An annual rite of spring to celebrate Isabella Stewart Gardner’s April birthday is the elegant display of hanging nasturtiums at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum located near the Fens in Boston. I have visited the museum many times over the years, but this was the first time it coincided with the nasturtium display.
When I stopped taking pictures for a moment, I noticed a woman delicately working one of the vines. I introduced myself and told her about the Grantham Garden Club, that I'd be posting a blog about the nasturtiums, and asked if I could take pictures of her working. Sydney is one of the seven horticulturists who works full time for the museum. As she continued deadheading, Sydney graciously answered all my questions. When I asked her how long it takes to deadhead the plants she told me she is never really done. Spoken like a true gardener.
The museum has greenhouses in Hingham, Massachusetts where the nasturtiums are grown from seed. It takes nine months for the vines to reach their impressive 20 feet. That’s nine months of close care by the horticulture staff. They grow the variety called 'gleam.' Although they come in many colors, Isabella chose a particular shade of orange which has been the color used by the museum for over a century. As the seedlings grow, any that don't have the particular shade of orange that Isabella so loved are culled.
After a few weeks of warming spring weather, the decision is made to move them to the museum which is quite an undertaking. Each of the 18 plants weighs about 50 pounds but has to be handled with care by an army of staff and volunteers. I imagine their collective breaths are held as the vines reach each stage of transportation—from the greenhouse to the truck—to the museum—draped on the museum floors, carried to the third floor, lowered from the windows. Sigh ;-)
The nasturtium are on display at the Gardner for three short weeks. This year’s will be removed on April 14. The Dunbar Free Library offers discounted tickets. (The library is my go to place when I’m planning museum trips so here’s a big thank you to the Friends of the Library.) If you can’t visit this year, there’s a dedicated group of people who are going to make it all happen again next year, and the next, and...
When I stopped taking pictures for a moment, I noticed a woman delicately working one of the vines. I introduced myself and told her about the Grantham Garden Club, that I'd be posting a blog about the nasturtiums, and asked if I could take pictures of her working. Sydney is one of the seven horticulturists who works full time for the museum. As she continued deadheading, Sydney graciously answered all my questions. When I asked her how long it takes to deadhead the plants she told me she is never really done. Spoken like a true gardener.
The museum has greenhouses in Hingham, Massachusetts where the nasturtiums are grown from seed. It takes nine months for the vines to reach their impressive 20 feet. That’s nine months of close care by the horticulture staff. They grow the variety called 'gleam.' Although they come in many colors, Isabella chose a particular shade of orange which has been the color used by the museum for over a century. As the seedlings grow, any that don't have the particular shade of orange that Isabella so loved are culled.
After a few weeks of warming spring weather, the decision is made to move them to the museum which is quite an undertaking. Each of the 18 plants weighs about 50 pounds but has to be handled with care by an army of staff and volunteers. I imagine their collective breaths are held as the vines reach each stage of transportation—from the greenhouse to the truck—to the museum—draped on the museum floors, carried to the third floor, lowered from the windows. Sigh ;-)
The nasturtium are on display at the Gardner for three short weeks. This year’s will be removed on April 14. The Dunbar Free Library offers discounted tickets. (The library is my go to place when I’m planning museum trips so here’s a big thank you to the Friends of the Library.) If you can’t visit this year, there’s a dedicated group of people who are going to make it all happen again next year, and the next, and...
Sydney painstakingly tending one of the 18 plants
