're 8 00:00:30.760 --> 00:00:34.079 ripping up the script from the normal Gardening Simplified Show 9 00:00:34.159 --> 00:00:37.840 and we are going to devote two episodes to sharing 10 00:00:38.119 --> 00:00:42.039 with you the various gardens around the country that have 11 00:00:42.359 --> 00:00:45.320 shaped America and that are worth your time to visit, 12 00:00:45.359 --> 00:00:48.240 because you know, I think that a lot of people, now, 13 00:00:48.560 --> 00:00:52.280 of course not our audience, because they're gardeners, they don't 14 00:00:52.280 --> 00:00:55.560 really think about visiting gardens. Now, if they go to Europe, 15 00:00:55.600 --> 00:00:57.960 they're like, oh, I must go to this garden that garden. 16 00:00:58.039 --> 00:01:00.799 Europe is a place for gardens. But for a lot 17 00:01:00.840 --> 00:01:04.239 of people, I just don't think that visiting gardens, especially 18 00:01:04.280 --> 00:01:07.799 if it's like a destination they're on vacation, I don't 19 00:01:07.799 --> 00:01:11.400 think it enters the realm of possibility. For a lot 20 00:01:11.400 --> 00:01:11.799 of people. 21 00:01:12.000 --> 00:01:14.640 Yeah, and when you you know, when you talk about that, Stacey, 22 00:01:14.719 --> 00:01:20.280 you think about Europe and you have the antiquity and 23 00:01:20.359 --> 00:01:24.480 the ruins and all of that type of thing. America, 24 00:01:24.640 --> 00:01:27.920 United States, the colonies. It was a new world and 25 00:01:27.959 --> 00:01:34.000 we had to find a new way of gardening new plants, right, Yeah, 26 00:01:34.040 --> 00:01:38.959 and John Bartram was very instrumental in that with his 27 00:01:39.480 --> 00:01:43.560 Bartram Boxes and sending those plants off to Europe and 28 00:01:43.640 --> 00:01:48.680 really creating this this knowledge and understanding of what we 29 00:01:48.879 --> 00:01:51.640 had at our disposal here in the new Colonies. 30 00:01:51.719 --> 00:01:53.760 That's absolutely true, And so I do want to say 31 00:01:53.760 --> 00:01:56.879 we're going to go around and share some of Now. 32 00:01:56.920 --> 00:01:58.920 Of course we can't do all the gardens we're going 33 00:01:59.000 --> 00:02:03.200 to get Mayle imagine, but we do want to hear 34 00:02:03.239 --> 00:02:05.079 from you. So if there is a garden that we skip, 35 00:02:05.120 --> 00:02:07.719 it's not that it's not important. This is just a 36 00:02:07.760 --> 00:02:11.319 little sampler, but please do leave us a comment on YouTube. 37 00:02:11.680 --> 00:02:13.840 And we really tried to pick gardens that I think 38 00:02:14.000 --> 00:02:16.280 tell a story. So of course there's so many wonderful 39 00:02:16.319 --> 00:02:18.479 gardens that aren't going to make it into these episodes 40 00:02:18.800 --> 00:02:22.240 because it is going to be two parts. But it's 41 00:02:22.280 --> 00:02:24.000 really about the story, and so that's why we're going 42 00:02:24.039 --> 00:02:28.759 to start with Bartramp's Garden. Okay, right, yes, So Bartromp's 43 00:02:28.800 --> 00:02:33.159 Garden is in Philadelphia, and it is the natural place 44 00:02:33.199 --> 00:02:37.560 to start for this celebration of American gardens because it 45 00:02:37.680 --> 00:02:41.680 is the oldest surviving botanic garden in North America. It 46 00:02:41.800 --> 00:02:46.000 was founded in seventeen twenty eight, and it is absolutely 47 00:02:46.039 --> 00:02:50.000 amazing that this garden is still surviving. The original house 48 00:02:50.080 --> 00:02:52.919 is there, The original greenhouse is there, of course, not 49 00:02:52.960 --> 00:02:57.759 the glass that it's been replaced, and so many of 50 00:02:57.800 --> 00:02:59.719 the original plants. Now you were talking a bit about 51 00:02:59.800 --> 00:03:05.000 John Bartram definitely one of the founding gardeners. He was 52 00:03:05.120 --> 00:03:08.159 a plant explorer and botanist in his own right. So 53 00:03:08.159 --> 00:03:10.400 as you said, he sent a lot of plants back 54 00:03:10.439 --> 00:03:13.280 to Europe and they sent plants to him and kind 55 00:03:13.319 --> 00:03:18.120 of helped to facilitate the movement of plants between all 56 00:03:18.199 --> 00:03:21.280 of these different countries. The greenhouse there dates back to 57 00:03:21.319 --> 00:03:23.000 seventeen sixteen. Now I have not been here. Have you 58 00:03:23.039 --> 00:03:23.400 been there? 