All are invited to a garden party on Saturday, July 22, from 1 to 3 p.m. on the grounds of the Chaffee Art Center.
It’s free with lots of fun activities, demonstrations and speakers, light refreshments, garden tours, the Castleton Ukulele Group playing some old favorites and more.
Artisans will be selling affordable, handmade items. Attendees can explore the 100’x9’ pollinator garden with native plantings, the growing sculpture garden, the beautiful outdoor area with expanded grass section and over a dozen gardens on the Chaffee’s historic property. Be sure to go inside the 1890s Queen Anne Victorian mansion full of art, gift ideas and stunning architecture.
The day will include interesting events, such as:
- At 1:15 p.m., the Rutland Garden Club will present a flower-arranging demonstration using perennial flowers. Learn about perennial flower utilization beds.
- At 1:45 p.m., Bee the Change, a Vermont-based family farm using unused space in solar fields to support threatened pollinators and bees, will have a presentation and give out a free native plant to attendees while supplies last.
- At 2 p.m., the Vermont Center for Ecostudies will present a talk on native bees in Vermont with a show and tell.
- At 2:30 p.m., the Rutland County Audubon Society will give a presentation entitled “Wildlife habitat protection and connection.”
Gardener and Chaffee board member Michelle Hartline will give pollinator garden tours throughout the day.
And the Vermont Bee Lab, which provides free diagnostic services to any Vermont beekeeper looking to evaluate the health of their colonies, will have a drop-off bee sample station. Instructions for sample collection and submission can be found at vermontbeelab.com/diagnostics.
More about the garden
In the summer of 2022, the Chaffee began the project of restoring the beauty of its historic grounds to match the magnificence of the mansion’s architecture. One part of the project was to create a pollinator garden of native flowers and bushes thanks to a grant from the Rutland County Audubon Society. Doing this took an army of volunteers, and the Chaffee thanks all who made this possible.
The garden began with excavation by Kurt Hathaway of a 40’x46’ section of knotweed, as well as a 100’x9’ foot area and a 60’x18’ area. Markowski Excavating donated topsoil for these areas. Volunteers planted a huge number of native plants and bushes. A 100-foot trellis fence was installed behind the pollinator garden by GE Volunteers, prepped by Rutland City and South Rotary Clubs.
Another part of this project was to create a sculpture garden. A 70-foot section of trellis fencing was installed by GE Volunteers, with more native plants and bushes planted among sculptures. In front is a large grass area perfect for an outdoor gathering and to be used as an outdoor classroom for camps and classes.
Along with the new gardens, the Chaffee enhanced the three gardens close to the back of the mansion, creating a rain garden complete with its own potting bench, a butterfly garden and the third got a new spirea bush and hostas.
In front of the mansion are six gardens. The Rutland Garden Club has for years done their magic with the front four gardens closest to Route 7. The Chaffee added some plants and bushes to the gardens closest to the building, planting a few rose bushes behind the stunning hydrangeas original to the property. There are a few more gardens along the driveway lush with ferns and flowers, and one with peonies original to the property.
Schools, groups and visitors are welcome to use all of these outdoor spaces to learn about native plants and pollinators. They also can be used as an educational tool for area schools and bus groups.
Volunteers are always welcome to help weed and keep the gardens looking spectacular.
For more information, visit chaffeeartcenter.org.
The Chaffee Art Center is located at 16 South Main St., Rutland, Vermont.
