Dear Members and Friends of The Kelsey Arboretum,
We have all joyously noticed, spring has arrived in Boxford. At the Arboretum, the first blooms of the season on the Korean Rhododendrons have already arrived, soon to be gone. There is much more to come. The HSB Board hopes you take advantage of the beautiful spring weather to visit the Kelsey Arboretum in the next four to six weeks to fully appreciate and enjoy the unfolding diversity of blooming perennials that Harlan P. Kelsey included in his Highlands Nursery.
With this Newsletter we will bring you up to date on the Arboretum and our plans for the spring and summer. First, we are delighted to report that the Arboretum suffered no major damage over the winter months, which is especially gratifying given both the amount of snow we have had and the storms which brought it, along with high winds. In the last Newsletter we reported that we were removing four major trees, including two from Area C which had been damaged in the 2011 Halloween blizzard. This work has been completed, with much of the downed wood now in a rather large pile of wood chips in the parking area for use on the Arboretum’s trails.
The big project for the year will be completion of the planting of Area C which is on the northwest quadrant of the circular drive in the Arboretum, just to the east of the Heather Patch. Claudia Everest and her crew from North Land Design will be planting a variety of trees and shrubs in early May, including Mountain Ash, Kelsey Dogwoods, Witherod Viburnum, Barren Strawberry and a variety of Asters.
The hedge of White Spruce trees at the rear of Area C will be moved. We had initially intended these trees to replace the original row of Spruce trees, now dead and removed, that Kelsey had planted many years ago to delineate the edge of the demonstration/ show area from the rest of his nursery. The White Spruce trees will be moved about 10 feet further to the east, closer to the deer fence, in order to expand the area allotted to Area C. This work will complete our efforts in this part of the Arboretum, which began with the clearing of this area a few years ago.
We thank arborist Howard Gaffin who kindly volunteered a day of his time this spring to the Arboretum in honor of Arbor Day, celebrated this year in Boxford with the Boxford Village Garden Club on April 26. Howard will be “cabling” one of the primary Hemlock trees in the lawn area which is bifurcated at the base and likely to fall victim to high winds. There is another tree in the Arboretum which was “cabled” a number of years ago, which we would be happy to show you on one of your visits. It is hard to see, so let us be of assistance. Howard will also be removing several trees in the parking area and inner circle which are dying or already dead. Howard’s generosity is greatly appreciated and we encourage you to use his services whenever you are in need of an arborist (go to www.gaffintree.com).
Other work this summer will include the replacement of some our signage, especially the directional signs for the parking area, Heather Patch, and Hidden Alcove. We will also be replacing some of the wooden benches located throughout the show area which have become badly weathered.
We will continue our work at mosquito and tick control. Over the past two years we have placed Tick Tubes throughout the Arboretum. We will also continue to mow the meadow area to reduce the amount of habitat that ticks seem to like.
Nelson Chase, HSB Board member and Arboretum and Condo owner, states: “I am happy to report that in the many hours of work I did in the Arboretum over the entire summer, I only found two ticks crawling on me, so our efforts seem to be working! We will also be spraying again this summer to encourage our mosquitoes to move elsewhere.”
Finally, we continue to maintain the “triangle” at the corner of Kelsey Road and Route 97. The HSB Board took on this responsibility several years ago from the Town in exchange for the opportunity to place a directional sign for the Harlan P. Kelsey Arboretum. Members of our Board have already cleaned up the area this spring, repairing damage caused by snow plows pushing snow into the area as well as errant tire tracks left by drivers who miss the turn. We have also split and transplanted many of the day lilies that already populate the triangle. Minor upkeep is required during the summer for weed control, and we will always welcome volunteers to help with the maintenance of this area as well as of the Arboretum itself.
As to scheduled events this summer, this is what we have scheduled.
1. Blossom Day will be on Sunday, May 19 from 1:30 to 3:30 PM, with guided walks at 2 and 3 PM with our Docent and Board Chair, Nancy Merrill.
2. Our annual Trails and Sails event will be Sunday, September 29, with similar walks scheduled again at 2 and 3 PM.
3. Finally, and of special interest, we will have a table at the annual Boxford Apple Festival on Saturday, September 21, featuring Loren Wood, the conservator of the Arboretum, who will be signing copies of his soon-to-be-published book on the life, work and contributions of Harlan P. Kelsey, titled Beautiful Land of the Sky: John Muir’s Forgotten Counterpart – Harlan P. Kelsey.
We are continuing our efforts to interest more volunteers to become involved with the Kelsey Arboretum, either to help with pruning and maintenance or to serve on our Board of Directors. If either opportunity is of interest, please contact Nancy Merrill at 978-887-2194. Thank you for your continued interest and support. We hope to see you several times in the coming months enjoying the Arboretum!
Sincerely,
The Horticultural Society of Boxford, preserving and maintaining the Harlan P. Kelsey Arboretum