Posted onJune 7, 2024|Comments Off on Garden Tour: An Intriguing Prospect
Every day — but particularly in springtime — Westporters drive past Prospect Gardens, and marvel at its beauty.
The property, on Prospect Road in Greens Farms, includes nearly 9 acres of flowers, shrubs, lawns, walking paths, meadows, orchards, trees and more.
For over 20 years John and Melissa Ceriale bought adjacent land. Working with the very talented garden designer Cindy Shumate, they created a magical oasis, stretching far and wide.
Looking northeast, on the Ceriales’ property.
Usually, that street view is all that most people see.
But this Saturday (June 8, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.), Prospect Gardens is open to the public.
It’s part of the Garden Conservancy’s Open Days program.
Mature deciduous and evergreen trees create a sweeping canvas, providing a sense of scale, shape and texture.
Key features include a Mediterranean graveled entry garden, 2 orchards, a stone-tiered vegetable garden, blueberry and raspberry houses, beehives, a sunny perennial garden, shady perennial woodland walk, conifer collection, flowering shrub and grass borders, a Japanese-inspired meditation garden and maple collection, 2 pools, containers featuring citrus and cacti, a glasshouse, an internationally renowned sculpture, and a 1-acre perennial/native wildflower meadow.
The most recent addition is a 4-tiered amphitheater, with a stone-medallioned stage.
Pyramid grasses on Prospect Road.
Shumate will be on site all day, explaining the wonders of the land, answering questions and describing Prospect Gardens’ evolution, from just 1 acre in 1996 to today.
She’ll be joined by Judy Gardner of Gardener’s Touch. The perennials expert created 3 specialty gardens plus the containers.
Gabriele Kallenborn will talk about the reproductive cycle of bees, and their importance.
Paul Sztremer of Wildflower Grounds Management will discuss how he and his crew keep the place pruned, planted, fed and weed-free.
Click here for tickets ($10 each), and more information.
One more view of Prospect Gardens.
(“06880” offers a window into Westport’s environmental life — and so much more. Please click here to support our work. Thank you!)
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The road to the state championship ended one run short — and 3 innings extra — yesterday for the Staples High School baseball team.
The Wreckers’ Hiro Wyatt and Fairfield Warde’s Griffin Polley dueled brilliantly — and scorelessly — for much of the game. In the end — the 10th inning — Polley drove home the Mustangs’ winning run, in a 2-1 contest at Palmer Field in Middletown that was even closer than the score. It was the 2nd straight state title for the Fairfielders.
Congratulations to the Wreckers, and coach Jack McFarland, on their great run to the ultimate game of the season.
Hiro Wyatt — the Connecticut Gatorade Player of the Year — had a heroic season on the mound for Staples. (Photo courtesy of Staples Baseball)
Congratulations too to Staples’ number 1 doubles team. Karenna Birns and Audrey Kercher won the State invitational championship Friday, at the Milford Indoor Tennis Club.
The #3-ranked pair defeated Fairfield Ludlowe’s top seed 6-4, 6-3. They also won the semifinals in straight sets, over #3 Amity-Woodbridge.
Karenna heads to Georgetown University in the fall, and Audrey to the University of Florida. Congratulations to both — and to coach Jena Wider.
Speaking still of Staples: Westport photographer Tom Kretsch just returned from a tour/workshop in Washington state.
Walking around Pullman, he spotted pictures in many stores of the high school graduates, in windows and on signs.
He wonders if it’s something we could replicate in Westport.
Sounds like something to investigate. And it sure would be less intrusive than the epidemic of signs that sprawls all along the entrances to Staples, for every team and activity imaginable, which no one can even read.
And speaking again of baseball: The Westport Winners Challenger team, for players with disabilities, ended their 10th season yesterday with a special event.
A big party included player announcements and personalized trophies, plus free ice cream gift cards from The Porch at Christie’s.
Scenes from yesterday’s Westport Winners party. Coach Mike Connors (top left) has been with the program since it began in 2013.
The Little League Challenger division is one of the best sports programs in Westport. Congratulations to all who participate — and all who make it happen!
The Challenger crew. (Photo and hat tip/Beth Cody)
The public is invited to the magnificent Greens Farms property (Sunday, June 11, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; GPS either 13 or 25 Prospect Road).
Besides 9 acres of beauty and joy, Prospect Gardens offers something else.
Last year, the Greens Farms Garden Club has assumed responsibility for the 3-tiered vegetable garden, for their Growing For Good program.
Owners John and Melissa Ceriale turned over the space for their effort. All produce is donated to the Mercy Center in Bridgeport, at time serving as the only source of fresh produce for some of families.
