Finding beauty in Olmsted projects, large and small

DESIGN YOUR BACKYARD. REVISITED ONE SUCH PROPERTY ON THE NORTH SHORE TO >> IMAGINE THIS IS YOUR BACKYARD. >> THIS WAS ONE OF THE FIRST RESIDENTIAL PROPERTIES HE DESIGNED AND ONE OF THE BEST PRESERVED. >> ON WENHAM LAKE IN BEVERLY IS A MARINE FARM, SON DAPPLED AND RESPLENDENT WITH FLOWERS. HARD TO BELIEVE THIS WAS ALL CAREFULLY PLANNED BY FREDERICK LAW OLMSTED SAYS LUCINDA. >> THAT IS ALWAYS THE MOMENT I KNOW I AM IN AND OLMSTED LANDSCAPE BECAUSE IT IS BEAUTIFULLY CARE RELATED AND CAREFUL — BEAUTIFULLY CURATED AND CAREFULLY ARTICULATED >> >>. SHE IS A LANDSCAPE HISTORIAN. IN EARLY 2022, THE TRUSTEES PURCHASED MUCH OF THE FARM WHICH IS PARTLY OWNED BY A PRIVATE SCHOOL. >> YOU CAN WALK ALMOST ALL OF THIS 175 ACRES AND NOT EVEN KNOW A SMALL GARDEN HERE. >> IN 1880, OLMSTED BEGAN THE PROJECT FOR BUSINESSMEN JOHN C PHILLIPS AND HIS FAMILY. OR INFORM SET THE STANDARD FOR DESIGNING AND OLMSTED HE AND ESTATE. >> THERE ARE ABOUT 150 TO 200 PROPERTIES THEY CAN CREDIT TO FREDERICK LAW OLMSTED SEN IOR. THE REST ARE CREDITED TO HIS SONS AND THE FIRMS THAT FOLLOWED BEHIND HIM. >> SO THIS LITTLE SLICE OF PARADISE IS ATYPICAL OF OLMSTED. >> THAT IS EXACTLY RIGHT. HE WAS NOT A FAN OF LOTS OF FLOWER GARDENS BUT HE DID DESIGNED THIS GARDEN BECAUSE THIS IS PHILLIPS WANTED TO HAVE A CUTTING GARDEN SO ALL THE CLIENTS IN 1880 WANTED TO HAVE FRESH FLOWERS THEY COULD RING IN AND PUT ON THE TABLES. >> OLMSTED DID INCLUDE WHAT HAVE BECOME HIS TRADEMARK. THICKETS, MEANDERING PATHS AND SLOPE MEADOWS. >> THERE WERE NO TREES AROUND. THIS WAS A BARREN HILLSIDE. HOMESTEAD COMPLAINED ABOUT THE QUALITY OF THE SOIL BECAUSE IT HAD BEEN SO DETERIORATED BY SO MUCH FARMING FOR SO LONG. >> OLMSTED’S VISION F FOR THE FARM IS FULLY REALIZED TODAY AFTER A CENTURY AND A HALF OF GROWTH. THE PROPERTY WILL BE OPEN TO THE PARK AFTER SHE AND HER TEAM PREPARE IT FOR ACCESS. >>>> THERE ARE MOMENTS THAT ARE VERY CONTEMPLATIVE. THERE ARE MOMENTS YOU WANT TO HURRY TO WALK THROUGH . THERE IS THE GARDEN WHICH IS HITTING COM PLETELY FROM VIEW THAT IS A VERY DIFFERENT EXPERIENCE. YOU CAN NEVER SEE ALL OF THEM IN A SINGLE PLACE. THESE ARE LANDSCAPES YOU HAVE TO WONDER AND YOU HAVE TO EXPERIENCE FOR YOURSELF TO IT APPRECIATE THEM — TO APPRECIATE THEM. ♪ >> YOU ‘RE GOING TO SEE HOW THE DIFFERENT SHADES OF GREEN THERE CAN BE IN SPACE. >> AS WELL AS A VIRTUAL RING BLOW LOOMING FULL FORCE AT THE ARNOLD ARBORETUM IN JAMAICA PLAIN. IN OTHER OLMSTED DESIGN. >> SOMETHING MAGICAL HAPPENS WHEN YOU WALK THROUGH THE ARNOLD ARBORETUM SHOULD ALLOW THE PATHWAYS TO GUIDE YOU. LISTEN. >> SINCE OPENING IN 1872, THE ARBORETUM HAS BEEN FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC EVERY DAY FROM DAWN TO DUSK. >> IT IS A BEAUTIFUL DAY. WHAT BETTER PLACE TO BE IN NEW ENGLAND RIGHT NOW? >> EACH YEAR, TWO OF 3 MILLION VISITORS STROLLED THESE 280 ACRES WHICH