The Memorial Garden was generously funded by Jim and Carol Conlon. The final touches of the installation were completed in November of 2023.
Background Story
Trustee Jim Conlon, son of Faith and Jack Conlon (past Amherst Cemetery Trustee), came to his first board meeting in May of 2020. After the meeting, he walked over to where the new maintenance center was going to be built and asked what was going to happen with the space up the hill? When he heard there were no plans, he went home and asked his wife Carol what she thought about making a meaningful gift to Wildwood to honor his parents. The Conlons were drawn to the idea of making the garden area a welcoming, contemplative space for visitors to come and sit, as well as give Wildwood an area for memorial services and future cremation burials.
In summer of 2021, Professor of Landscape Architecture Jane Thurber and Amherst Cemetery Association Trustee Elizabeth Cahn took a walk on the grounds of Wildwood Cemetery. Professor Thurber and Elizabeth agreed the grassy area next to the proposed building site would be an excellent place for a public garden space and Professor Thurber worked on a schematic design that melded the garden into the existing landscape - linking it to the Boulder Garden and incorporating the Columbarium. At that same time, Steve Jackson, and Candace Currie of GardenGIS were in the process of working with General Manager, Rebecca Fricke, on mapping the cemetery. Both Candace and Steve have previous careers at Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge and Watertown. When Jim and Carol heard about their expertise, they asked to meet with the pair and the garden planning began in earnest.
With the Conlon’s support, Wildwood hired Steve and Candace and they immediately began to plan what kind of native trees and plants to include, as well as what type of seating to provide. Steve and Candace used Professor Thurber’s design and added details creating a wildlife habitat buzzing with activity. Barry Kuzmeskus, of Native Stone Landscape, designed and constructed Ashfield stone columns functioning as a threshold into the garden and a 40-foot curved seating wall allowing visitors to be part of the garden. Construction began in earnest in the spring of 2023. Barry completed his beautiful stonework, additional soils were screened, grading was completed by Wagner Wood, and plants grown primarily by Native Plant Trust plus other local vendors were dug in. In all, just over 1000 plants were installed.
A drip irrigation system was put into place to support those plants for the first 3 to 5 years. Grass seed was spread. And now, we wait for nature to do its thing. Like all gardens, the Wildwood Memorial Garden will take several years to fill out and will need a lot of care for at least the first few years. Grounds Superintendent Silas Ball will be vigilant about caring for the grass oval, but Wildwood is hoping to rely on an enthusiastic group of volunteer gardeners to care for these pollinator beds throughout the year. Steve is confident he chose hearty varieties and before we know it, we will have too many pollinators competing for space. Rebecca is looking forward to this “problem” because she has plans to move the “extra” plants into other areas of the cemetery.
Wildwood is grateful for the vision of the Conlons, Professor Thurber, Elizabeth and the hard work of Steve and Candace to make the Memorial Garden an inviting and tasty place for all our local insects, birds, and animals. We would especially like to thank the Jim and Carol for their generosity which ushered this project into reality.
In summer of 2021, Professor of Landscape Architecture Jane Thurber and Amherst Cemetery Association Trustee Elizabeth Cahn took a walk on the grounds of Wildwood Cemetery. Professor Thurber and Elizabeth agreed the grassy area next to the proposed building site would be an excellent place for a public garden space and Professor Thurber worked on a schematic design that melded the garden into the existing landscape - linking it to the Boulder Garden and incorporating the Columbarium. At that same time, Steve Jackson, and Candace Currie of GardenGIS were in the process of working with General Manager, Rebecca Fricke, on mapping the cemetery. Both Candace and Steve have previous careers at Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge and Watertown. When Jim and Carol heard about their expertise, they asked to meet with the pair and the garden planning began in earnest.
With the Conlon’s support, Wildwood hired Steve and Candace and they immediately began to plan what kind of native trees and plants to include, as well as what type of seating to provide. Steve and Candace used Professor Thurber’s design and added details creating a wildlife habitat buzzing with activity. Barry Kuzmeskus, of Native Stone Landscape, designed and constructed Ashfield stone columns functioning as a threshold into the garden and a 40-foot curved seating wall allowing visitors to be part of the garden. Construction began in earnest in the spring of 2023. Barry completed his beautiful stonework, additional soils were screened, grading was completed by Wagner Wood, and plants grown primarily by Native Plant Trust plus other local vendors were dug in. In all, just over 1000 plants were installed.
A drip irrigation system was put into place to support those plants for the first 3 to 5 years. Grass seed was spread. And now, we wait for nature to do its thing. Like all gardens, the Wildwood Memorial Garden will take several years to fill out and will need a lot of care for at least the first few years. Grounds Superintendent Silas Ball will be vigilant about caring for the grass oval, but Wildwood is hoping to rely on an enthusiastic group of volunteer gardeners to care for these pollinator beds throughout the year. Steve is confident he chose hearty varieties and before we know it, we will have too many pollinators competing for space. Rebecca is looking forward to this “problem” because she has plans to move the “extra” plants into other areas of the cemetery.
Wildwood is grateful for the vision of the Conlons, Professor Thurber, Elizabeth and the hard work of Steve and Candace to make the Memorial Garden an inviting and tasty place for all our local insects, birds, and animals. We would especially like to thank the Jim and Carol for their generosity which ushered this project into reality.
