SWAMPSCOTT – The Garden Art Walk, planned by local artistic hub ReachArts, made its triumphant return Sunday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., giving an opportunity for residents to enjoy a tour of gardens throughout the town while also enjoying artwork and family-friendly activities during the second annual event.
“The purpose of the event is manifold; it started with coming out of the pandemic to show the artists an opportunity to work in a safe way,” said ReachArts Board Member Ingrid Pichler.
Pichler said the organization asked the artists and gardeners to participate. In some cases, the artists had their own gardens, and in others they were matched with gardeners by ReachArts. Other times, the garden and artist match was a sign of a long friendship.
Nora Walker owns the garden at 25 Sheridan Rd., and she and her friend Jessica Vogel decided that it was the closest opportunity to run a business together, which they had joked about for a long time.
Vogel makes beaded jewelry, which she sells in person and on Etsy, but she said that she preferred selling in person, because “with jewelry you need to see and touch it, and try it on.”
That was why she decided to exhibit her jewelry at her friend’s garden. Walker said that she got into gardening about two years ago when she wanted to plant some privacy trees in the back of her yard.
Walker likes that at the walk she can get to know neighbors and share gardening tips. Both Walker and Vogel participated in the event last year, but not together.
“We grew up in Swampscott, both of us, this makes us proud to be part of this community,” said Walker.
Margaret Bachini’s garden at 17 Sheridan Rd. featured a cozy array of colorful flowers and artistically arranged herbs like dill carefully hidden in flower pots. Along with daylilies, hibiscus, sea grass, hydrangea, and hosta, her garden offered to the visitors a view of bright pink vinca flowers.
Bachini said that she got into gardening a few years ago, and she likes the Garden Art Walk because it allows her to “be part of the community, be a good neighbor,” and share gardening ideas.
Bachini said that she and her neighbors planted flowers on the island on PFC Ralph E. Williams Square, and in spring tulips and hyacinths blossom there now as the result of their joint efforts.
Ellen Garvey’s garden and artwork at 85 Monument Ave. were among the most impressive at the exhibit, and the visitors also noted that the owners paid special attention to making their garden environmentally friendly.
“This is the most unusual and rich garden, not because there is so much land here, but because it’s so environmentally friendly,” friend of the family Gura Strimaitis, said.
Garvey said that she and her husband are avid gardeners, and have three apple trees, some of which are grown as espaliers – an ancient agricultural practice of controlling woody plant growth for the production of fruit, by pruning and tying branches to a frame.
They also had raspberries and blueberries in their garden. Garvey said they did not use chemicals on apples and instead covered their apples with a thin layer of clay to protect them from bugs.
“The apples look kind of white and have powder on them, that’s clay that we spray on, we don’t use any chemicals on the apples,” said Garvey.
Garvey’s husband also engaged in bee keeping in their garden, and Garvey said there was a new beds of native pollinator plants. Garvey exhibited her glass artwork for the event, which was made in different techniques such as fused glass and blown glass.
The garden at 148 Elmwood Road impressed visitors with the team spirit of the family that owned it – Joe Douillette took care of the bees, his wife Beth Balliro engaged with the garden and their daughter Ella Douillette made jewelry.
“We are friends with the people that run [the event], and we are super supportive of what people are doing in this community to build relationships and friendships,” said Joe Douillette.
Balliro said that she thought it was an important community event because that’s how people get to know what artists lived in their community, and it created further opportunities for having more artists in the future, “because the world needs more artists,” said Balliro.
“I think people like to show off what they do too,” said Douillette.
