katie, you have a heart as big as the whole outdoors.

Katy - Thank you thank you thank you! I need to check my travel schedule at work, but I'd love to come to this great Vineyard weekend. It sounds fantastic!

sounds fabulous,katy. i'd like to do the full wkend.one thought i have is that for peo who can come fri before dinner, we could bring pot luck so you'd not have to do anyth but table and cutlery,etc. i AM a caterer so i can bring protein/main course food no prob and would enjoy doing that.
best, mindy

kt - What a lovely offer. Thank you, I would LOVE to come! And I love big dogs. I'm already excited.
Debra

Wow, Katy, this sounds like my kind of weekend! How generous of you to offer your home. Hey, if space gets tight I'll sleep with the dog-it will be just like home. Count me in.

Sue

How fabulously generous. Thank you for such an offer to GardenWeb folk. I'd bring my sleeping bag and stay in one of the vehicles if necessary since Sue already reserved the doghouse! lol

Wish I could take part, but I have a barn full of animals and none of the neighbors is accustomed to taking care of chickens, ducks, geese and a large turkey. :)

Katy, are there any hotels/motels/inns within biking distance? If so I would have no problem booking a room; otherwise I'll bring my sleeping bag.

Are the passenger ferries out of Falmouth any closer to your place than the steamship, or would it be good for some of us to bring cars? One of the Falmouth ferries goes to Oak Bluffs, and one to Edgartown, and they both will still be running in Sept.

I would love to come! I may be in line for knee surgery (not a replacement) and I'll know by July 20 or so, if that will be in theworks. I may not know what the surgery date is for a short while after that.

If I am able to come, I would appreciate staying at your house. non smoker, dog no problem. helpful, clean, willing to wash dishes, sweep. anything but your laundry.

Could you put me down, and I'll be able to confirm by the end of July. Of course, if you need to take someone who is definite sooner, I understand.

Thank you so much! Marie Tulin

I would absolutely love, love, love to join you -- what a WONDERFUL opportunity -- but my young kids will have just started school that Thursday and I really think I need to be home over the weekend to help them recover and get ready for the following week. If the date changes (I know, wishful thinking), count me in!!!!
Carolyn

Wow.
I am soo excited by your response. I spent Sat up at Polly Hill taking a Cemetery Lichen work shop taught by Elizabeth Kneiper who also teaches classes at newfs so if you ever have the opportunity I would highly recommend the class. Of course when I returned home my DH who is the prince of puns asked if I likened my lichen class! I think before we start to set too many things in stone it would be good to get more info. I have a number of plant/naturalist possibilities but sadly so little time so let me know the following.
Do you consider yourself a beginning gardener, someone who has been gardening for a number of years, or someone who is degreed and or works in the profession?
Are you singly focused on one type of plant if so which one.
Are you equally interested as a naturalist in examining that angle of the Vineyard.
Would you be interest in learning about the native plants of Marthas Vineyard?
Are private or public gardens what you would be interested in?
Would you rather examine a small eco system of plants that grow on sand dunes, oak forest, ect
Are trees, shrubs, perennials, or annuals what peak your interest.
Please dig deep and let me know what would be your ideal weekend. I may not be able to come close but I can try and of course since we are a good size group we can leave it to the majority to rule.
Keep in mind that we are to date a group of six which is plenty of room for all to stay at my home but if that is not something you are comfortable I totally understand and please do not worry about offending me.
Secondly we need to consider arrivals and departures there are a number of different options but I would like to strongly suggest you plan on taking the Steamship Authority from Woods Hole. The Steamship Authority has the largest most reliable fleet and it might be a beautiful day when you arrive but if the winds kick up when you want to leave you will be happy you did.
Parking at the steamship authority ferry is $10.00 a calendar day.
The cost of the ferry ticket is $13.00 Round trip on the SSA
Our class on Saturday begins at 10:00 if you would prefer to arrive Saturday rather than Friday please consider the following;
The latest boat you can take is the 8:15am leaving Woods Hole which means you need to be in Falmouth (where you will be parking your car and they will provide a free shuttle to the boat) no later than 7:15am. From this point you may want to go to www.mapquest.com and plug in your individual location for a time/distance reference. For many of you I am guessing that a Friday arrival would be preferable. I am also guessing that some of you have work obligations while others do not for this reason I am thinking of a Friday mid-day arrival for some and Friday late night arrival for others. Please let me know your expected date and time of arrival.

