Emily Dickinson Museum Landscape Renovation
Nineteenth Century Village Landscape Features Unite Historic Homes
Jul 18, 2009
The project to reestablish a 19th century village landscape setting for the Homestead and Evergreens properties along Main Street began in February 2009. Appearance of the site's southern border as it was during the lifetime (1830 – 1886) of Emily Dickinson (Photo #1) now approaches a midsummer 2009 completion.
Six Months of Progress
Removal of 900' long, out–of–control and diseased hemlock hedge planted in the 1860s and bordering volunteer plants was a dramatic beginning to the project. A new concrete foundation now forms the base for reset stone steps leading from in front of the Homestead down to the street. Also rebuilt was the granite coping wall in front of the Homestead adjacent to the sidewalk.
A spindle–type fence is to stand directly in front of the Homestead above the coping while a picket fence fronts the remainder of the three-acre-site. Planted behind the fence are 190 young hemlocks that form a new hedge. Installation of pedestrian gates reproduced from elements still in the museum’s collection is the project's final segment.
Project Goals
Jane Wald, Executive Director of the Emily Dickinson Museum, during an interview on July 10, 2009 at The Homestead, described the goals of this initial phase of the restoration project. They are:
- Bringing back the important public landscape features which call to mind Dickinson's domestic environment;
- Unifying the Homestead and the Evergreens into a single historical site;
- Providing identifiable features that make Museum buildings easy for visitors to find;
- Linking the Museum property to Amherst Center and making it visually accessible; and
- Controlling existing plants that border Main Street.
The Hedge
Martha Lyon, Northampton, MA landscape architect, designed the exterior hedge and fence project. Left untended for several decades, the hemlock hedge, planted in about 1860, grew out-of-control. (Photos #2 & 3)
According to Wald in a February 4, 2009 article "Emily Dickinson Museum Begins Hedge Restoration Project Early February..." in the Amherst College News Archive, a certified arborist confirmed the presence of wooly adelgid (Adelges tsugae) and hemlock scale (Fiorinia externa) infestations in the hemlock trees in 2008. These infestations may have caused many of the trees to die according to Wald. The hedge became a potentially dangerous threat to visitors and passersby.
Restoration plans called for replanting hemlocks along the south side despite the presence of many of these two insects in the Amherst area. The rationale was that regular pruning and insect–preventive measures would control their reappearance.
Spacing for the new hemlocks replicates tree spacing for the old hedge behind the fence. The trees' ultimate height will be 6' to 8', which is 2' to 3' over the fence height. The idea is for the hemlocks to grow and close the distance between themselves and the fence, but not so close as to be unsafe or unhealthy. This new installation replicates the design shown in 1860–70 photos of The Homestead and The Evergreens (Photos #4 & 5)
According to Wald in the Amherst College Archive's article, historical clues indicate that the fence was already in place when the hedge was planted. She goes on to write that the original design intent for the hedge was to allow a clear view from the Dickinson homes across the neighboring Dickinson meadow toward the center of town, while shielding the gardens from casual view by passersby.
The Dickinsons maintained the hedge at a height of 6 to 10' until the end of the 19th century. Then, upon removal of the fences the hemlocks grew to heights of 30 to 50'. The overgrown hedge blocked views of the Dickinson houses on their elevated terraces and from the houses to the landscapes beyond.
Future of the Dickinson Garden Landscapes
Architect Martha Lyon is just now completing a Cultural Landscape Report for the Dickinson property. In preparing the report, Lyons searched studies of landscapes and grounds contemporary to 1840 – 1850, as well as writings and photographs. She will base her recommendations for further restoration of the Dickinson property on:
- Mention of existing conditions;
- Information about caretaking;
- Domestic uses; and
- Contemporary aesthetic values.
More Information
- Longsworth, Polly. "The World of Emily Dickinson." 1990. W. W. W. Norton & Company, New York, London. An annotated photographic summary of people and places in and around Amherst, MA that Emily Dickinson knew.
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