Growth at the Gardens | Bridge Gardens 2018 recap
January 28, 2019
By Kathleen Kennedy
You may have noticed a lot more young people at Bridge Gardens this summer. Children of all ages arrived twice each week for nature-based experiences in partnership with camp programs of CMEE (Children’s Museum of the East End) and SHINE Hamptons. The children and their counselors explored every inch of this 5-acre garden and learned about growing food, tasting various vegetables and herbs with Rick, and how to capture the garden’s beauty in acrylics, watercolors and sculpture. With ample opportunity for games and music, they had a great time and learned a lot!
Our community gardeners had a bountiful season too. With the expansion in plots from 20 to 22, this area continues to grow and serve the needs of those interested in growing food. Bernard Hayduk and his wife Linda Massis joined the gardens this year, coming all the way from Coram each week to lend a hand as volunteers and tend their vegetables.
This is the first year that Bernard and I worked the community garden at Bridge Gardens. Under the expert guidance of Rick Bogusch, manager of the garden, Bernard was able to turn rich, dark soil and seedlings into a plot of land filled with 6 foot tall sunflowers, many varieties of tomatoes, dark red beets and other vegetables and flowers. But our harvest season isn’t over yet! Bernard recently discovered his long stalked artichokes had started to grow nestled in between fat, green birdhouse gourds and the stalks of fading sunflowers. We’d like to give a special thank you to Rick, our friend and gardening mentor
Linda Massis
Bridge Gardens also hosted a wide array of programs for adults, including the annual Spring Lecture Series, Spring and Fall beekeeper workshops, weekly painting classes, visits with local winemakers for our Fridays at Four Tasting and Tour series, a series on vegetable gardening, numerous organic horticulture classes led by Paul Wagner of Greener Pastures Organics, and even cooking demonstrations with Rick. It’s been a busy year, and we hope you enjoyed many of these programs. As we reflect on 2018, we are planning more opportunities for you to enjoy the garden in 2019 – stay tuned for details on our Spring Lecture Series and more!
Looking to the future, a Master Plan has been drafted for the Gardens that, once implemented, will expand our ability to provide you with more opportunities: to learn about food and horticulture, to experience art and music, and to deepen your appreciation for all Bridge Gardens has to offer. With the completion of the driveway and parking area renovation this spring, we’re now turning our attention to enhancements to the community gardens and the area near the house.
Kathleen Kennedy
Senior Manager of Outreach
kkennedy@peconiclandtrust.org