Love Song for the Vineyard Lawn with Vineyard Conservation Society

On Tuesday, April 9th at 5:30pm, join us at the Vineyard Haven Public Library for a presentation about Vineyard Lawns with Sam Look, Executive Director of the Vineyard Conservation Society. Learn the basics of having a lawn that’s safe for children, pets, and ponds. 

A Vineyard Lawn uses no pesticides, no chemical fertilizers, and only occasional watering if truly necessary. Mixed grass varieties and native plantings are hardier, better adapted to local conditions, and require less time and attention. And a Vineyard Lawn will always be safe for kids, pets, and wildlife – no need to check product labels and Google for the latest news on potential health effects.

In addition to the presentation, come see the Vineyard Conservation Society’s “Vineyard Lawns” display at the library throughout the month of April. This includes a 3-panel display (a blue ribbon winner at the Fair!), educational handouts, and book recommendations. 

Virtual Event: Not Your Mother's Garden with Deborah Chud

 

[Online] 6 pm Wednesday April 5th
Not Your Mother's Garden with Deborah Chud

In “Not Your Mother’s Garden”, Deborah Chud takes the audience on a photo tour of her highly unusual Piet-Oudolf-style New Perennial garden and describes the design principles underlying it. Many of the plants are unfamiliar—even to experienced and knowledgeable gardeners. These “New Perennials” were all taken from a distinctive, non-traditional canon of plants, and they exhibit the naturalistic qualities valued by the New Perennialists. What’s new about New Perennials, and what can they do for you? Walk through her garden with her to find out.

Deborah Chud is a retired Massachusetts physician turned garden maker, consultant and
educator. Her 6 years of research on New Perennial gardens, including NY’s High Line,
Chicago’s Lurie Garden, the Oudolf Meadow at Deleware Botanic Gardens, and Oudolf Garden Detroit, generated the most comprehensive existing database of New Perennial plant
combinations and led to the creation of her own highly unusual New Perennial garden. In the
fall of 2020, she presented her work as part of “Piet Oudolf: How Does He Do It?”--an
international event organized by Piet Oudolf’s co-author, Noel Kingsbury, under the aegis of
gardenmasterclass.org.

She has also presented to members of the following institutions and organizations: Massachusetts Horticultural Society, Harvard’s Arnold Arboretum, the United States Botanical Garden in Washington, D.C., the Ecological Landscape Alliance, the Northwest Perennial Alliance, Toronto Botanical Garden, and Delaware Botanic Gardens. The latter 2 public gardens contain Piet Oudolf-designed sections. She lives in Chestnut Hill, MA and spends most of her time consulting and coaching home gardeners—both in person and virtually.

This exciting workshop is brought to you by the West Tisbury and Vineyard Haven libraries.

Please contact vhpl_programs@clamsnet.org for the Zoom link.

Virtual Event: Birdscaping with Joan Butler

 

7 pm Monday May 16
Virtual: Birdscaping: Home Sweet Habitat

This beautifully illustrated program sponsored by Martha's Vineyard Libraries explores the importance of creating welcoming habitats for birds through thoughtful landscape choices, including native plants vital for food and nesting sites. Learn about the benefits and joys of creating beautiful layered gardens designed for avian – and human! – habitat.

Presented by Master Gardener Joan Butler, an enthusiastic gardener and birder for over 30 years. Her gardens have been included on several garden tours and feature exciting plant combinations and dramatic horticultural specimens. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Geology from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and a Certificate in Landscape Management from UMass Extension Green School.  Register

Special Event: The Gardens of Piet Oudolf

 

Five Seasons: The Gardens of Piet Oudolf
A Film by Thomas Piper
Virtual Event : Filmmaker Q & A on Friday, May 21st at 2pm
Open Screening: Mon. May 17 - Sun. May 23
 
“For me, garden design isn’t just about plants, it is about emotion, atmosphere, a sense of contemplation. You try to move people with what you do. You look at this, and it goes deeper than what you see. It reminds you of something in the genes — nature, or the longing for nature.” – Piet Oudolf
    
We are showcasing the work of the brilliant landscape designer Piet Oudolf this month with a virtual screening of Thomas Piper’s documentary on the Dutch genius, Five Seasons, between Monday, May 17 and Sunday, May 23. The screening will be accompanied by a Q&A with the filmmaker on Friday, May 21 at 2pm.