Dtd You are the exception to the rule regarding the ferry we wouldnt have to worry about your car being at one port and you at another if the weather kicks up so please let me know what works best for you.
Arbo-retum Thanks for the very generous offer of food but wouldnt that be difficult to manage on and off the boat along with your over night bag?
Maylena- I am sorry you wont be able to make this date sadly after I looked at my calendar this was the only weekend that was going to work. Keep in mind that there is much more I would like to share and explore than we will have time for this weekend so perhaps we will do this again next year.
Cady- Normally I would suggest you pack up the turkey, chickens, ducks, geese, and bring them along but I am afraid our lab RETRIEVER is truly petrified of feathersgo figure. You will be missed.
Cloud9-I am really excited (on cloud 9) about this weekend as well.
Vtskiers-Although Basil (the dog) who sleeps alone would love the company I am sure his snoring would keep you up all night so you might be happier sharing a room with a GWerthen again.
Idabean I hope the knee surgery isnt anything too serious and yes of course we will hold a spot for you.
marie of roumania ? I am hoping your response means you can make it other wise perhaps I can lure you with the mention of the fact I have two new varieties of climbing hydrangea one pink, the other more of dwarf compact leaf that you should come and see before the next swap.

Unfortunately, if I can swing the logistics, I'll have to come Saturday morning. My oldest friend(from first grade) called yesterday to tell me that she and her husband were throwing themselves a 25th anniversary party and would really like to make sure the entire wedding party was there. That would include me :). The party is Friday night, September 8th, in Stoneham, MA. I'll have to do some research on how early I would have to get up on Saturday to catch the ferry if I stayed at my brother's house in Dedham. Something tells me I may be pushing it but it wouldn't be the first time.

Sue

katy, your lures are powerful.

the whole weekend sounds utterly delightful; dreamy, in fact. heck, the burning mushroom alone has me all excited. also, knowing that you're starting to consider pulling up stakes makes me think that there might not be too awfully many opportunities left to actually see this place you've labored over so lovingly for so many years.

i hesitate only because compared to everyone else, i'm such a pink squalling baby gardener. i fear that the seven years of latin i took weren't nearly enough to help me keep up my end of the conversation in such a distinguished gathering of über-plantspeople.

if i became tongue-tied or overwhelmed, could i just sit in your yard & oogle the pretty flowers & play with the big licky puppy?

Katy, how the fishing?

Ron

Ron,
Once again I am going to fall for that age old question "Hows the fishing". Being a non-angler but married to a fanatic here is this weeks fish report. The bass are here and plentiful if you are fishing with scup if not you might still expect to come home empty handed. All of your plants that I came home with I am happy to report have survived my neglect. The Rhododendron smirnowii has doubled in size and still has some downy fuzz on the tops of it's leaves, Hosta 'Ground Master' is providing a healthy diet for the snails but continues to come back, Hosta 'Guacamole' developed quickly into a substantial plant. Hope you can make it to the Polly Hill weekend as a matter of fact I do believe that weekend is also the start of the Martha's Vineyard Fishing Derby just is case you need a little extra coaxing. kt

Hi Katie,
No knee surgery at this time! Keep me posted on the big weekend.
Marie

Marie.
Terrific news and I hope your letting it be known to all around you that you can no longer scrub floors you need to pamper of your knees for the riggers of gardening. I was just up at Polly Hill yesterday taking a work shop with Rick Darke who wrote "The American Woodland Garden" and "Ornamental Grasses" on digital photography in the garden. He refers to himself as a "Landscape Ethicist" rather than Landscape Designer. His talent with the camera is of course evident in his books but when you understand that his passion with landscape photography is based on capturing natural light as opposed to using technical manipulations it just blows you away. He was a great speaker and was able to keep both the amateur (me) and professional intrigued for four and a half hours. I know that he does talk around the country often so if you ever have the opportunity I would strongly recommend him as a lecturer/speaker. I am becoming really excited about the GW weekend and am continuing to put together ideas. Are there any orchid lovers amongst us?? I would love to hear more about your specific interests.

katy,
i'll jump in and answer your questions about my gardening level and interests.
i am an advanced gardener and have designed 5 gardens other than my own.
my primary interests are garden design, trees, woody plants, perennials.a focus on most any genus would be of interest to me, though orchids or rock garden plants- not.
i would be most excited about visiting special private gardens.
i am not so interested in MV native plants or the naturalist angle, but the mushroom workshop sounds fantastic!
one of my mottos is "Have cooler; will travel" so bringing potluck contribution would not be a problem.
best, mindy

