February 18, 2006 Arbor Day Celebration at Autrey Mill
Nature Preserve
A light rainy day and
we had just finished planting the Chionanthus virginicus dedicated to
Lynne Riley, Fulton County Commissioner, by her family on this celebrated Arbor
Day. It was such a nice tree, carefully chosen by Master Gardener and board
member Jim Perry and perfectly located in the small garden at the Mill’s
showcase building the Summerour House (circa 1880). A few of us were standing
underneath the arbor chatting and hoping that the overgrown ‘Carolina Jessamine’
would shield us from any errant raindrops. I boldly stated that we could really
do something great in this little garden area, and asked if we could get some
additional funding for a project. Then I had an idea! I could do a design for
the garden and see if it would fit into a requirement I had for a final project
for one of my classes at Gwinnett Technical College and also be doing someone a
service, that someone being Autrey Mill.
Jim gathered a few more board
members under the arbor and asked if Autrey Mill would mind if I did a garden
design for the Summerour Farmhouse. Mind? Of course Autrey Mill didn’t mind.
As a matter of fact, the board at Autrey Mill had been talking about renovating
the Summerour Farmhouse garden for the past year. A couple of the Autrey Mill
board members were also asked to gather under the arbor and a project was born.
“Countless volunteer hours have been
spent renovating the building. The walls, ceilings and floors had been faux
painted by interior design students, which has turned the once worn out
farmhouse into a thing of beauty, but the gardens had become dated. With only
a few exceptions the existing gardens were installed with pass along plants
from all of our gardens or whatever plants were available at the time. This
was sufficient while the house was undergoing renovation, but the gardens now
looked shabby and not in keeping with the house they were showcasing.”
March 2006
A few weeks later…I found myself in the throws of my new class in “Garden
Design” and interviewing the director and the education coordinator at Autrey
Mill (AM) on the specific requirements of the garden, since the design plan
would have to be approved by the AM board of directors before being implemented,
possibly in the Fall of 2006. It was possible that the board would be able to
fund a portion of the new garden if it met their criteria. The following is a
list of wants and needs:
-We would like a Heritage garden of Native
Plants that were popular during the period and some herbs.
-We would like it to look great for weddings and
events in the spring and the fall.
-We would like to have a seating area to put
chairs out in the garden for weddings. We have a hard time getting grass to
grow in the open area.
-We need to have access from the gates on either
side of the front garden.
-It would be nice to have a master plan so that
we could landscape the entire house (with natives) when we get some grant money.
-We are planning to raise the arbor up about 2
feet.
-We would like to keep the hedge of hollies that
currently exist.
-We would like to keep the wax myrtle (needs
major shaping) and newly installed ‘Grancey Graybeard’ (a native).
-Try to utilize some of the plants that exist in
the garden now.
Iris, sedum, lavender, boxwood, climbing roses,
thyme, daylilies, clematis (unknown), butterfly bush, daisy and the old bricks
that surround the current beds.
-There is no irrigation currently and Fulton
County will mow the grass every 14-20 days.
Ok, so no small task, but it could be done. At this
point, I thought it was time I talked to my professor, Dr. Richard Ludwig at
Gwinnett Tech, about the potential for using this as a final project in this
class. He agreed. It was a fine idea, but I needed to do a full house design as
well as the small garden design to fulfill the requirement for class. No
problem I thought, we could include it as a long-term project for a full
renovation of the house, an extra bonus for Autrey Mill and the Summerour House.
April and May 2006
Over the next couple of months I went out and
measured the garden inside and outside the picket fence, the house, the woods,
and the space between buildings. Then I started researching plants that had
been available during the time the house had been built and used as a farmhouse
for the original owner Charles William Summerour, his wife and 7 children.
While reading all I could about the plants available at
that time, I got into the history of the discovery of a number of native
plants. I ended up writing a paper on the influences of the various cultures
and people on southern gardens. The book I enjoyed the most was; The
Southern Heirloom Garden, The Heritage, The Plants, The Designs; by William
C. Welch and Greg Grant, Taylor Publishing, Dallas, TX.
I ended up with a plant list that dated plants back in time
to their introduction into American nurseries and seed catalogs, quite a task
but very rewarding.
June 6, 2006
9 am, I am off to class to do my final presentation of the garden
design and landscape plan of the Summerour House. I had finally finished my
colored, overhead plan view of the garden and the house at 11 pm the night
before, and put the final details in my paper, printed new copies of the plant
list and I was finished. The presentation went well and I was relieved and
elated to be done. Oh, by the way, I got an A.
June 8, 2006
I had a day off to revel in my accomplishments, and now I was to
present my design to the Autrey Mill Board of Directors at 8 pm. Just a little
nervous, I presented the garden design and ‘Phase 2’ landscape design a little
after 9 pm. There was much discussion about the sitting area and using gravel,
which became an issue that would be further discussed at a later date. It was
unanimously approved for installation beginning in October 2006, provided
sufficient funding could be obtained. Autrey Mill agreed to provide as much as
$1500.00 to the renovation and also agreed to have me oversee the project.
Well, I did need another project to implement for my internship…
June 13, 2006
A third presentation occurred five days later at the North Fulton Master
Gardener Board meeting where again, to unanimous approval, the NFMG board agreed
to donate $2,000 to help fund the project. I would agree to spend the money on
good soil preparation and an irrigation system, because ‘there was no sense in
planting all those perennials and having them die over the brutal summers’. I
agreed to look into and obtain costs. The main topic of discussion here was the
vines and or roses to use on the arbor. Everyone had their favorites and we
could not come up with one that all agreed upon. One thing we knew was that the
overgrown, out of control ‘Gelsemium sempervirens’ would be removed.