ARE PART OF BOSTON’S EMERALD NECKLACE. >> I GREW UP ON A FARM, WAS ALWAYS OUT PLAYING IN THE WOODS, CLIMBING TREES. I WOULD NOT BE HERE NOW IF I DID NOT HAVE THAT EXPERIENCE. YOU CAN SEE IT WAS TH E 490TH PLANT OF 1981. >> MICHAEL IS A HORTICULTURALIST WITH A FANCY TITLE. HE IS THE ARBORETUM’S KEEPER OF THE LIVING COLLECTIONS. >>>> WE ARE SPECIALIZED BOTANICAL GARDEN. WE HAVE ROUGHLY 16,000 TREES, SHRUBS AND VINES FROM THROUGHOUT THE TEMPORAL WORLD. NORTH AMERICA, EUROPE, ASIA. >> A UNIQUE PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN THE CITY OF BOSTON AND HARVARD UNIVERSITY ALLOWS THE ARBORETUM TO FUNCTION AS A CITY PARK AND A RESEARCH INSTITUTION. >> SCHOLARS FROM AROUND THE WORLD SOMETIMES ARE DOING PLANT GENOMICS. OTHER TIMES THERE MIGHT BE A HORTICULTURALIST INTERESTED IN STUDYING OUR TREES TO SEE HOW THEY RESPOND TO DROUGHT OR COLD. THEY WILL COLLECT SEEDS AND BRING THEM BACK HERE TO CULTIVATE AND GROW. >> HE SAYS THERE IS A LOT TO LEARN FROM THIS FRESH AIR LABORATORY . >> A TREE CANOPY IS A CENTRAL. IT IS ESSENTIAL FOR COOLING OUR CITIES, MITIGATING STORMWATER THAT OCCURS. IT IS ALSO IMPORTANT FOR THE SOCIAL BENEFITS. PEOPLE NEED PLANTS. WE SHOULD DO EVERYTHING WE CAN TO CREATE NEW PARKS, TO CREAT E MORE CORRIDORS OF STREET TREES AND BECOME A MORE VIBRANT URBAN GREEN SPACE. ANTHONY: THE ARBORETUM IS CELEBRATING ITS OWN ANNIVERSARY THIS YEAR. 150 YEARS. CONGRATULATIONS TO THEM SHOULD SHAYNA: BACK TO THE TRUSTEES OF THE FARM, A FUN FACT FOR YOU. OLMSTED WAS A MENTOR TO CHARLES ELLIOTT. HE WAS A LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT WHO FOUNDED THE TRUSTEES IN 1891 AND THEY RECENTLY TOOK OVER THE PROPERTY

Finding beauty in Olmsted projects, large and small

From the Arnold Arboretum in Boston, to a rare residential design on the North Shore

Updated: 8:05 PM EDT Aug 29, 2022

Creating common ground was the mission of Frederick Law Olmsted, founder of American landscape architecture. The year 2022 marks the bicentennial of Olmsted’s birth and his epic impact across North America. Shayna Seymour visits a rare, perfectly-preserved residential property designed by Frederick Law Olmsted , on Boston’s North Shore. Moraine Farm is now the property of a nonprofit, The Trustees. Arnold Arboretum, another Olmsted design, is a world-renowned outdoor laboratory for plants and flowers.

Creating common ground was the mission of Frederick Law Olmsted, founder of American landscape architecture. The year 2022 marks the bicentennial of Olmsted’s birth and his epic impact across North America.

Shayna Seymour visits a rare, perfectly-preserved residential property designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, on Boston’s North Shore. Moraine Farm is now the property of a nonprofit, The Trustees.

Arnold Arboretum, another Olmsted design, is a world-renowned outdoor laboratory for plants and flowers.