Centuries ago, the branches of cleft-leaved hawthorn trees, covered with two-inch thorns and adorned with budding white blossoms, could be seen all over the Island. Now only about 30 remain.
In a steamy greenhouse in West Tisbury, in the warm aftermath of a summertime downpour, there are leaves, mostly green with hints of red, sparsely topping a collection of spindly stems.
Twenty-five years since its founding as an arboretum and 65 years after Polly Hill planted her first tree, the Polly Hill Arboretum remains a world-class horticultural institution.
Led by Thomas Bena, founder and former director of the Martha’s Vineyard Film Festival, and advisor Jake Davis, Stillpoint Meadows aims to be a gathering place for classes, talks and other events.
Polly Hill Arboretum, in collaboration with the state's Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR), is taking the next step in creating sustainable, on-site housing for permanent staffers and interns.
When Emily Ellingson, the new curator and assistant director of Polly Hill Arboretum, began work this fall it was something of a homecoming. In 2013, she worked there as a curatorial intern.