First let us introduce Summit resident's favorite garden place "Reeves-Reeds Aboretum", located only 10 mintues walk from the DeBary Inn.

History of the Aboretum

"In 1889, John Horner Wisner created his country estate and built the Colonial Revival residence, presently the administrative center of Reeves-Reed Arboretum known as Wisner House. For an overall landscape plan, he commissioned Calvert Vaux, a partner of Frederick Law Olmsted in the creation of Central Park's sweeping "greensward" look. Mrs. Wisner planted the first clusters of daffodils that are now a major Arboretum attraction in April. In 1916, the new owners, Mr. and Mrs. Richard Reeves, expanded the daffodil collection and, like the Wisners, were guided by prominent landscape architects Ellen Biddle Shipman in 1924 and Carl F. Pilat in 1924-1925. The 1925 Rose Garden with connecting rock-pool garden was an implementation of "garden room" landscaping, an emerging trend in country estates. Elegant stone steps cascading from the house were completed by Italian masons and, today as then, represent mastery in stonework. An original Shipman landscape plan and a hand-colored image of Mrs. Reed's azalea garden in the 1930s are part of the Arboretum's archives.

In 1968, the Charles L. Reed family became the last private owners, adding the patterned herb garden, opening woodland trails and upholding the property's design heritage. In 1974, local citizens, including the Reed family, raised most of the purchase price to preserve the estate as an arboretum. Additional funds were provided by the City of Summit, which became the property owner. At that time, George Morrison Hubbard, Jr. purchased the adjacent field from Charlie Reed which provided the final funds necessary to establish the Arboretum. He subsequently donated the field and adjacent land to the Arboretum in 2007, bringing the property nearer to its historic boundaries." 

(From the official website site of Reeves-Reeds Aboretum")

This month, there is our favorite artist William Durkin's art show - Shoaling going on until Mid of October. 

Here are some brief introcution of the artwork show.

"The Shoaling is the culmination of William Durkin’s lifelong love of the water and its inhabitants. An assembly of nearly 40 dynamic, glimmering sculptures compels us to take a closer look at the beauty of our oceans, rivers, and lakes—and the great perils they are facing. 

Durkin began working on this collection of artworks more than 15 years ago. Over time, he has honed the process of collaging found items including chopsticks, silverware, and vintage buttons, with intricate detail, into exquisitely bejeweled sculptures. In the words of the artist, “People get intimately involved with my pieces because the visual requires investigation, a full investigation. At the right distance a fish might appear to be a painting, but up close they’re three-dimensional sculptures and people want to figure how they were made. It is very rewarding watching the work sublimely taking hold with onlookers. Especially to observe their empathetic consideration and insight gained of the beauty and bounty of our endangered seas, oceans, and rivers.” 

The artist has had a lifelong connection to the subject matter. Born and raised in San Francisco, Durkin later moved to New York to begin a career in the restaurant industry. He saw first-hand the effects of climate change and over-fishing on our oceans, stating, “I witnessed the decline of one species after another in the Fulton Street Fish Market and in my travels. I’ll never forget what I’ve seen and studied. It filters through me and fuels my artwork with the ever-hopeful emotion of engaging all people in the saving of our oceans, our life source.” 

The Shoaling is on view  from June 7 to October 30. Gallery Hours are Tuesday - Sunday 10 AM – 4 PM except when closed for private events." ((From the official website site of Reeves-Reeds Arboretum ")

Hope our guests will enjoy the beautiful Arboretum and impressive shoaling art show.