Last year, the Greens Farms Garden Club donated over 1,600 pounds of vegetables. It’s a win-win-win: for the Ceriales, the Club, and Mercy Learning Center.
And after another close game yesterday: Congratulations to the Staples High School boys lacrosse team!
They defeated archrival Darien — as they’ve made a habit of doing recently — yesterday 9-8, in the state “L” (large schools) tournament.
The victory by the #2 Wreckers over the #3 seed Blue Wave vaults Staples into the state championship game. It’s set for tomorrow, 3 p.m. at Sacred Heart University.
That’s a fitting spot for coach Will Koshansky’s team. They’re the defending state champs, after winning their first-ever title last spring.
Their foe on Sunday is Fairfield Prep. The Jesuits are the top seed.
Prospect Gardens – the magnificent Greens Farms property — is open to the public tomorrow (Sunday, June 11, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; GPS either 13 or 25 Prospect Road).
It was first settled in 1813. Noted landscape designer Cindy Shumate first saw the property in 1997; at the time, an 1874 farmhouse sat on an acre of suburban yard.
It has been expanded over time by John and Melissa Ceriale to 9 magnificent acres. Prospect Gardens now includes a Mediterranean garden, 2 orchards, an amphitheater, terraced vegetable garden, woodland walk and wildflower meadow. Winding paths lead from one area to the next.
Mark Demmerle will play classical guitar in the newly finished stone/grass amphitheater. It’s the first performance by anyone in the venue. For more information, click here.
June is dog license month. And all dogs over 6 months old must be licensed.
It’s $8 for neutered male or spayed females. $19 for male or female. There is a $1 penalty per month for renewal licenses issued after June 30. A $75 infraction will be issued for any non-licensed dog, and for any dog not wearing a tag.
Click here, then scroll down for online registration. To register by mail, click here. For all dog license information, click here.
Yeah, you’re cute. But you still need a license. (Photo/Dan Woog)
Speaking of Staples: The World Languages Department has awarded 215 “Seals of Biliteracy” to graduating seniors. The Seal “affirms the value of diversity and honors the cultures and languages in our community,” school officials say.
More than half of the seals — 126 — were for Spanish. Other languages represented were French (29), Italian (26), Mandarin (12), German (7), Latin (6), Hindi (2), and Czech, Haitian Creole, Hebrew, Japanese, Marathi, Polish and Thai (1 each).
Blue skies are back. The orange haze and acrid smoke are gone.
But Charlie Scott is making sure we don’t forget.
The Staples High School junior — a talented photographer, videographer, runner and WWPT-FM sports announcer — has created a visual montage of the past few days.
And he’s picked an apt metaphor: “Blade Runner 2949.”
Click below for Charlie’s 53-second video. Let’s hope he does not have to make another.
Kathie Motes Bennewitz and Robin Jaffee Frank are Westporters.
But the women — executive director of the Hopper House Museum & Study Center/Westport town arts curator and senior associate curator of American paintings and sculpture at the Yale University Art Gallery, respectively — cross the Hudson River next Thursday.
Frank will discuss “Social Distancing: Edward Hopper’s Paintings of Women Dining in Public” at the center in Nyack (June 15, 6 p.m.). She examines the artist’s “sexually and psychologically charged urban dining scenes, interpreted in the context of his life and art, and the larger history of women in American society.”
Former Westporter Frances Hyman died Thursday in Lynchburg, Virginia. She was 90.
The Roosevelt High School (Bronx) graduate met her future husband Leon through a mutual family acquaintance. They both loved classical ballet, and married in 1956.
They lived in Greenwich Village, Stamford and Sacramento, where Frances was a devoted member of Hadassah.
They returned to the East Coast in 1974 and lived in Westport for 45 years, until Leon died in 2019.
Frances led an active life here, volunteering for many causes including Save The Children , Dress For Success and the Stamford Arboretum. She loved Longshore, was an avid bridge player and gardener, and with her husband was a lifelong supporter of the New York City Ballet.
One of her proudest moments was participating in the 1987 “Freedom Sunday for Soviet Jews” rally in Washington.
Frances was also predeceased by her sisters Eleanor Feffer and Barbara Skydel. She is survived by her sons William (Sarah) of Manhattan, and Scott (Phoebe) of Lynchburg, and grandchildren Alexandra and Chloe Hyman of Manhattan, Samuel Hyman of Athens, Ohio, and Jonathan Hyman of Denver.
A graveside service will be held at 1 p.m. tomorrow (Sunday, June 11) at Mount Hebron Cemetery in Flushing, New York. Memorial contributions in her name may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association. To send online condolences, click here.
