entering natick sign

entering natick sign

Natick Report

More than you really want to know about Natick, Mass.

  • Subscribe to daily email
  • About Us
  • Advertise
  • Eat
  • Schools
  • Summer Camp
  • Embracing diversity
  • Charities/Community
  • Arts
  • Kids
  • Business Buzz
  • Environment/Sustainability
  • Top 10 things to do (under normal circumstances)
  • The Swellesley Report
  • COVID-19
  • Town election 2021
  • Beyond Natick
  • Town history

Natick’s latest Adams Street art project being dedicated on Nov. 7

November 4, 2020 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

Natick resident, business-owner and artist Ginger McEachern’s UnconVENTional Garden, which has transformed an unsightly vent on Adams Street into a work of art, will formally be dedicated at 1pm on Saturday, Nov. 7.

The garden joins other colorful displays, including the butterfly installation, in this alley.

adams st alley art garden

This project was selected as a finalist for the Natick Center Creative Placemaking Call for Creatives 2019 – For The Love of Natick.

McEachern is the owner of Five Crows Gallery and Hand Crafted Gifts in Natick Center. She is also a member of the Natick Center Associates’ Board of Directors as well as Natick Center Cultural District’s Public Art Committee and Creative Placemaking Advisory Group.


Subscribe to our Natick Report daily email

Filed Under: Art

Fran's Flowers, Framingham
London Harness
Linden Square, Wellesley

Oldtown Calendar show goes online

October 22, 2020 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

The 15th annual Oldtown Calender competition organized by the Eliot Church in South Natick has spawned lots of great photos as usual, though this year the public showing of these images will be online instead of in person in light of the pandemic.
Photos from professionals and amateurs alike are up for consideration to be included in the physical 2022 Oldtown Calendar.
To receive an invitation link to the show, which runs Oct. 24-31, send email to theoldtowncalendar@gmail.com. The show link will also be posted at www.oldtowncalendar.org.
south natick dam fall
Sometimes we remember to submit pics, but not this year

Subscribe to our Natick Report daily email

Filed Under: Art, Community

Page Waterman, Wellesley

This South Natick, Massachusetts garden brings on the drama

October 15, 2020 by Deborah Brown 3 Comments

“When you love something, you don’t look at your watch or the clock. You don’t think about the time. When you love something you just do it,” said Karen Coffman as we looked out at her South Natick garden all dressed up for fall in purples, yellows, oranges, reds, and browns. “I put in the time in the garden, and I love it. I also have really good help. My husband is strong, built like an offensive lineman, and is willing. We’ve lived here since 1995, and I’ve been gardening the whole time.”

Natick garden, Karen Coffman
South Natick gardener, Karen Coffman. She grew up in Webster Groves, Missouri and comes from a long line of mid-western farmers. Karen says  she’s the first generation off the farm. “I learned a lot about the instincts of gardening from my parents.”

Karen hasn’t always had her dream garden. For 11 years before she landed in South Natick, she and her husband called Wellesley home. She liked the town, but found the gardening an exercise in frustration. “There were just too many trees shading my property,” she said. “I couldn’t get the six hours of sun per day that I needed without chopping down my neighbor’s trees. I told Lonnie I needed more sun for a garden.”

She found the perfect property that abutted acres and acres of apple orchards and, most importantly, it was a place where she could get direct sun for the necessary 6 – 8 hours per day. Still, the 1⅓-acre space wasn’t exactly ready for its close-up. “When we got here we cut down 37 swamp maples,” Karen said.

Natick garden, Karen Coffman
Deciduous trees, evergreens, shrubs, grasses, and perennials are layered to create a painterly effect.

With the shade eliminated, the sun poured onto the lot. That was one box checked.

Next, there was the matter of the lack of organic matter. “You know how they say in real estate it’s all about location, location, location?” Karen asked. “Well, in gardening it’s all about the soil, the soil, the soil. The soil was so poor here I knew nothing would grow.”

So she had truckloads of the offending dirt hauled away. “Then I ordered the best loam and filled the yard back in. My budget was 75% spent and I hadn’t bought a single plant. But I had to do it. The land tells you what to do if you pay attention.”

Once the dirt deed was done, another box was checked off. Karen was just a couple more steps away from realizing her dream.

Natick garden, Karen Coffman

Soil and sun are all very well and good, but a garden can’t grow without water. Since, as you can probably tell by now, Karen goes big or goes home, she had an 850-foot well drilled. “With the kind of investment I was making in this garden, I wasn’t willing to just let everything go during periods of drought.”

With the infrastructure in place, it was time to have fun and bring on the drama. Not a problem for someone who trained as an opera singer for 12 years. In fact, both Karen and her husband Lonnie trained at Indiana University. After graduation, they went to New York City and tried to break into the business.

Natick garden, Karen Coffman
Karen sources most of her plant materials from Fran’s Flowers. “Fran believes in people first,” she says.

“I did the starving artist bit for three years. Then I came to a fork in the road and made a decision to go into the tech  industry, I went into business and entered the sales side of things. I had sold pianos before, and had been good at it then. I found I was still good at sales and that’s what I built my career around.”

But she never lost her love of all things theatrical, and compares the topography of her garden to a raked stage. That’s a set that slopes upward, away from the audience, giving those at the back a better view than if all the seats were at the same level, which explains why so much of the garden is visible from no matter where you stand. As I looked out from the back deck, I could see how the garden layout moved from orchestra pit to mezzanine to balcony.

Unsurprisingly, this was not by accident. Karen considers herself a student of gardening, but says, “I’m not a designer. Never claimed to be one. So I got help from someone who knew what he was doing.”

Natick garden, Karen Coffman
Over 70 boxwoods make up the hedge at the back of the property.