July, 2006
Researching the cost of hardscape materials, labor and irrigation was
quite frustrating. While material prices were easy to obtain, finding
contractors to provide cost estimates for the labor was quite a lesson in
patience and stamina.
Jim found that the Georgia Master Gardener Association was
offering grants for Master Gardener Projects and so we set out to write the
grant application. Fortunately, I had a lot of what was needed to satisfy the
grant criteria, I put together the cost estimate. We decided to ask for the
cost of all the native and historical plant material. The grant application was
submitted by the July 15, 2006 deadline.
September 2006
The coming of the fall began preparation for grading and removal of the
old plant material from the garden. On one of our workdays, the NFMG helped to
dig up the old plants and place them in containers in a holding area, some of
which would be re-used in the new garden and some relocated to other places
around the Nature Preserve.
September 30,2006 a group of people from Hands-on-Atlanta
was scheduled to help out at Autrey Mill. Some of their tasks were; to remove
all the old brick that was lining the beds in the existing garden, remove the
vine over the arbor and relocate a large butterfly bush. We planned to reuse
the brick to outline the seating area rosettes, so the brick was washed and
stacked ready to be reinstalled in the new garden.
October, 2006
Our grant request from GMGA was approved!
Fill soil, flagstone, gravel, and sand were delivered to
the job site in preparation for installation in the garden. Installation was to
begin on the 8th but was delayed due to the contractors schedule so
rescheduled for the following week, then the week after, then…. Unfortunately,
we had to find another contractor that was more reputable. Added that
experience to more lessons learned.
November, 2006
Mushroom compost, soil amendment and mulch were delivered
in anticipation of the new hardscape being installed. Followed on November 29
by a crew of workers who graded the garden area and installed the flagstone and
old brick and gravel onto the seating areas of the garden on either side of the
main walk to the front porch of the Summerour House. Before the beds could be
prepped we had a downpour. So much for paid labor.
December, 2006
Talk about being in the right place at the right time…
While out at Autrey Mill, I ran into the Environmental Education Director for N.
Fulton County and described what we were doing for the house and gardens. She
was impressed and happy to see the Master Gardeners involved. By the time I got
home I had an email requesting that I send over the plant list and she would see
if there were any plants she could help us with. Another bonus for our garden!
This would be a welcome addition since the major shrubs would be a part of our
Phase 2 plan.
December 19 heralded the arrival of the Oak Leaf
Hydrangeas, Snowball Viburnum, Calicarpa, Azaleas, Gardenias, blueberry bushes,
and all other large shrubs on our plant list, donated by Fulton County. Our
Phase 2 was almost completely provided for, even before the garden work was
done. We decided to rest over the holidays.
January 3, 2007
North Fulton Master Gardeners and a few high school
students that I recruited gathered at Autrey Mill and using tillers, shovels and
mattocks amended the planting beds with the mushroom compost and soil amendments
previously delivered.
Happy New Year to Autrey Mill!
February 7, 2007
Our first of many scheduled workdays planned for the garden
renovation began at 10 am. North Fulton Master Gardeners gathered again to begin
planting the larger shrubs around the perimeter of the garden. But, time and
energy ran out before completion, and a second workday was called for February
27 to complete that phase of the planting.
March 6, 2007
It was time to do the main part of the garden. I visited
Saul’s Nursery in Alpharetta and was able to purchase most of the rest of the
plants for the garden. I filled my SUV and another van with plants and
delivered them to Autrey Mill. We spent the morning laying out the plants in
preparation for the next day, when the bulk of the garden was to be planted.
March 7 arrived cool, but sunny, and so did the NFMGs. The day was spent
installing the rest of the plants and mulching the beds. The garden was looking
good.
March 9, 2007
Of course timing is everything and our contractor was able
to come out and install the irrigation system, only a couple of days late. The
Master Gardener’s took a break while I hovered over the laborers to ensure they
did not damage our precious plantings. They were very thoughtful and we only
needed a few more bags of mulch to cover over areas that were disturbed.
March 21, 2007
A few of the NFMG gathered for a final touch up of the
garden. We replenished the mulch disturbed by the installation of the
irrigation system, planted containers by the front porch and the entrance gate.
The garden was finished and it looked wonderful.
April 4, 2007
I am now on Spring Break, happy to have the garden
completed in just over a year, with-in budget! What a great example of how a
simple question can lead to a proposal to fill a need. A class project turned
out to fulfill a real life need at one of the NFMG projects. Grants from GMGA,
NFMG, and Autrey Mill Nature Preserve, the donation of plant material from
Fulton County, and the volunteer efforts of the NFMGs combined to bring a dream
to reality. It all started at the Arbor Day celebration that dreary day in
February 2006.
I would like to thank Jim Perry, NFMG Autrey Mill Project
Director, for his encouragement, support and efforts in helping to coordinate
and negotiate many aspects of this project and to help see it to completion.
The Autrey Mill Nature Preserve and Heritage
Center is a 46 acre nature preserve in North Fulton County with about two miles
of trails and ten historic buildings, all of which were either on the property
originally or were moved onto the property from within about a five mile radius
of Autrey Mill. The buildings, dating back to the mid 1800s, are undergoing
renovation and are being used for educational programs at the nature preserve.
Since the year 2000, the North Fulton Master
Gardeners have spent hundreds of hours developing and maintaining the gardens at
Autrey Mill.
Christine Hettinger, North Fulton Master Gardener |