And if you read People magazine, you can read all about the marriage itself.
It happened Sunday, at the Ebell Club in Long Beach, California. The 130 guests included some of Britt’s co-stars from “Glow” and “The Thing About Harry.”
People noted their high school connection, and included exclusive photos.
Taber Onthank and Britt Baron (Photo courtesy of People Magazine by Albany Katz)
One detail that People missed: The wedding was officiated by Taber and Britt’s longtime friend — and former fellow Staples Player — Adam Kaplan. He was ordained for the ceremony by the Universal Life Church.
(Click here to read the entire People Magazine story. Hat tip: Liz Rueven)
John and Melissa Ceriale have spent 20 years buying property, planning and planting an oasis between Greens Farms Road and Hillspoint Road.
Prospect Gardens — nearly 9 acres of flowers, shrubs, lawns, walking paths, meadows, orchards, trees and more — are a delight for anyone driving on Prospect Road, or walking past.
Usually, the beauty can only be enjoyed from the street. But on Saturday, September 17 (10 a.m. to 4 p.m.).
The event is sponsored by the Garden Conservancy. Tickets are $10 each. Click here to purchase, and for more information.
Though they are bunched nicely, that’s still a lot of them.
And they’re hanging awfully low.
Recent “06880” posts and comments have mentioned the preponderance of wires — telephone, cable, etc. — and the fact that inoperative or outdated wires are seldom removed, just abandoned.
Every company that owns wires points fingers at everyone else. Meanwhile, this is what we’ve got.
On the eve of the opening match of Staples High School boys soccer’s 64th season, here’s news about the 63rd:
For the 20th time in 22 years — and the 17th season in a row — the Wreckers were honored with a national award for academic excellence.
United Soccer Coaches presents the Team Academic Award. A squad must have a 3.25 grade point average for all varsity players. The award is given for the previous academic year. In 2020, Staples’ varsity players had an average GPA of 3.67 — the highest on record for the Wreckers.
Indications are good that the 2022 squad — whose first home match is Saturday (10 a.m.) — will continue the impressive streak.
The 2021 Staples High School boys soccer team. (Photo/Barry Guiduli)
For 8 years, Westport has supported Catch-a-Lift Fund. The national organization serving post-9/11 combat-wounded veterans through fitness programs and gym memberships has run fundraisers, workout sessions and more here.
The Police and Fire Departments, town officials, the VFW, and local gyms, restaurants, business owners and residents have rallied behind the cause.
Now our town’s support will be visible at every youth and high school football game. Every player, from PAL 4th graders through Staples seniors, will wear the CAL logo on their helmets.
This Friday, when the Staples Wreckers open their season at home (7 p.m.) against Conard-West Hartford, will be special: Catch-a-Lift veterans will be at Paul Lane Field, to cheer them on.
Klezmer and traditional music will be led by Adam Feder, founder of New York’s Shul Band.
Beach stickers are not needed; tell the gate attendant you are with CHJ. Attendees should bring dinner, beverages and chairs. Dessert and soft drinks will be provided.
Jason Pike moved to Westport only in January. But he’s quickly developed an eye for special scenes — like today’s “Westport … Naturally” feature, in the middle of downtown.
And finally … 25 years ago today, over a million people lined the streets of London for Princess Diana’s funeral. Another 2.5 billion watched around the world, on television.
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With its stately homes, old growth trees, and the gardens and greenery of John and Melissa Ceriale, no one would confuse the Greens Farms neighborhood with the Third World.
But when the Ceriales turned on the tap a few days ago, after a summer away, the water was brown.
Half an hour later, it had not cleared.
They were not alone. Turns out their neighbors had brown water since July 4th.
Their toilets and laundry were stained. They could not shower. They spent a lot of money on bottled water.
Discolored water on Prospect Road.
Neighbors alled Aquarion — repeatedly. The water company’s responses included:
“Check your water tank.”
“Just run your faucets. This happens to my vacation home in Rhode Island as well.”
“Is there construction in your area?”
“The fire department may be testing.”
“Do you live near a golf course?”
Workers flushed the hydrants and lines three times. Each time they said they tested the water; it was all good.
Wesptort Deputy Fire Chief Michael Kronick was very helpful, trying to reach Aquarion engineers.
Finally, one of the Ceriales’ neighbors found personal contact information for Aquarion’s CEO and vice president of operations. She called and emailed.
That seemed to get some response. The other day, workers reappeared.
“That’s just not right,” the neighbor said — referring both to Aquarion’s lack of urgency and solutions all summer, and the need to involve the C-Suite.
Fortunately, Melissa notes, the flowers and plants in her gorgeous garden don’t mind brown water.
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