Five Seasons is an immersive and meditative documentary that reveals how the revolutionary landscape designer Piet Oudolf upends our conventional notions of nature, public space, and ultimately, beauty itself. 

After completing a feature documentary on New York’s High Line, award-winning filmmaker Thomas Piper met the inspirational designer and plantsman, Piet Oudolf, and the idea for a new project was born. The documentary, FIVE SEASONS: The Gardens of Piet Oudolf, immerses viewers in Oudolf’s work and takes us inside his creative process, from his beautifully abstract sketches, to theories on beauty, to the ecological implications of his ideas.

Intimate discussions take place through all fours seasons in Piet’s own gardens at Hummelo, and on visits to his signature public works in New York, Chicago, and the Netherlands, as well as to the far-flung locations that inspire his genius, including desert wildflowers in West Texas and post-industrial forests in Pennsylvania.

As a narrative thread, the film also follows Oudolf as he designs and installs a major new garden at Hauser & Wirth Somerset, a gallery and arts center in Southwest England, a garden he considers his best work yet.

Piet Oudolf has radically redefined what gardens can be. As Rick Darke, the famous botanist, says to Piet in the film, “your work teaches us to see what we have been unable to see.” Through poetic cinematography and unique access, FIVE SEASONS will reveal all that Piet sees, and celebrate all that we as viewers have been unable to see.

This program is co-sponsored by the Friends of the Edgartown Free Public Library and the Chilmark, West Tisbury, Oak Bluffs, and Vineyard Haven libraries.

Request the link to the film and the Zoom link to the filmmaker’s Q&A  by contacting library program coordinator Anne McDonough amcdonough@clamsnet.org

Regenerative Backyard Gardening: Gardens of the Future

Island libraries are partnering with Island Grown on a free garden workshop series, taking place on three winter Saturdays from 10:30 am to noon. The first session takes place at Oak Bluffs Public Library on January 19th. Additional sessions will be held February 16th at West Tisbury Library and March 23rd at Vineyard Haven Library.

Winter is the perfect time to dream about (and plan for) a garden that nourishes people, wildlife, and the planet. Learn how to use regenerative gardening practices to grow edible plants, conserve water, eliminate your use of fossil fuels, and make compost in your own backyard. This free series will be hosted on three winter Saturdays at different island libraries.

This free series will be facilitated by Roxanne Kapitan, Landscape Manger at Oakleaf Landscape, and an organic grower for Middletown Nursery. For more information, contact Noli Taylor, noli@igimv.org or (508) 687-9062.

Vineyard Haven Library Adult Lecture Series: Programs for July

Tuesday, July 9th, 7 pm
David Rathbun: Building the Beautiful Garden
David Rathbun, one of the principle designers at Aquaterra Design Group will cover topics in his lecture such as assessing a site and it's architecture, choosing the appropriate style and understanding site lines, soils, microclimate, scale and suitable plants. We hope that by the end of the evening you will have the basics to begin planning a new garden or to renovate an old one.

Tuesday, July 16th, 7 pm
Phil Weinstein: Becoming Jonathan Franzen - A Writer's Odyssey
Philip Weinstein, Aquinnah summer resident and the Alexander Griswold Cummins Professor of English at Swarthmore College, will present a discussion of the award-winning work of Jonathan Franzen.

Tuesday, July 23, 7 pm
Jeremy D'Entremont: The Lighthouses of New England and the People Who Kept them
Jeremy D'Entremont has been called the leading expert on New England's historic lighthouses. Jeremy is the historian for the American Lighthouse Foundation and the founder of Friends of Portsmouth Harbor Lighthouses. He has appeared on the History Channel, the Travel Channel, Public Television, and National Public Radio speaking about lighthouses and other subjects. He is the author of nine books and most recently the co-author of Everyday Heroes: The True Story of a Lighthouse Family, the story of Seamond Roberts and her life as she grew up in the Cuttyhunk and West Chop Lighthouses.


Please note, there will be no program on Tuesday, July 30th.