[MassHistPres] lecture announcement

[Cindy Brockway]

Thursday, February 11 at 7:00 pm, Program 

Historic Newton's 2010 Newton History Series, Roots in our History. The
series opening program, entitled Fruits of their Labors: The Kenrick
Nurseries Legacy for Today's Garden, will be given by award-winning
landscape designer and preservationist Lucinda A. Brockway. 

 

On Thursday, February 11 at 7:00 pm Historic Newton will present the first
in the 2010 Newton History Series programs at the Newton Free Library. The
series is called Roots in Our History. The opening lecture entitled, Fruits
of their Labors: The Kenrick Nurseries Legacy for Today's Garden, 

will be given by award-winning landscape designer and preservationist
Lucinda A. Brockway.

 

In his nursery catalog of 1831, William Kenrick boasted that his family
nursery was about 35 years old and "now without doubt, the oldest of note in
New England." At the time he couldn't have realized that the nursery would
continue beyond his 76 year lifespan (1796-1872). The Kenrick's "undeviating
principles of accuracy, of honor, and of rectitude" gained them the highest
reputation in the plant industry, and many of our most beloved fruit and
tree varieties, including many in our gardens today, first came to this
country through the Kenrick family nurseries. In 1796, their passion for
plants which began with "no other motive that the ornament and improvement
of a portion of [John Kenrick's] own lands," launched the family to the
heights of horticultural recognition. Today their Waverley Avenue home in
Newton, and the trees shading the streets of Farlow Hill, are fitting
tribute to their labors. 

 

Today's green movement asks us to "buy local." What better way to buy
locally than to celebrate the fruit and plant cultivars of the Kenrick
nurseries in our backyard gardens or on our local grocer's shelves! From
copper beeches to Belgian pears, there is something in their nursery lists
for everyone. The rich story of this family's passions makes each juicy bite
of a Van Mons pear even sweeter. 

 

Lucinda A. Brockway is principal and owner of Past Designs, a landscape
preservation and design firm in Kennebunk, Maine. Brockway serves a national
clientele, including The National Trust for Historic Preservation, The
Trustees of Reservations and numerous state and federal preservation
agencies. In addition, she has designed landscapes for private homes which
have been featured in Old House Journal, Victoria Magazine, Colonial Homes,
and Accent. She is an instructor for the National Preservation Institute,
offering courses in landscape preservation from South Carolina to Hawaii.
Her work has been recognized by the Garden Club of America, the American
Society of Landscape Architects, the Massachusetts Historic Commission and
others. She is the author of three books, A Favorite Place of Resort for
Strangers, Taking a Garden Public: Feasibility and Startup and Gardens of
the New Republic. 

 

For more information call the Newton Free Library at 617-796-1360. All
programs are free and open to the public, parking is free. The Newton Free
Library is handicap accessible.

 

 

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