59 00:03:23.479 --> 00:03:24.120 I have been there? 60 00:03:24.560 --> 00:03:25.879 So is it amazing? Yeah? 61 00:03:25.960 --> 00:03:27.639 I mean it's really really cool. 62 00:03:27.680 --> 00:03:30.280 Well, you know what I did, I have to admit, 63 00:03:30.319 --> 00:03:34.960 you know, it's in the Philadelphia area, right, And what 64 00:03:35.039 --> 00:03:37.560 I did was after I visited, then I went to 65 00:03:37.759 --> 00:03:41.520 the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and of course had to 66 00:03:41.680 --> 00:03:43.800 run the steps back they Balboa. 67 00:03:43.840 --> 00:03:44.000 Yeah. 68 00:03:44.039 --> 00:03:44.240 Yes. 69 00:03:44.560 --> 00:03:48.360 But the interesting thing about John Bartram is that I 70 00:03:48.520 --> 00:03:52.639 view him as a plant collector, a person who was 71 00:03:52.800 --> 00:03:57.599 interested in collecting, identifying new plants, and then sharing them. 72 00:03:57.879 --> 00:04:02.000 So the garden isn't necessary something where you go, wow, 73 00:04:02.400 --> 00:04:06.919 what unbelievable design or architecture or whatever. You have to 74 00:04:07.039 --> 00:04:11.560 understand the basis, and that is he was a plant collector. 75 00:04:11.319 --> 00:04:14.439 And such an important plant collector too. So one of 76 00:04:14.479 --> 00:04:17.079 the plants that I think for those of us in 77 00:04:17.120 --> 00:04:19.120 the know who maybe know a little too much about 78 00:04:19.160 --> 00:04:22.800 horticulture for our own good, is that one of the 79 00:04:22.839 --> 00:04:25.800 most important specimens, probably the most important specimen that you 80 00:04:25.839 --> 00:04:31.839 will see at Bartram's garden is franklinea alta maha, which 81 00:04:31.920 --> 00:04:35.680 is named after Ben Franklin. It's Bartram himself named it 82 00:04:35.759 --> 00:04:37.920 after Ben Franklin in honor of Ben Franklin. They were 83 00:04:37.920 --> 00:04:41.279 good friends, and franklinea al to maha is a plant 84 00:04:41.279 --> 00:04:43.720 that they found growing on the banks of the Alta 85 00:04:43.800 --> 00:04:48.959 Maha River in Georgia. They found it in seventeen seventy three. 86 00:04:49.480 --> 00:04:51.639 They said, hey, this is a pretty cool plant. It's 87 00:04:51.879 --> 00:04:54.279 a big tree, it has white flowers. It's in the 88 00:04:54.279 --> 00:04:58.120 Camellia family, the tea family, one of very few plants 89 00:04:58.240 --> 00:05:01.079 native to North America that is in that family. They 90 00:05:01.120 --> 00:05:04.519 collected seed, brought it back to Bartram's garden, sewed it. 91 00:05:04.600 --> 00:05:08.480 That original tree is still in the garden today, despite 92 00:05:08.519 --> 00:05:12.600 the fact that Franklinea, the species has not been recorded 93 00:05:12.639 --> 00:05:16.800 in the wild since eighteen oh three. So unknowingly, John 94 00:05:16.839 --> 00:05:21.319 Bartram and his son, who traveled together extensively, actually say 95 00:05:21.519 --> 00:05:24.519 the only reason that we know this plant exists is 96 00:05:24.600 --> 00:05:27.959 because Bartrum and his son collected it and saved it. 97 00:05:28.240 --> 00:05:31.399 And every Franklinia. No, this isn't really a rare plant. 98 00:05:31.439 --> 00:05:34.319 It's somewhat easy to find if you are devoted to 99 00:05:34.399 --> 00:05:38.920 looking for these types of things. Every single Franklinea around 100 00:05:39.240 --> 00:05:42.360 is descended from the tree that Bartram saved. 101 00:05:42.720 --> 00:05:46.879 Can you imagine these founding fathers sitting around and talking 102 00:05:46.920 --> 00:05:47.759 about plants. 103 00:05:48.639 --> 00:05:52.319 No, it's it's amazing. Yeah, getting a dark tavern and yeah, 104 00:05:52.319 --> 00:05:52.959 sat talk and. 105 00:05:52.959 --> 00:05:58.199 Plants just unbelievable. I wanted to give a quick editorial comment, 106 00:05:58.399 --> 00:06:01.879 like you said, we're we're tearing up the script here. 107 00:06:02.800 --> 00:06:05.360 The Danish people have a word that I think is 108 00:06:05.399 --> 00:06:09.839 really cool. It's called free heads angst, and free heads 109 00:06:09.959 --> 00:06:15.240 angst essentially means anxiety over being free. 110 00:06:15.639 --> 00:06:16.120 Freedom. 