Enter landscape architect Thomas Wirth who fit in 40 specimen trees to replace the felled maples; added a koi pond; used the existing gazebo as an architectural element; and created flow and balance throughout.

Although the garden was professionally designed, it’s continually evolving. Karen adds here and subtracts there as the muse dictates and aesthetics allow. “My major considerations when planning and working in the garden are height, texture, bloom time, and maintenance,” she says. “It’s an experiment, number one. It’s a puzzle, number 2. If something doesn’t work, if it’s only pretty for a brief bloom time and then ugly for the rest of the year, out it goes.”

As you can see, she’s ruthless. Karen says it’s the only way and cites her decades in executive recruiting as good preparation for ripping out uncooperative plants. “Now that was a ruthless business,” she says.

Natick garden, Karen Coffman
The gazebo, tucked away behind the koi pond, came with the property. A dwarf variety of Sargent Crabapple tree frames the scene.

My tour over, Karen sends me off with a red Solo cup full of dahlias and other autumn gems that she clipped with her number 2 Felcos as we strolled the grounds.

“Don’t forget to let me know which plants you want divisions from,” she calls out as I leave.

Oh, don’t worry, Karen. That’s an offer nobody could refuse.


Subscribe to our Natick Report daily email


MORE PICTURES:

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Art, Gardens, Outdoors

Natick’s best benches

September 18, 2020 by Bob Brown 1 Comment

Take a load off and park yourself on one of Natick’s best benches.

These are seats recognizable for their style, significance or unusualness.

Our list will grow—this is a work in progress: Suggestions? natickreport@gmail.com

Memorial School playground Natick
Memorial Elementary School playground

 

Natick's Fallen Soldiers bench, Rte. 135
Natick’s Fallen Soldiers bench on Rte. 135 near Natick VFW Post 1724

 

Women Veterans memorial bench at Morse Institute Library
Women Veterans memorial bench at Morse Institute Library

 

outside art mustache bench title city
Mustache bench outside Title City Barbers in Natick Center

 

SmartPak Saddlery on Rte. 9 east bench
SmartPak Saddlery on Rte. 9 horse bench

 

Wilson Middle School, Connor Heffler
Wilson Middle School, Connor Heffler bench

 

seating at natick common
Natick Common

 

Broadmoor wildlife sanctuary
Broadmoor Wildlife Sanctuary

 

log bench Hunnewell Town Forest off Oak St
In Hunnewell Town Forest off Oak Street

 

D'Agostino's bench
D’Agostino’s flowery bench

 

south natick dam bench
South Natick Dam bench is no great shakes, but can’t beat the view

 


More:  Subscribe to our Natick Report daily email

 

Filed Under: Art, Community

‘We the People’ mosaic dedication in Natick set for Aug. 29

August 25, 2020 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

we the people mosaicThe newish “We the People” mosaic on Court Street in Natick Center will have a formal dedication on Saturday, Aug. 29 at 2pm. The event is hosted by the Natick Center Cultural District.

The public art project was created by Natick’s Carol Krentzman and installed in early June.

Filed Under: Art

  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • Next Page »

Tip us off!

Please send tips, photos, ideas to natickreport@gmail.com

vax prereg
Fay School, Southborough

Categories

  • Animals
  • Art
  • Bacon Free Library
  • Beyond Natick
  • Books
  • Boston Marathon
  • Business
  • Camps
  • Charity/Fundraising
  • Churches
  • Community
  • Construction
  • COVID-19
  • Education
  • Election
  • Embracing diversity
  • Entertainment
  • Environment
  • Fashion
  • Firefighters
  • Food
  • Gardens
  • Government
  • Health
  • History
  • Holidays
  • Kids
  • Media
  • Morse Institute Library
  • Natick Historical Society
  • Natick track
  • Neighbors
  • Obituaries & remembrances
  • Outdoors
  • Police & crime
  • Real estate
  • Recycling Center
  • Religion
  • Restaurants
  • Schools
  • Seniors
  • Shopping
  • Sports
  • Theater
  • Town election 2021
  • Transportation
  • Uncategorized
  • Veterans
  • Volunteering
  • Voting
  • Weather
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter

Get our email newsletter

* indicates required

Most Read Posts

  • Natick summer camp listings 2021 — find the experience of a lifetime
  • Natick Freedom Team inspires Wellesley to follow suit
  • The pandemic even has me missing NEFFA descending upon Natick
  • Beyond Natick: Blithewold Mansion & gardens on Rhode Island's Narragansett Bay
  • Natick's Level 99 interactive gaming & Night Shift Brewing venture gets closer

Click image to read The Swellesley Report

The Swellesley Report

Events calendar

  1. Family Promise clothing and household items drive

    April 19 @ 10:00 am - 12:00 pm
  2. Fay School virtual information session

    April 28 @ 10:00 am - 11:00 am
  3. History of the Natick Soldier Systems Center

    April 28 @ 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm
  4. 1st Annual Natick 4th Golf Tournament

    October 11 @ 9:30 am - 12:30 pm

View All Events

Pages

  • About Natick Report
  • Advertise on Natick Report
  • Contribute to Natick Report
  • Embracing diversity in Natick
  • Kid stuff (sports, clubs, activities in Natick, Mass.)
  • Natick Arts/Entertainment
  • Natick charitable and community action groups
  • Natick COVID-19 & vaccine news
  • Natick history
  • Natick No-Nos
  • Natick public schools
  • Natick Summer Camps (and beyond)
  • Natick’s zip code & post offices
  • Top 10 things to do in Natick, Mass.
  • Where to Eat in Natick, Mass
  • Where to worship in Natick
  • Natick rules: Chickens yes, roosters no

© 2021 Natick Report
Site by Tech-Tamer · Login