martinhouseclr

46 DARWIN D. MARTIN HOUSE // CULTURAL LANDSCAPE REPORT a “purple beech” (aka, European beech, Fagus sylvatica ‘Purpurea’ ). 112 Adding to the troubled efforts in obtaining a legible planting plan from Wright’s studio is the fact that also on 31 March 1905, Martin’s first gardener, Harry Hebditch, informed him of his imminent return to England. 113 It was no doubt an ill-timed resignation that made the effort to prepare the grounds at the Martin House immensely more difficult. Hebditch would stay on with Martin for only a few more weeks before departing Martin’s employ on April 19. A new gardener, George Frampton, immediately took Hebditch’s place. 114 On 18 April 1905, Martin’s contractor, O.S. Lang, completes an updated survey for the property, of which the collection of buildings is now more or less complete. While much work remains on the interiors of the structures, and will continue through 1905, it is clear that the 18 April 1905 O.S. Lang ‘Plot’ is an as-built plan. [Fig. 29] The plan shows pencil notations around the verandah and a note in pen stating “grade terrace” in the shape of the proposed hemicycle at the time of the drawing creation, but all the masonry features, including the 16” high Summit terrace 112 The photographic record of the Martin House landscape has not clearly shown the existence of a tulip tree on the property. It is not believed that a Tulip tree was planted or survived long in the landscape. 113 DDM, Memorandum, 31 March 1905, MFP-UB. 114 DDM, Memorandum, 19 April 1905, MFP-UB. wall and even the cold-frame on the south side of the Greenhouse are shown on the drawing. 115 One feature of interest on the thought-to-be as-built plot plan is the pavement edge on the garage side (north) of the courtyard garden’s fountain wall. The plot plan indicates the planting bed on the north side of the wall included a decorative bevel or chamfer design. 116 The Second Planting According to Martin’s diary, the second major planting of the Martin House grounds was performed between Tuesday, May 9 and Friday, May 12, 1905. Martin notes in his diary: About 60 trees, 260 shrubs and 1200 perennial plants set out on Jewett Ave place. Two white pines, [….] feet high age of Dorothy, two small ones, two hemlock , & four arbor vitas from Bouckville set out on 115 The “grade terrace” pencil notations may be related to the never realized Water Basin drawing, held by the Deutsches Architekurmuseum, Frankfurt. See the narrative regarding the development of the Floricycle, summer 1905. 116 The decorative bevel or chamfer of the pavement edge is also shown on both the original and the blueprint of the 15 February 1905 ‘Plan of Plantings’. Photo evidence does not confirm the existence of the pavement edge in this design, nor does it confirm the pavement edge as a 90-degre angle. No known photos exist showing a clear documentation of the pavement edge design as constructed. The meager evidence that does exist, including a walkway perspective-projection analysis and a photo showing ground covers in the planting bed corners(photos MS 22.5_463, Ausgefuhrte Bauten 04), seems to suggest that the decorative bevel was constructed. the 12th. 117 118 An additional round of plantings (trees) takes place at the end of May, which consisted of the majority of large deciduous shade trees that survived on the property for many decades. [Fig. 30] Notably, based on the photographic record, these trees are believed to have been planted at more than 12-inch caliper, possibly up to 16-inches for the trees near the garage. Martin says as much in his diary entry at the time, though, a reading more than 100-years later in the context of typical contemporary planting sizes, seems to understate their magnitude: Many thorn bushes, five large elms and a ginkgo tree planted. 119 The overall site planting at this time appears to have been completed primarily based off of the 117 DDM, Memorandum, 9-12 May 1905, MFP-UB. 118 The shrub material appears to have been planted bare- root, and thus quite small compared to a ball-and-burlap root ball method. This explains why the freshly planted foliage-less plant material visible in May 1905 photographs is exceedingly small relative to the mature sizes of some of the shrub plant material noted for the hemi-cycle in particular. The same is true for the later-installed Floricycle. 119 DDM, Memorandum, 23-31 May 1905, MFP-UB. The “five” elms planted include two in courtyard garden, one near the intersection of the driveway and Jewett sidewalk (east side of drive), and one on the east side of the conservatory (near the terrace wall). It is believed that the fifth elm was planted just north of the porte-cochere on the west side of the driveway. The ginkgo referenced in the diary entry is the Ginkgo on the west side of the driveway adjacent to southwest corner of the porte-cochere. Fig. 29, opposite O.S. Lang as-built survey, 18 April 1905.