111 00:06:16.439 --> 00:06:18.759 In other words, if you were to walk into a 112 00:06:18.800 --> 00:06:22.800 garden center and there's plants everywhere, you can get overwhelmed. 113 00:06:23.040 --> 00:06:26.959 And when you get overwhelmed, then paralysis sets in, right, 114 00:06:27.399 --> 00:06:31.879 And so they have that great word. And my feeling 115 00:06:32.240 --> 00:06:36.639 is that if you have felt that before, that paralysis 116 00:06:36.680 --> 00:06:40.000 so many plants, I don't know, I'm overwhelmed, go to 117 00:06:40.600 --> 00:06:44.720 a public garden or an arboretum, because what's going to 118 00:06:44.759 --> 00:06:47.759 happen is you're going to fall in love with certain 119 00:06:47.800 --> 00:06:49.079 plants and it's going to. 120 00:06:49.120 --> 00:06:51.040 Stick with you the rest of your life. 121 00:06:51.480 --> 00:06:55.399 So I remember going to Longwood Gardens and just absolutely 122 00:06:55.480 --> 00:06:59.560 falling in love with Verbina benariensis and how it swayed 123 00:06:59.600 --> 00:07:01.759 in the world, and how great it would look with 124 00:07:01.920 --> 00:07:05.680 my ornamental grasses, or going to the Pacific Northwest and 125 00:07:05.720 --> 00:07:10.079 falling in love with conifers, Japanese maples, all of that 126 00:07:10.240 --> 00:07:13.240 type of thing. So I tend to refer to these 127 00:07:13.920 --> 00:07:18.600 founding fathers as the grounding Fathers. Now, has anybody ever 128 00:07:18.680 --> 00:07:23.240 written a book or calling them the grounding fathers, because 129 00:07:23.279 --> 00:07:24.879 I want to coin that phrase. 130 00:07:24.759 --> 00:07:27.079 Not grounding. Now there is a wonderful book called Founding 131 00:07:27.120 --> 00:07:31.000 Gardeners Andrea Wolf. It talks about them all. Yes, fantastic book. 132 00:07:31.680 --> 00:07:33.839 So we are going to move on to Longwood. We're 133 00:07:33.879 --> 00:07:35.800 going to try to move reasonably quick, but for me 134 00:07:35.879 --> 00:07:38.800 that's quite impossible. But we're saying in a geographical region. 135 00:07:38.800 --> 00:07:40.560 This is not in order of importance, although I'd say 136 00:07:40.560 --> 00:07:43.720 Bartram's Garden has our oldest botanical garden in North America 137 00:07:43.759 --> 00:07:46.839 is very important. One last thing on Bartram's Garden, the 138 00:07:47.040 --> 00:07:51.639 oldest and first ginko in North America is in Bartram's Garden. 139 00:07:51.639 --> 00:07:53.199 You can still see it to this day. It was 140 00:07:53.199 --> 00:07:55.040 planted in seventeen eighty five. 141 00:07:55.040 --> 00:07:58.079 Ginko trees showing our YouTube viewers here one of my 142 00:07:58.160 --> 00:07:58.879 favorite mug. 143 00:07:58.959 --> 00:08:01.600 Now, I get this one at the which is coming up. 144 00:08:01.639 --> 00:08:03.079 If we get to it this episode, it might not 145 00:08:03.079 --> 00:08:05.439 come in until I might not come until next episode, 146 00:08:05.480 --> 00:08:09.360 but definitely so. Since we're staying in the Philadelphia area, 147 00:08:09.399 --> 00:08:13.639 which really is just a treasure trove of public horticulture 148 00:08:14.319 --> 00:08:15.600 and I think you're going to see that as we 149 00:08:15.720 --> 00:08:18.360 kind of move all over the East Coast and then 150 00:08:18.480 --> 00:08:21.360 down just all of the East Coast. There was just 151 00:08:21.399 --> 00:08:24.120 so much money and so much commitment to horticulture there 152 00:08:24.519 --> 00:08:26.680 that remains to this day. And it's really one of 153 00:08:26.720 --> 00:08:28.600 the things that I miss the most from living out 154 00:08:28.600 --> 00:08:31.160 there is you were just spoiled for choice for public 155 00:08:31.160 --> 00:08:34.799 gardens that you could go to. But Longwood, of course, 156 00:08:34.799 --> 00:08:37.639 everyone thinks of Longwood, they think of the fountains, They 157 00:08:37.639 --> 00:08:39.240 think of this as a new garden, and Longwood has 158 00:08:39.240 --> 00:08:44.000 done an incredible job of keeping them themselves, their research, 159 00:08:44.159 --> 00:08:46.440 the gardens that they create relevant and up to date 160 00:08:46.480 --> 00:08:50.480 and contemporary. But it was actually originally founded as a 161 00:08:50.559 --> 00:08:53.080 Quaker arboretum in seventeen ninety eight. 