The House of the Seven Gables to Host 100 Years of the Gables Colonial Revival Garden Lecture

The House of the Seven Gables welcomes spring and continues to celebrate its centennial anniversary with its Seven Lectures at Seven Gables series. The third of these will be 100 Years of The Gables Colonial Revival Garden, given by landscape designer and historian Robyn Kanter on Sunday, May 16, 2010 at 2:00pm.

In 1909, Gables founder Caroline Emmerton hired Joseph Chandler, a landscape architect, to layout the Colonial Revival garden overlooking the harbor. It was designed in Jacobean style as an “oasis of beauty” to be enjoyed not only by guests, but by Emmerton’s neighbors as well. After Hawthorne’s Birthplace was moved to the property in 1958, the entire site was re-landscaped by famed designer Dan Foley using Chandler’s raised bed design.

Kanter, of Kanter Design Associates, is the landscape designer responsible for the current arrangement of The Gables garden. Under her direction and attention to detail the old fashioned practices remain including hand pruning and cultivation to help retain the tradition of one of New England's most treasured places.

Utilizing The House of the Seven Gables collection of historic photographs, landscape records and her own research, Kanter will discuss the evolution of The Gables garden. In addition to the lecture, Kanter will guide guests through the present re-creation of the Colonial Revival garden on site, and introduce historical evidence from the garden’s past 100 years.

The lecture will be held on Sunday, May 16, 2010 at 2:00pm. Tickets are $10 for non-members and $5 for members of The House of the Seven Gables, Historic New England or The Salem Athanæum. For tickets, please call The House of the Seven Gables at 978-744-0991 ext. 104.

For more information on this year’s centennial events, please visit http://www.7gables.org/.