Jim Donahue
Jim Donahue, horticulturist for the Preservation Society of Newport County at Green Animals since 2004, was made an honorary member in 2007 as a result of his work with RIDS to re-establish a dahlia garden at Green Animals Topiary Gardens in Portsmouth, Rhode Island.
ABOUT
GREEN ANIMALS
Located
at 380 Cory's Lane in Portsmouth, this small country estate was purchased in 1877 by
Thomas E. Brayton (1844-1939), Treasurer of the Union Cotton Manufacturing Company in Fall
River, Massachusetts. It consisted of seven acres of land, a white clapboard summer
residence, farm outbuildings, a pasture and a vegetable garden. Gardener Joseph
Carreiro, superintendent of the property from 1905 to 1945, and his son-in-law, George
Mendonca, superintendent until 1985, were responsible for creating the
topiaries. There are 80 pieces of topiary throughout the gardens, including 21
animals and birds in addition to geometric figures and ornamental designs, sculpted from
California privet, yew, and English boxwood. Green Animals is the oldest and most northern
topiary garden in the United States. Mr. Brayton's daughter Alice gave the estate its
name because of the profusion of "green animals." She made the estate her
permanent residence in 1939. Upon her death in 1972, at the age of 94, Miss Brayton left
Green Animals to The Preservation Society of Newport County. Today, Green Animals remains
as a rare example of a self-sufficient estate combining formal topiaries, vegetable and
herb gardens, orchards and a Victorian house overlooking Narragansett Bay.
Jim is responsible for the day-to-day operation of Green Animals. He also works with the Preservation Society’s grounds department in the area of landscape design. He is the horticulture chair for the Newport Flower Show and has designed exhibits for the New England Spring Flower Show, the most recent of which was a spectacular underwater exhibit comprised primarily of cacti and succulents, a giant snapping turtle made of sea shells, a sunken ship and, of course, topiary in the forms of an octopus and mermaid. The exhibit won many awards from the Massachusetts Horticultural Society.
In 2006, Jim requested RIDS assistance in two ways: help with planning the garden and donations of tubers for the garden. One of the greatest challenges of working for a non-profit is the lack of resources, Jim says. He greatly appreciates the fact that RIDS stepped up to the challenge. “I really appreciate the volunteers who come to plant the tubers, the donation of tubers and the knowledge-based help the Society members provide,” he said. There are currently about 80 dahlias on the property, with 60 different varieties.
Jim’s goal is to bring Green Animals back to its former stature, and to give it the “vintage appeal” it had in the mid 20th century. The dahlia garden is one of the first steps in that direction. Dahlias were always grown in the garden thanks to Joe Carreiro and his son-in-law George Mendonca, the original gardeners and creators of Green Animals.
Trying to get the garden back to its original stature is a challenge due to the maturity of the trees and the visitor traffic which compacts the soil. “This was originally a garden for two people.” Jim said “It now welcomes over 12,000 visitors each summer.” When asked about visitors’ responses to the dahlia garden, Jim says he most often hears comments such as ‘Oh, my grandmother has/had dahlias. I’m psyched to see them again – maybe I’ll start growing them.’ The most asked questions he gets from visitors are about dahlia storage.
Prior to working at Green Animals, Jim spent 10 years as a residential master planner for a landscape architecture firm. This creative and talented landscape designer takes his inspiration from architecture more than from garden elements. While we hope some day he will say the dahlia is his favorite flower, currently he does not have one. However, Hydrangea ‘Annabelle’ and Viburnum trilobum compactum are his favorite shrubs and Stewartia pseudocamillia and Franklinia alatamaha are his favorite trees.
His creativity is not limited to landscapes, however, since his hobby is baking. And not simple things like cookies, but complex, creative pieces such as elaborate wedding cakes, one of which he decorated with dahlia blooms.
When asked what he learned about dahlias that he didn’t know when he initiated the garden project, Jim said he didn’t realize there was such a diversity of forms. The form he currently favors is the Ball. His favorite varieties (this year, anyway) are Breakout, Gloriosa, Parkland Prom and Jessie G.
The collaborative Green Animals Dahlia Garden is a win-win project for RIDS and the Preservation Society. Our combined stewardship of this garden will hopefully get more people inspired to grow this beautiful flower and the additional promotion will help to bring needed funds to preserve this lovely property. In 2006, the dahlia garden was dedicated to Roberta Achtermeier, former president and long-time member of RIDS who passed away that year. Many of her plants were used for the original garden.
The above photo depicts one section of the Green Animals dahlia garden.
Annual greenery surrounds a multitude of Bishop’s Children peony dahlias arranged in the central hub of the dahlia garden at Green Animals.
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