162 00:08:53.200 --> 00:08:54.440 Yes, very much so. 163 00:08:54.480 --> 00:08:57.679 Our Venerable Longwood Gardens goes way way back. And the 164 00:08:58.240 --> 00:09:01.279 famous Pierre DuPont of the DuPont family, which has a 165 00:09:01.360 --> 00:09:04.039 number of public and private gardens still through the East Coast, 166 00:09:04.799 --> 00:09:07.799 transformed it into his private estate in nineteen oh six. 167 00:09:08.679 --> 00:09:11.879 And that's he's the one who put in the fountains. Yeah, 168 00:09:11.879 --> 00:09:13.879 so the same fountains that you see today, which you 169 00:09:13.919 --> 00:09:16.279 think are something that a public garden put on in 170 00:09:16.360 --> 00:09:19.919 this big, grand scale. Was actually just a really rich 171 00:09:19.960 --> 00:09:22.440 guy who said, I want to fancy italianate fountain. 172 00:09:22.639 --> 00:09:25.360 The fountains are great, and they'll run them at night. 173 00:09:25.600 --> 00:09:30.639 I really enjoyed that, and I remember, embarrassingly, so I 174 00:09:30.720 --> 00:09:33.080 tried to take a short cut through the garden because 175 00:09:33.200 --> 00:09:35.799 it was late for the fountain show, and I ended 176 00:09:35.879 --> 00:09:38.879 up in one of the fountains he did. Yeah, they 177 00:09:38.960 --> 00:09:41.639 came on and I got wet, and that was embarrassing. 178 00:09:41.759 --> 00:09:42.519 Oh my goodness. 179 00:09:42.559 --> 00:09:43.960 Anyhow, Now, the other. 180 00:09:43.879 --> 00:09:47.639 Cool thing about Longwood Gardens, it's right near Kennett Square, 181 00:09:48.960 --> 00:09:52.919 in Kennett Square, and Kennett Square is considered the mushroom 182 00:09:53.039 --> 00:09:57.960 capital of the United States. Yes, Adriana, you need Todd 183 00:09:58.000 --> 00:10:02.000 the mushrooms cultivated mushroom, and they have this huge mushroom 184 00:10:02.120 --> 00:10:04.240 festival in I think it's September. 185 00:10:04.320 --> 00:10:06.759 Yes, that's where all almost every mushroom that you like, 186 00:10:06.799 --> 00:10:09.919 regular brown mushrooms that you're getting in the US, grown 187 00:10:10.240 --> 00:10:13.919 right there at Longwood. Now, of course we could continue, 188 00:10:14.159 --> 00:10:16.000 we're already gonna have to take a little break, so 189 00:10:16.039 --> 00:10:20.440 at this rate it's gonna be a multi part series. 190 00:10:20.440 --> 00:10:22.679 But in any case, we're gonna take a break. We're 191 00:10:22.679 --> 00:10:24.559 gonna catch our breath, and we're gonna continue with this 192 00:10:24.639 --> 00:10:32.720 in just a moment. Beautify your home and community with 193 00:10:32.799 --> 00:10:35.799 Proven Winner's Color Choice Shrubs. With over three hundred and 194 00:10:35.799 --> 00:10:39.320 twenty five unique varieties to choose from. There's a flowering, shrubber, 195 00:10:39.360 --> 00:10:42.519 evergreen for every taste and every space. Just look for 196 00:10:42.559 --> 00:10:45.519 the distinctive white container your local garden center or learn 197 00:10:45.559 --> 00:10:51.080 more at Proven Winners color Choice dot com. Greetings gardening friends, 198 00:10:51.080 --> 00:10:54.759 and welcome back to our tour of American gardens and 199 00:10:54.919 --> 00:10:58.279 their stories. If you are traveling this summer, or if 200 00:10:58.279 --> 00:10:59.759 you're not and you want to make plans to, I 201 00:10:59.759 --> 00:11:02.080 hope you will consider these gardens. You know, like you 202 00:11:02.080 --> 00:11:04.639 said Rick, with Bartram's Garden, it's not the kind of 203 00:11:04.679 --> 00:11:07.240 place that you go and go, oh my gosh, it's 204 00:11:07.360 --> 00:11:09.279 just so breathtaking. You kind of have to know the 205 00:11:09.320 --> 00:11:12.759 story and understand the significance of it. And that's what 206 00:11:12.799 --> 00:11:14.799 we're trying to tell is there's lots of these gardens 207 00:11:14.799 --> 00:11:16.240 that you could go to and say, oh my gosh, 208 00:11:16.320 --> 00:11:19.360 this is gorgeous, but it's really about the story and 209 00:11:19.399 --> 00:11:21.519 the people who made them. Because it's next garden, which 210 00:11:21.559 --> 00:11:24.559 is one of my absolute favorite gardens in the world 211 00:11:24.600 --> 00:11:29.480 and certainly in the US, is Chanticleer Garden. And Chanticlear 212 00:11:29.519 --> 00:11:31.759 Garden is a private so it's open to the public, 213 00:11:31.799 --> 00:11:35.639 but it's privately owned and it's an old manor house 214 00:11:35.879 --> 00:11:39.759 that was built by Adolph Rosengarden, who was a chemist 215 00:11:39.919 --> 00:11:43.919 and one of the founders of Merk Chemicals, so obviously 216 00:11:44.120 --> 00:11:46.840 had lots of money. And I loved back in these 217 00:11:46.919 --> 00:11:49.679 days in the eighteen hundreds and the early nineteen hundreds 218 00:11:50.080 --> 00:11:52.960 that all of these wealthy people were putting their money 219 00:11:53.120 --> 00:11:57.080 into building gardens. And then when they got too old 220 00:11:57.159 --> 00:12:00.399 or they were on their way out, they didn't just say, okay, 221 00:12:00.440 --> 00:12:02.399 well just you know, bulldoze my house and turn it 222 00:12:02.399 --> 00:12:06.519 into a subdivision. They endowed these gardens to remain public 223 00:12:07.080 --> 00:12:11.080 and you know, open to people to enjoy for in perpetuity. 224 00:12:11.240 --> 00:12:12.440 It's a great point, Stacey. 225 00:12:12.480 --> 00:12:16.720 You look at people like Wrigley or the Morton family, right, Yeah, 226 00:12:16.759 --> 00:12:17.279 and that's what. 227 00:12:17.320 --> 00:12:20.000 Happened, Yes, exactly. So that's why there's so many of these, 228 00:12:20.039 --> 00:12:22.919 I think on the East Coast. But Chanticleer is what 229 00:12:23.000 --> 00:12:26.799 makes Chanticleer really special to me and very unique as 230 00:12:26.799 --> 00:12:32.399 an American garden is their tagline is Chanticlear a pleasure garden, 231 00:12:32.919 --> 00:12:35.919 And one might easily say that all gardens are pleasure gardens. 232 00:12:35.960 --> 00:12:39.320 There are certainly pleasant places to be, but what makes 233 00:12:39.360 --> 00:12:42.440 Chanticleer so unique is that unlike a botanical garden, which 234 00:12:42.480 --> 00:12:46.120 is about the collections and having, you know, a representation 235 00:12:46.360 --> 00:12:49.440 of a specific genus or a plant family or something 236 00:12:49.519 --> 00:12:54.720 like that, Chanticleer has incredible collections, but they instead simply 237 00:12:54.720 --> 00:12:57.919 put the focus on enjoying the beauty of their gardens. 238 00:12:58.080 --> 00:13:00.480 So as you're walking through these incredible gardens, there's not 239 00:13:00.639 --> 00:13:05.320 labels everywhere tags blowing in the wind and clanking around. 240 00:13:05.879 --> 00:13:09.000 Each garden area has a little guide to it that 241 00:13:09.039 --> 00:13:11.600 you can look and as we had Lisa Roper, who's 242 00:13:11.600 --> 00:13:14.080 one of the horticulturists at Chanticleer on the show last 243 00:13:14.080 --> 00:13:18.600 summer on Our Folly's Show, she was amazing and she 244 00:13:18.679 --> 00:13:21.399 talked about how the gardener for each garden designs their 245 00:13:21.440 --> 00:13:24.279 own box to house these kind of guides that are 246 00:13:24.399 --> 00:13:29.159 very sort of blended in with the scenery. Chanticleer is 247 00:13:29.159 --> 00:13:31.159 a garden that I think really flies under the radar 248 00:13:31.200 --> 00:13:33.279 for people who are in the Philadelphia area because they 249 00:13:33.320 --> 00:13:36.200 think Longwood, and Longwood is absolutely worth a visit, but 250 00:13:36.840 --> 00:13:39.919 for me, I will take Chanta Clear any day. It's 251 00:13:39.960 --> 00:13:44.159 truly unique, it's truly special. The people the gardeners are 252 00:13:44.240 --> 00:13:48.120 I am in awe of their talent and vision, and 253 00:13:48.960 --> 00:13:51.240 it's definitely one of my top picks for all of 254 00:13:51.279 --> 00:13:54.240 the gardens in the US. But even though there are many, 255 00:13:54.240 --> 00:13:57.039 many more public gardens in Philadelphia, we could continue with 256 00:13:57.440 --> 00:14:01.519 We're going to move up to New York City, where 257 00:14:01.559 --> 00:14:03.559 I think a lot of people might be surprised to 258 00:14:03.639 --> 00:14:06.360 find that there are also incredible public gardens. 