GARDENER'S NOTEBOOK
Daily Discoveries Define and Delight the Glazer Compound
By Jani Gardner
Roz and Bill Glazer discovered their magical property quite by accident, in the 1980’s, perched on a hill overlooking the fishing village of Menemsha. “The cluster of small cottages was such a lovely, intriguing treasure ... an instant love affair!” remembers Roz.
“We were swept away by this extraordinary find!” tells Roz. Built by Roger Allen in 1930, most of the Glazer renovations in the main house became a lengthy ten-year project for Paul Henry Mayhew, who grew up in Chilmark.
Lucky for husband Bill Glazer, Paul Mayhew also built a separate office, which now looks out over an idyllic garden, just above the Menemsha seascape view. Surely Bill often glances up from his desk, delighted to spot Roz and garden magician, Zada Clarke, moving plants and rearranging the landscape.“ I think to myself,” says Bill. ”This is what it’s like to see good witches!”
“Early on, I relied on a lot of energy, and a strong back to get the gardens going,” reveals Roz. “These days I would be lost without Zada.”
“The previous owner had planted English ivy along the stone wall, which I left, plus a wonderful chive plant. There’s something tender about having a living plant, which shows up every spring, left behind by a previous owner. Not formally trained, I began expanding the garden, one bed at a time. Arnie Fisher, Jr. was a great help, and now Zada and I have a terrific collaborative effort. We were both born under the sign of Taurus, and truly love everything connected with gardens.”
“Things emerge, die, or find an odd place to inhabit and it’s always a pleasure to make these discoveries.” One of Roz’s favorites is the field of daffodils that are running down the hill toward Menemsha. Her favorite spring visitors are romantic forget-me-nots, plus pale pink and white peonies, alchemilla, heuchera, brunnera, and lambs ears.
Roz enjoys the clematis climbing daintily over the outdoor shower and the delicate flowering quince in bloom. There’s also sedum ascending the Glazer’s stone steps, in a spot where Roz tried for years to grow wooly thyme. “You don’t fight with nature. Ultimately, you let nature decide.”
“Summer is so full of variety, from hollyhocks and roses, to euphorbia, tithonia, and astilbe in pale peach and white, towering allium globes, and lots of hosta, which deer love. The hemerocallis are gone, as the deer were ruthless. The battle went on for years and the deer won. Clematis climbs over a two foot stone wall, accompanied by forget-me-nots, chives, nasturtiums, and a smattering of beach stones.”
“I have an instinctive feeling as to where things belong,” explains Roz, “but I make mistakes just like everyone else, even though I read about gardens and observed them over the years.”
“The garden is a place, the place, where everything begins and I can hardly wait to get back into it each year. The garden has a will of its own — about who lives, who dies, and what remains. Acceptance is always a blessing. I have learned so much from the garden.”
Closest to the kitchen entry, you’ll find alchemilla and heuchera with green and red leaves along with nasturtiums and forget-me-nots. “It’s a big challenge when favorites go by and you’re left with an empty space. Sometimes you can prowl around in another bed, finding something to fill that space.”
“We have a stone wall covered with an orange-y lichen in our courtyard. It’s a pleasant spot where we often have our summer meals. Close by is a big choke cherry tree leaning over a natural picket fence, protecting us from the sun. We enjoy this dining spot with family and friends.”
A thou-sand kudos to Roz, learning to garden, one bed at a time. With her love, family, helpers, time and sunshine, she has created a totally unique, magnificently blooming landscape, around their one of a kind home, so in touch with the joy of living on the Vineyard.
“We were swept away by this extraordinary find!” tells Roz. Built by Roger Allen in 1930, most of the Glazer renovations in the main house became a lengthy ten-year project for Paul Henry Mayhew, who grew up in Chilmark.
Lucky for husband Bill Glazer, Paul Mayhew also built a separate office, which now looks out over an idyllic garden, just above the Menemsha seascape view. Surely Bill often glances up from his desk, delighted to spot Roz and garden magician, Zada Clarke, moving plants and rearranging the landscape.“ I think to myself,” says Bill. ”This is what it’s like to see good witches!”
“Early on, I relied on a lot of energy, and a strong back to get the gardens going,” reveals Roz. “These days I would be lost without Zada.”
“The previous owner had planted English ivy along the stone wall, which I left, plus a wonderful chive plant. There’s something tender about having a living plant, which shows up every spring, left behind by a previous owner. Not formally trained, I began expanding the garden, one bed at a time. Arnie Fisher, Jr. was a great help, and now Zada and I have a terrific collaborative effort. We were both born under the sign of Taurus, and truly love everything connected with gardens.”
“Things emerge, die, or find an odd place to inhabit and it’s always a pleasure to make these discoveries.” One of Roz’s favorites is the field of daffodils that are running down the hill toward Menemsha. Her favorite spring visitors are romantic forget-me-nots, plus pale pink and white peonies, alchemilla, heuchera, brunnera, and lambs ears.
Roz enjoys the clematis climbing daintily over the outdoor shower and the delicate flowering quince in bloom. There’s also sedum ascending the Glazer’s stone steps, in a spot where Roz tried for years to grow wooly thyme. “You don’t fight with nature. Ultimately, you let nature decide.”
“Summer is so full of variety, from hollyhocks and roses, to euphorbia, tithonia, and astilbe in pale peach and white, towering allium globes, and lots of hosta, which deer love. The hemerocallis are gone, as the deer were ruthless. The battle went on for years and the deer won. Clematis climbs over a two foot stone wall, accompanied by forget-me-nots, chives, nasturtiums, and a smattering of beach stones.”
“I have an instinctive feeling as to where things belong,” explains Roz, “but I make mistakes just like everyone else, even though I read about gardens and observed them over the years.”
“The garden is a place, the place, where everything begins and I can hardly wait to get back into it each year. The garden has a will of its own — about who lives, who dies, and what remains. Acceptance is always a blessing. I have learned so much from the garden.”
Closest to the kitchen entry, you’ll find alchemilla and heuchera with green and red leaves along with nasturtiums and forget-me-nots. “It’s a big challenge when favorites go by and you’re left with an empty space. Sometimes you can prowl around in another bed, finding something to fill that space.”
“We have a stone wall covered with an orange-y lichen in our courtyard. It’s a pleasant spot where we often have our summer meals. Close by is a big choke cherry tree leaning over a natural picket fence, protecting us from the sun. We enjoy this dining spot with family and friends.”
A thou-sand kudos to Roz, learning to garden, one bed at a time. With her love, family, helpers, time and sunshine, she has created a totally unique, magnificently blooming landscape, around their one of a kind home, so in touch with the joy of living on the Vineyard.