Thought I would give a quick update of a Hydrangea workshop I attended yesterday at PH. It was given by Tim Boland who is the exec. director at PH and Andrew Bunting who is curator of the Scott Arboretum. Tim spent part of last winter in Japan collecting seed and Andrew oversee's an amazing collection at Scott. They touched on a number of different topics including new introductions and the expectation the new intro from Bailey nurseries 'Blushing Bride' to be released in 2007 is expected to sell two million plants and McCorkle nurseries one million 'Mini Penny' in 2008. There are a number of released to the trade but not very well known hydrangeas that are now tops on my list. An incredible lace cap 'Miyama-yae-murasaki' was not only discussed but we were able to see first hand at an AMAZING private garden that had over 70 varieties of hydrangeas. Although I do not personally know the home owners I would be happy to ask if we could include his garden in our weekend if any of us are interested in Hydrangeas, let me know what you think? The handouts were valuable and included a handout from Michael Dirr's lecture "Hydrangeas for American Gardens" dated June 2006. I do have a scanner but do not have a clue as to how to post a scan if any one is interested I would need some direction. I did over hear Andrew Bunting say that he does lecture to garden clubs and is in the MA area about three times a year his email is abuntinl@swathmore.edu . Stay Cool kt

I forgot to mention that this week I want to start propogating for the swap is any one interested in Hydrangeas? kt

Katy, I picked up a H. serrata 'Miyama-yae-murasaki' at my local nursery today. They have quite a few of them waiting for homes at 40% off. I had completely forgotten about it until you mentioned it in your last post. Now to find a suitable spot...

Sue

I'm really looking forward to this, Katy, and have it on my calendar - in ink.

I wonder if it would be possible for some people to come just for the day of the arboretum visit? I have no problem staying overnight, we too will be empty-nesters next month, at last, but the overnight might be a no-go problem for some people.

If thre are a few of these people, maybe they could arrange to share a taxi from Oak Bluffs to Polly Hill, taking the noon ferry (which gets in at 12:45) - those people who need to rush home can be back on the 5 PM boat. Or something like that... just an idea.

As to your questions, I'm an "old novice" gardener ... the more I learn the more I realize how much I don't know. I'm especially interested in design, with which I constantly wrestle and lose, so garden tours, native plants at natural sites, all of it appeals to me. I am also a plantaholic, so nurseries are another favorite.

Also: if you have room for an extra person, could you let me know? I have a great gardening friend who is not on-line, and she's dying of jealosy about this trip. I told her I'd ask, but that I seriously doubted there'd be room for one more.

Can't wait to see your garden and to visit Polly Hill
- Nan

I can't believe the weekend is nearly here I am really looking forward to this for me it will be a special treat after a long summer. The last I heard the following are planning on coming; dtd&friend,arboretum,cloud9,idabean,marie of roumania and possibly Michelle from the old days on the landscape design forum who will be visiting family on the Cape. I am still able to accommodate more people if anyone else is interested. Our class on Saturday begins at 10:00 if you would prefer to arrive Saturday and stay just for the day that is certainly fine with me but you would need to consider the following if you are interested in taking the work shop the latest boat you can take is the 8:15am leaving Woods Hole which means you need to be in Falmouth (where you will be parking your car and they will provide a free shuttle to the boat) no later than 7:15am. We could pick you up at the boat on our way to the workshop and but until I know the final numbers of people I would be unsure about the return trip. If you wanted to come for the 2:00 tour only my dh has offered to pick you up at the boat but to be honest I would discourage this as it would be a lot of travel, expense and effort for one short hour and again I would be uncertain about your return trip until I had a final count. I want to reserve space for our workshop and let them know how many for the tour no later than this Friday. As far as communicating the experience of our group in terms of matching us with an appropriate guide I will be defining us as seasoned experienced gardeners please don't forget if there is a certain type of plant your passionate or curious about I will let them know that as well. In terms of clothing we are probably 5-10 degrees cooler than you might expect so please don't forget a jacket. We will be spending most of our time outdoors so comfy shoes would be a good idea as well. I am guessing that as the weekend approaches everyone will have lots of questions and suggestions so please feel free to post or email me. Should I start a thread on the exchanges page and let this one drop..I am not sure of forum etiquette? kt

Hey Katy -
My friend had to cancel, so I am completely flexible as to when I come and how long I stay. I'm still thinking of coming Saturday morning on that 8:00 boat, and staying for Sunday festivities, if that's ok.

Should I bring a bike?

I really hope Michelle can come, she was the single most entertaining member of LD forum back in "the old days". In any case, it sounds like it's going to be a really good group! Can't wait to see you all.

Nan

Fri. September 8th I will have a casual meal and a glass of wine (or two) ready for Friday weary travelers. I have nothing planned for this night as I am not sure who and when people are arriving.