259 00:14:06.399 --> 00:14:08.000 They're great gardens all. 260 00:14:07.840 --> 00:14:11.399 Around the city, out on Long Island, all through Westchester County, 261 00:14:11.399 --> 00:14:14.360 which is the county just above New York City, and 262 00:14:14.440 --> 00:14:18.559 so definitely one of my second favorite, close second to Chanticleer. 263 00:14:18.679 --> 00:14:21.519 Of my favorite gardens in the eastern half of North 264 00:14:21.519 --> 00:14:23.320 America is Wave Hill. You've never been to Wave Hill? 265 00:14:23.440 --> 00:14:24.600 Right A Wave have been up. 266 00:14:24.639 --> 00:14:27.759 I've been to Wave Hill, and if you're into layering 267 00:14:28.039 --> 00:14:32.039 and terracing, I think it's a great garden to visit. 268 00:14:32.080 --> 00:14:35.279 I went to Yankee Stadium and then it's just north 269 00:14:35.320 --> 00:14:40.919 of Yankee Stadium in the Bronx to visit. Yeah, I 270 00:14:40.960 --> 00:14:41.919 strongly encourage you. 271 00:14:42.000 --> 00:14:43.559 Yes, So you can't really get to it on the subway. 272 00:14:43.559 --> 00:14:45.879 You can take the train, you can take a cab. 273 00:14:46.720 --> 00:14:49.480 So Wavehill is as as Rick said in Riverdale in 274 00:14:49.519 --> 00:14:52.879 the Bronx. And I will never ever forget the first 275 00:14:52.879 --> 00:14:55.559 time that I went to Wave Hill and we I 276 00:14:55.600 --> 00:14:57.960 was just talking to a friend, just chit chatting, and 277 00:14:57.960 --> 00:14:59.519 we walked out of the parking lot and we walked 278 00:14:59.559 --> 00:15:01.440 into the gard and as soon as you get into 279 00:15:01.480 --> 00:15:04.919 the garden, this incredible view of the palisades of the 280 00:15:05.000 --> 00:15:09.919 Hudson River opens up and it is simply breathtaking. Now, Wavehill, 281 00:15:10.120 --> 00:15:12.840 the property has been owned by a number of different people, 282 00:15:13.639 --> 00:15:16.000 but really the person who transformed it sort of into 283 00:15:16.039 --> 00:15:19.080 what it is today is Henry Appleton. He bought the 284 00:15:19.080 --> 00:15:23.559 property in eighteen sixty six. He was the American publisher 285 00:15:23.559 --> 00:15:28.600 for Charles Darwin's works Wow. He was, yeah, a literary figurehead, 286 00:15:28.639 --> 00:15:31.360 and he hosted a number of literary giants. Mark Twain 287 00:15:31.480 --> 00:15:34.919 is known to have visited the house there. At Wave 288 00:15:35.039 --> 00:15:38.120 Hill it became a public garden under the direction of 289 00:15:38.200 --> 00:15:42.799 George Perkins, who was a vice president at JP Morgan. 290 00:15:42.919 --> 00:15:45.080 So again, really we got these rich guys who are 291 00:15:45.159 --> 00:15:47.279 using their money for horticulture. We could use a lot 292 00:15:47.279 --> 00:15:49.360 more of that these days, if any rich guys are listening. 293 00:15:50.799 --> 00:15:53.600 And so then it opened as a public garden in 294 00:15:53.720 --> 00:15:57.480 nineteen sixty seven, and it's just it is, i'd say, 295 00:15:57.519 --> 00:16:00.200 sort of a hybrid between a botanic garden that's really 296 00:16:00.200 --> 00:16:04.080 about the collections and this genus, the genera that they have, 297 00:16:04.679 --> 00:16:07.519 as well as just the visual impact of being there, 298 00:16:07.559 --> 00:16:10.679 and there's so many rare and unique plants and just 299 00:16:10.840 --> 00:16:13.000 it's a lovely place to spend the afternoon. And you 300 00:16:13.000 --> 00:16:15.960 know what I really love about it too, it's digestible. Yes, 301 00:16:16.039 --> 00:16:20.960 Longwood is not totally digestible. It's so massive, uh, you know, 302 00:16:21.080 --> 00:16:22.759 sort of by the end of the day, Longwood, you're 303 00:16:22.840 --> 00:16:23.960 just like, you know. 304 00:16:24.200 --> 00:16:27.080 There are many rests, Yeah, many botanic gardens that you 305 00:16:27.159 --> 00:16:32.240 have to go to. Two important elements comfortable shoes and sunscreen. 