Rebecca Dinsmore, Master Gardener

Wollaston Garden Club Visits the Gardens at the

Dorothy Quincy Homestead

 

            Members of the Wollaston Garden Club enjoyed a visit to the gardens at the Dorothy Quincy Homestead on Tuesday, July 12, 2011. Rebecca Dinsmore,  a Wollaston Garden Club member and Master Gardener, was the hostess for this summer garden stroll. Dinsmore has been working on planning, designing and maintaining the gardens at the Quincy Homestead since 2001.

                                        

            Dinsmore was eager to open the formal gardens for the enjoyment of garden club members. July at the homestead finds orange butterfly weed, lavender, and coneflower in full bloom. But it was the kitchen garden, full of herbs that fascinated most of the club members. The New England Herbal Society initially mapped out the design for the herb garden in 1994 and Dinsmore has worked to keep to that design plan.  Dinsmore set up an educational exhibit, which helped garden club members identify the numerous herbs and determine their uses: medicinal, culinary, aromatic, and/or useful in the household.

 

A National Historic Landmark, the Quincy Homestead is significant for its role in early American history, for its architecture, and for its Quincy family association. The property, located at the corner of Hancock Street and Butler Road, is part of the original land that Edmund Quincy acquired for a farm in the 1630s.  The present house, dating from 1686, was enlarged and enhanced over a period of more than 200 years.  Its majestic Georgian frontispiece and gambrel roof, with distinctive dormer windows, give the building a stately and substantial appearance.

 

            The Wollaston Garden Club schedules two formal garden strolls to members’ gardens during the summer months. The idea is that the best way to learn about designing a garden is to study and enjoy other gardens. The next stroll will be held in August at Pete Horsford’s garden. The Wollaston Garden Club is a member of the Garden Club Federation of Massachusetts and the National Garden Clubs, Inc.

Dorothy Quincy Homestead - September 2019

Wollaston Garden Club member Rebecca Dinsmore worked with Quincy Homestead to complete the garden restoration of the historical home's boxwoods.  The Garden Club Federation of Massachusetts helped fund the project with a grant for Historical Preservation. The restoration project was also funded by a grant from the Quincy Preservation Committee.