Sat. 9th We will be leaving my home at 8:30 am to pickup the 9:00 am arrivals and continue to Polly Hill for our 10:00am Workshop. Please note that I will need one of our group to be a driver. 10:00am to 12:00pm ($24.00) is our workshop if the weather allows we will be doing a picnic lunch at Polly Hill. The lunch will come from the only place in the area it is a catering business and either Friday night you can look at the menu or Sat. prior to the workshop ($10-$12.00??). After a quick lunch at the Polly Hill picnic table there are three nurseries in the area and we will probably have one hour to kill at a nursery at one nursery there is a gentleman who I would consider a rare plant fantatic/collector who is new to the island I have told him about you all and he will let me know if he can talk to us about rare plant collecting and how he moved his collection. Of course there will be time to poke around and make some purchaseshmmm (too many $$). Sadly it is fall and all of the nurseries have relative slim pickens. Back to Polly Hill for our private tour I have told them how brilliant you all are. My guestamate is we will be leaving PH around 3:30 I would like to stop at another nursery, a daylily farm for another talk on not only daylilies but solar power, a glass place where we can watch visiting and local craftsmen blow and see some of the most amazing pieces I have ever seen. I am suggesting this only after having run in the other day to see if they could repair something of mine glass and crafts usually arent my thing but the pieces they had on display were like nothing I have ever seen before and of course with a price to match $33,000.00. There are also a few art galleries as well as Chilmark chocolates that (hard to believe I know) is even better than Ben & Bills. ( All of those suggestions are free unless you choose to purchase) These are a few things available to us on the way to Menemsha a small fishing village where if the weather permits I would like to do what is called "backdoor" which is going to the restaurant/fish markets backdoor and ordering dinner to go (which is usually a cracked lobster and fixings) (I dont recall the cost but I am guessing $20.00-$30.00?) But I am sure they have something for the non fish lover but to be honest I dont know what so you may want to order two sandwiches at lunch. We will then walk over to the beach plunk our tired fannies down and watch to sunset as we eat our lobster. Please keep in mind if you like wine, beer, what ever with your meal these are dry towns and you will need to have brought that with you in the am. Also keep in mind it will be chilly so bring many more layers than you think you should. It will be much better to have a pile of sweaters and jackets in to trunk of the car than shivering unhappy people far from the warmth of my home. Now if as they are forecasting it will be raining and miserable I will have a plan B which will include dinner at a restaurant unless the majority of us would rather pitch in to buy and prepare a meal at my house. I dont know how to keep everyone comfortable with the decisions other than majority rule so please come prepared to spend twice as much as you thought you would. After the sunsets I thought we would head back to down town Edgartown for ice cream, wine what ever and of course at this point some or all could just go back and collapse.
Sunday September 10th Wake up and bike, walk, ride to a private garden designed by Christine Horiunchi a Cape Landscape architect who has won awards for this design. With coffee in hand lets talk about design and plants, what she chose, what you would have chosen. Continue down the road to a grass airport where we will stop for more coffee and breakfast while watching vintage planes take off and land. We will also be viewing one of the last great stretches of Sand plain with rare native wildflowers. For those who need to catch a noon boat that should have you on the road by 1:30pm it would be time to say goodbye. For those that can stay a bit longer we have other choices, When picking the brain of people from Polly Hill for what else to include in this weekend they all suggested we drive down the beach to chappy and visit the My Toi gardens, or head back to down town Edgartown to do a walking tour of town and check out village gardens as well as another nursery visit, or maybe? My feeling is that the late group probably wont want to depart any later than a 3:00pm boat which would have you on the road by 4:30pm. A number of things that we will be doing are dependant on weather so we may be making adjustments to any and all that I have suggested. Please if something is important to you speak up I would want to know that and will try my best. I look forward to meeting you all and dont hesitate to write or call. Let me know at your earliest when you expect to be arriving. kt

It all sounds wonderful. As much as I really, really would like to join in the fun this weekend, I unfortunately won't be able to swing it and the party I have to attend Friday night. Have fun and enjoy a glass of wine for me!

Sue

Oh, Katy, this sounds just fabulous; I'm going to go pack my bag right now. I love the Vineyard, but haven't spent enough time there in recent years, and have never had an "insiders tour". At this point, I don't even care if it rains.

See you all Friday or Saturday!

Green, green, green with jealously. What a fabulous weekend you will all be having. Enjoy! And have a glass of wine on behalf of those of us who can't be there, but WISH we could.
Best,
ML

Thanks Mayalena you certainly will be missed. kt

I have to second what Mayalena said. I was very tempted when you first posted, Katie, but we are going away on a long trip in two weeks, and I didn't think I could handle both. It sounds like you all are going to have a wonderful weekend, and you are so great to offer your home and to make all the arrangements for fascinating gardening-related things to do. I wish I were coming.

Alison