Over 300 organizations, businesses, agencies, and entities from 46 states and the District of Columbia have signed on to a bipartisan letter urging Congress to reauthorize the Historic Preservation Fund (HPF). Preservation New Jersey has brought New Jersey history organizations together to support this initiative and Durand-Hedden House & Garden is a proud signatory.
On August 28, six students and two professors from the Seton Hall University Museum Professionals Master’s Program met with DHH President Gail Safian and Board Member Anita Dennis. The program’s director, Professor James Kimble, was eager for the students to learn about the management of a house museum and how we develop our programming. Professor Nadzeya Charapan, who teaches a course on the Anatomy of a Museum, also participated.
The students were eager to explore the house and learn about how our group of dedicated trustees manages to put on so many inspiring and well-researched programs during the year, all while tending to the maintenance and preservation of the buildings, Grasmere Park, and our collections. We are looking into the possibility of working with Seton Hall on an internship.
The Durand-Hedden House sits in Grasmere Park, and the park’s most beautiful feature is the Herb Garden, an oasis of tranquility. The Herb Garden has been lovingly cared for by the Maplewood Garden Club since its creation in 1979 in a Colonial-revival style. It opened to the public in May 1980.
For the past year, the Herb Garden has been undergoing revitalization under the guidance of MGC Herb Garden Chair Maria Mulkern, with the help of landscape designer Karen Shelby and her crew. The bricks lining the beds, which had sunk over the years, were dug up and reseated, the paths were refreshed with many pounds of new pebbles, and plants have been pruned, or replaced, with new shrubs and herbs added.
Still to come this summer: reconstruction of the trellis at the east end of the garden and additional plant identification markers. The bench at the west end of the garden is the perfect place to sit and appreciate nature’s beauty at any time of year.
photo credits: Maria Mulkern
