Northshore magazine showcases the best that the North Shore of Boston, MA has to offer.
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125 Williams, hollyhocks, currants, ornamental quince trees, and Concord grapes—all blasts from the past. A wisteria vine crowning the front door announces spring, a row of lilac bushes mingles with the early dianthus to perfume the paths, the musky-scented leaves of catmint are crowned with blossoms in summer, and the pineapple-tinged blossoms of the calycanthus shrub reward anyone who breathes in their sweet fragrance, in addition to the famed fruit trees that bear their bounty throughout summer. is garden touches your senses on all levels. When the museum is open, visitors can peruse the holdings and learn from the collec- tion. ey can study photos of Newburyport and gain insights into a bygone time. But there is also an immediacy to this encounter with history. Nothing equals the experience of breathing the actual scents of yesteryear and watching birds steal the same cherries that Above, The roses of yesteryear are part of the garden's allure. Left, The three- story brick Cushing House. Bottom, The famed fruit trees still bear their bounty. nurtured winged Newburyport residents gen- erations ago. A century-old pair of variegated hostas still send up their fragrant flowers. Cur- rants that were served at the breakfast table continue to produce their crop of glistening fruit. Ghostly white peonies still perform every spring. And you are invited to walk into the cobblestone courtyard (slated to be renovated soon), stroll the gravel paths, and experience the same sensations that delighted Newbury- port citizens of the past. On this very special acre of land, a bounty of history is preserved in a small space. newburyhistory.org grown years ago. Scholars including Betsy Ware, famed horticultural historian Isadore Smith (who wrote under the pen name of Ann Leighton), and Lucinda Brockway of Past Designs have all consulted on the restoration to help bring back the ambiance created in the garden years ago. Layers of history have been carefully curated. Over the decades, the family's input has been sought and respected. For example, Margaret Cushing worked with architects in 1934 to build a more ornate and idiosyncratic Gothic garden pavilion where an old lattice shed once stood. She also designed a Gothic garden seat to cap the axis toward the Perkins Printing and Engraving Plant, a neigh- boring building also known as "e Mint" that once printed currency, and that was acquired by the museum in 2008. As any passing pedestrians will attest, the roses of yesteryear are very much a part of the allure. Although the current collection is not labeled, many old roses remain. As for their identity, an 1877 rose order of 27 different varieties included roses with intriguing names like 'Glory of Mosses,' 'Leon of Bornbats,' 'Giant of Battles,' and 'Zebrinna' that are no longer in cultivation. Whether those particular roses are in residence, nobody is quite certain. But original or not, the intoxicating fragrance of the many roses fills the air in early summer, just as it did for neighbors in this seaside town more than a century ago. Similarly, many herbs still grow on this retrospective acre, accompanied by sweet