When I was a kid in Ridgefield, orange daylilies bloomed at the beginning of July, just as they still do. They made big displays in yards, along roads, and at the entrances to driveways. A hearty plant, it was no surprise that they flourished mostly on their own wherever they were started. Daylilies and lilacs are the stars of old-fashioned New England gardens.
I had never seen daylilies other than the orange-flowered ones until I moved to West Tisbury. John Gadowski, who started Middletown Nursery, had several varieties: tall, short, single and double flowers, thick petals, ones with delicate, spidery flowers. Several years later, Wendy Forrest and Nancy Rogers opened daylily farms in town, opening my eyes further to the infinite numbers of hybrids breeders had developed. The dozen or so varieties that John had, which had seemed so exotic, paled beside fields with hundreds of plants that bloomed from late June into September, in colors that ranged from the palest cream to the brightest orange and red. There are even lavender and dark purple-almost-black ones.
I was smitten, of course, and enjoy the annual appearance of those lovely flowers. One of my favorite garden chores is going out in the morning to deadhead the spent flowers, and to see what colors are blooming that day. Unfortunately, even with spraying, deer often sneak into my garden during the night, leaving chewed stalks where colored flower buds had been bursting to open. They really are a lovely flower if allowed to bloom.
This Saturday, July 18, Island kids will meet in Menemsha to participate in Swim Across America. Started on the Island by two high school juniors, Leah Thomson and Zoe Treitman, kids of all ages will swim various distances to raise money for cancer treatment and research. They hope to raise $200,000 to donate to Mass General Brigham Cancer Institute at Martha’s Vineyard Hospital. Please contribute and support their efforts. For information: swimacrossamerica.org/mv, or 508-808-8664.
Tents will be set up on the lawn of the West Tisbury Church for the annual Berry Festival, to take place this Saturday, July 18, from noon to 4 pm. There will be berry shortcakes, smoothies, parfaits, and pies. Yum.
Across the street, paintings by Max Decker and Jeff Hoerle will be featured at an opening at the Field Gallery Saturday afternoon. It will look very festive in town with two events just across the road from one another.
Also on July 18, Micah Thanhauser of Merry Farm Pottery will welcome visitors to his studio from 2 to 5 pm to see his newly fired collection. He has invited two guest potters to show their work, as well. They are Gillian Doty and Allie Stack from Asheville, N.C.
Friends of the West Tisbury Free Public Library, their official name, are looking for volunteers to help sort and move books for their upcoming book sale at the end of July. If you are interested, email westtisburylibraryfriends@gmail.com.
At the library, there will be a free CPR class by EMT/American Heart Association CPR instructor Alan Ganapol on Thursday, July 16, from 1 to 2:30 pm. Registration is encouraged: wt_mail@clamsnet.org. Friday afternoon, 3 to 4 pm, come to a jazz concert featuring Joel Harrison, Stan Strickland, Chico Huff, and Tauras Biskis. Explore your aspirations at a vision board workshop at 11 am, and learn how to keep your pet safe in an emergency at 3:30 pm on Saturday. Sunday, 4 pm, the Climate Book Club will meet on the porch to discuss Tom Dresser’s new book, “Historic Storms of Martha’s Vineyard.” Try Improv Acting Wednesday, noon to 2 pm, or learn how to trace your family history at 4:30 pm. Thursday morning, 8 am, meet Kate Feiffer to write morning pages on the porch; at 3:30 pm, kids can learn potion making.
I couldn’t have been happier when I saw that Jean Tatelbaum is the recipient of this year’s Spirit of the Vineyard Award. Jean was working at the Vineyard Veterinary Clinic when Mike and I met her. She recommended us as adoptive parents for a lovely golden retriever that Tara Larsen had found in Key West. We named the dog Molly, and she was a beloved companion and Mike’s truck dog for many years. Molly brought Jean and Tara into our lives, too, beginning a friendship that continues to this day. Dog rescues were only one of Jean’s many contributions to the Island; she and her husband rescued retired grayhounds. She has turned up in many surprising places and situations over the years. I intend to be among the crowd acknowledging her accomplishments next Thursday, July 23, at 5 pm at the P.A. Club.
