Having seen a picture online for a recent project at the Polly Hill Arboretum, my six-year-old twin grand children were eager to go. The project by potter Bill O’Callahan and puppeteer Robin Tuck is really magical and I encourage anyone who has a little spare time to go and see it.
Upstairs in Polly Hill’s former home last week, Tim Boland pulled a manilla folder out of a cabinet labeled Flora of Dukes County, placed it on a table by the window and opened it up. Inside lay pages with delicately pressed plants and flowers. Notes marked the corners of each page, written on bright post-it notes.
A pint of beer is a science class in a glass. On the macro level, there are the biology and chemistry lessons: fungi and plants collide to kick-start the fermentation process that produces alcohol. And the individual characteristics of those fungi (yeast) and plants (hops and malt) each affect how a beer will taste.
Polly Hill Arboretum is everywhere this week. From pizza for plants at Flatbread to artistic renderings of nature, the arboretum promises to have you covered.
On Tuesday, July 9, a portion of all the evening pizza sales at Flatbread will benefit the arboretum. Polly Hill staff will be there and a chance to win a Polly Hill-grown plant is part of the event.
Polly Hill’s vision of growing an arboretum began in 1957 and the 70-acre garden that is her legacy first opened to the public 15 years ago. The mission of the Polly Hill Arboretum is simple; to share plant knowledge with students of all ages. Polly’s voice is still sometimes heard on the local NPR station saying, “Educate yourself. Learn. That’s the fun. The learning is the fun.”
If trees could talk what story would they tell? Tom Clark, curator at Polly Hill Arboretum, knows better than most.
On Tuesday, June 11, he will lead a walking tour and share stories about the trees of the arboretum. Meet at 10 a.m. at the arboretum, 809 State Road in West Tisbury, for an hour-long trek. Cost is $5 or free for Polly Hill members.