Kestrel Trust To Transplant Portion Of Jones Library Kinsey Garden
Photo: amherstma.gov
Kestrel Land Trust received approval from the Jones Library Buildings & Facilities Committee to relocate selected plants from the Kinsey Memorial Garden in the rear of the library to the new Kestrel Trust headquarters at 37 Bay Rd. near Atkins Corner in Amherst. The move is necessitated because the planned expansion of the library will take over land now occupied by the garden.
The Kinsey Garden was installed in 1999 through the dedication of expert gardener Carol Pope in memory of her late husband, educator David Chapin Kinsey. In recent months Pope had led a last-ditch effort to see the garden preserved but has become resigned to the downtown landmark’s demise in its present location. She has endorsed the Kestrel garden relocation plan in a letter of support.
Kestrel Trust Board Member Jane Bryden pointed out that transplanting mature plants is expensive, and some garden specimens cannot be saved. As moving the garden is not within the scope of the library building project’s $36.3 million budget, Bryden noted that a private fundraising effort for the garden relocation would be required.
Library Director Sharon Sharry supported the Kestrel plan, saying, “I love this proposal, I love how it honors the garden… I think it would be ideal if we, together helping you somehow, could keep as much of it together as possible.”
Kestrel Trust hopes to do root pruning and preparation this March or April and move the selected plants in the fall.
In 2016 Amherst Town Meeting passed a petition article, 115-58, asking the Jones Library Board of Trustees to “preserve in its entirety the Kinsey Memorial Garden, and … authorize a Kinsey Garden Committee of horticultural experts and experienced gardeners.” Though opposed to the petition at the time, Trustee President Austin Sarat assured that the end result of the library renovation would be a “garden vista which will inspire pride and be visible and accessible to the community.”
This is sad news. The Kinsey Garden, behind the Jones Library, has been such a refreshment of the spirit over a couple of decades to countless Amherst and Amherst-area residents. Even a quick walk through the Garden from the town parking lot behind the CVS & other stores to Amity Street was enough to calm the spirit. Carol Pope’s carefully chosen ground covers, for instance, not only kept weeds down. They subtly unified the garden, while her carefully chosen sequence of blooms presented a series of delights to the eye. This was rare expertise generously given as a gift to the public. It is wonderful that some of Carol’s beloved plants will find a new home with the Kestrel Trust. Downtown Amherst, however, will be the poorer.
What is meant by a “garden vista”? Does the nearly-6-year-old letter amount to a formal commitment? And to what end?
It would be interesting if the Kestrel Trust were soon to be the beneficiary of a significant, serendipitous donation….
Rob – Watching the meeting I didn’t sense any ulterior motive on the part of Kestrel Trust. They are simply offering to take possession of plants from the Kinsey Garden that would otherwise be destroyed, and they have the blessing of the garden’s creator, Carol Pope.
Regarding the trustees’ commitment to a garden replacement, I think it is no secret that a new wing extending from the back of the current building is their top priority. I haven’t seen a proposed landscaping design, but I suspect that any new “garden vista” will be nothing like the once charming Kinsey Garden.
I wasn’t at all suggesting Kestrel had an ulterior motive, but I was hinting this might be a great way for “vista-ful” trustees to make good on their commitment.