306 00:16:32.440 --> 00:16:33.879 Yes, right, definitely. 307 00:16:34.039 --> 00:16:36.840 And also I agree with water and water and I 308 00:16:36.879 --> 00:16:40.159 agree with you Stacy that for a number of people 309 00:16:40.240 --> 00:16:43.919 who have not visited, New York is a great place 310 00:16:44.039 --> 00:16:45.240 for botanical gardens. 311 00:16:45.240 --> 00:16:47.480 I mean you mentioned Wave Hill. 312 00:16:48.120 --> 00:16:51.879 The New York Botanical gardens are in close proximity too. 313 00:16:51.960 --> 00:16:52.720 Very close, yep. 314 00:16:52.919 --> 00:16:55.080 Or you can go on the island all the way 315 00:16:55.120 --> 00:16:58.519 to the southern tip in Manhattan and the battery. 316 00:16:58.799 --> 00:17:03.600 Yeah. Beautiful, yes, and historically very important exactly. And of course, 317 00:17:04.240 --> 00:17:06.240 even though it is a park, one of the most 318 00:17:06.279 --> 00:17:09.559 important American landscapes of all Central Park. 319 00:17:09.640 --> 00:17:09.799 Yes. 320 00:17:10.240 --> 00:17:13.119 Now, I am fortunate enough to have spent three years 321 00:17:13.160 --> 00:17:15.359 working in Central Park at Tavern on the Green restaurant, 322 00:17:15.359 --> 00:17:18.839 the former Tavern on the Green restaurant, and it is 323 00:17:18.960 --> 00:17:24.000 an extraordinary place. And I think what's really significant about 324 00:17:24.000 --> 00:17:26.799 Central Park is easily lost on people because you go 325 00:17:26.839 --> 00:17:30.039 there now and it's a beautiful, mature landscape with you know, 326 00:17:30.160 --> 00:17:35.359 huge trees and everything's established and wonderful. But it really 327 00:17:35.640 --> 00:17:38.960 was so revolutionary at the time because Central Park was 328 00:17:38.960 --> 00:17:41.920 founded in the eighteen seventies and Frederick law Olmsted famously 329 00:17:42.000 --> 00:17:45.640 was commissioned to lay it out. So up until that time, 330 00:17:46.200 --> 00:17:49.480 if someone was commissioned to build a park or a garden, 331 00:17:49.839 --> 00:17:52.240 it was like bring in the heavy machinery such that 332 00:17:52.279 --> 00:17:55.920 it was in the eighteen seventies and level it. You know, 333 00:17:56.079 --> 00:17:58.599 let's get a flat surface and then we're going to 334 00:17:58.640 --> 00:18:01.279 make a garden. Central Park is really one of the 335 00:18:01.400 --> 00:18:06.240 very first landscapes in America that they said, Hey, let's 336 00:18:06.279 --> 00:18:08.599 work with what we have here. Let's work with the 337 00:18:08.640 --> 00:18:11.480 low spots, let's work with the rock out croppings and 338 00:18:11.599 --> 00:18:15.119 make a naturalistic landscape. And that seems so obvious to 339 00:18:15.200 --> 00:18:18.200 us now, but at the time it was truly revolutionary. 340 00:18:18.440 --> 00:18:21.240 Yeah, and I know that from personal experience, stacy, because 341 00:18:21.240 --> 00:18:22.880 I've done a lot of running in that park. 342 00:18:23.000 --> 00:18:25.480 Oh and it's a great place. Yeah. I mean, it's 343 00:18:25.720 --> 00:18:27.359 the other cool thing about Central Park that a lot 344 00:18:27.400 --> 00:18:29.759 of people don't realize. It was also very revolutionary about 345 00:18:29.759 --> 00:18:33.759 its designs. Is Frederick law Olmstad sunk the roadways, so 346 00:18:33.799 --> 00:18:37.119 he knew that carriages and eventually cars would have to 347 00:18:37.160 --> 00:18:40.559 pass through the park. But rather than have roads cutting 348 00:18:40.559 --> 00:18:42.799 through the park and interrupting your ability to run or 349 00:18:42.799 --> 00:18:46.720 walk or enjoy it, the roads actually go underneath the park, 350 00:18:46.799 --> 00:18:50.079 not as tunnels per se. There are some tunnels, so 351 00:18:50.119 --> 00:18:52.759 you never have that disruption of being in the park 352 00:18:52.799 --> 00:18:54.559 or having to cross the street. Well they're actually now 353 00:18:54.599 --> 00:18:56.599 you do sometimes, but they close it on the weekends 354 00:18:56.640 --> 00:18:59.440 at least, so that makes it really special. And it 355 00:18:59.440 --> 00:19:02.279 does have some formal gardens. The Conservatory Garden in Central 356 00:19:02.279 --> 00:19:04.720 Park is way way up in the upper east side 357 00:19:04.720 --> 00:19:06.960 in the one hundreds, so a lot of people don't 358 00:19:06.960 --> 00:19:09.359 go up there, but it is a lovely formal garden. And then, 359 00:19:09.319 --> 00:19:12.359 of course there's a Shakespeare Garden, which I think is 360 00:19:12.599 --> 00:19:15.559 famous to the point of notorious for being the introduction 361 00:19:15.680 --> 00:19:17.799 point of the European starling. 362 00:19:18.000 --> 00:19:22.079 Yeah, so my word, yeah, I'll just leave it. 363 00:19:22.359 --> 00:19:24.160 Yes, I know we could go on about that, but. 364 00:19:24.599 --> 00:19:26.200 We're great stories about that. 365 00:19:26.240 --> 00:19:31.039 There are one. Eugene Chieflin introduced sixty birds in eighteen nineties. 366 00:19:31.519 --> 00:19:34.960 Mistake in sixty starlings he introduced. I guess he didn't 367 00:19:34.960 --> 00:19:36.359 think he did a good enough job, because the next 368 00:19:36.440 --> 00:19:40.400 year he introduced forty more and from those one hundred starlings, 369 00:19:40.440 --> 00:19:42.759 we now have starlings everywhere. 370 00:19:42.799 --> 00:19:46.559 So and farmers nationwide thank him exactly. 371 00:19:46.720 --> 00:19:51.119 So so much interesting history there in Central Park that 372 00:19:51.200 --> 00:19:53.720 I think again is very easy to forget when you're 373 00:19:53.759 --> 00:19:58.039 strolling those beautiful lays and pathways, and there's just so 374 00:19:58.319 --> 00:20:00.720 much to see and explore in Central So if you 375 00:20:00.759 --> 00:20:02.599 are going to Central Park, New York City this year, 376 00:20:03.039 --> 00:20:06.480 don't limit yourself to the big, splashy things that everybody 377 00:20:06.559 --> 00:20:08.720 does make sure you spend some time to explore the 378 00:20:08.759 --> 00:20:11.440 whole park now briefly before we take yet another break. 379 00:20:11.480 --> 00:20:13.519 These times are going so fast, like the fastest ten 380 00:20:13.559 --> 00:20:17.519 minutes ever. I want to talk quickly about Utermeyer Gardens 381 00:20:17.960 --> 00:20:21.559 because this is a very interesting sort of American rebirth 382 00:20:21.839 --> 00:20:26.240 success story. So these gardens were started back in the 383 00:20:26.319 --> 00:20:29.480 late eighteen hundreds early nineteen hundreds by Samuel earned Untermeyer, 384 00:20:29.880 --> 00:20:34.480 who was a lawyer. He was actually the first attorney 385 00:20:34.640 --> 00:20:38.680 to win a million dollar case, the first time to 386 00:20:38.680 --> 00:20:42.440 ever have a million dollars involved in a lawsuit. So 387 00:20:42.480 --> 00:20:44.200 he obviously was a very wealthy man. 388 00:20:44.319 --> 00:20:48.359 Did he have a billboard? Forget it? Keep going? 389 00:20:49.240 --> 00:20:53.079 So the great thing about him, in addition to being 390 00:20:53.640 --> 00:20:57.400 a wonderful, obviously successful lawyer, he was extremely passionate about 391 00:20:57.440 --> 00:21:01.400 horticulture and he built a garden for himself and his 392 00:21:01.440 --> 00:21:05.359 family beautiful, which was absolutely beautiful, and he was just 393 00:21:05.599 --> 00:21:08.519 complete his goal. His stated goal when he started building 394 00:21:08.559 --> 00:21:11.519 the garden was that it would be the finest in America, 395 00:21:11.559 --> 00:21:14.720 and it probably was and over time. This is in Yonkers, 396 00:21:14.759 --> 00:21:16.680 New York, so just kind of north of Wave Hill. 397 00:21:17.599 --> 00:21:19.599 You probably need a car if you're coming from the city. 398 00:21:19.640 --> 00:21:23.039 But you can probably take an uber. It fell into 399 00:21:23.039 --> 00:21:25.599 complete disrepair. I mean, the whole park despite all of 400 00:21:25.599 --> 00:21:30.960 these amazing structures, and everything that remained got overgrown, got 401 00:21:31.000 --> 00:21:35.200