BSLA Fieldbook BSLA 2013 Fall Fieldbook | Page 93

sizes; lingering paint chips suggested an ochre color. Reconstruction of the fence and replanting of the hedge took place in 2009 and with it, a revival of Edward Dickinson’s story. Why is this story important? Why is his landscape worth preserving? Dickinson saw himself as a prominent member of the Amherst community, and situated his house and farm appropriately near the center of town. At the same time he cloistered his family and his reclusive daughter from the public by erecting an imposing fence and hedge. He was a hugely public figure determined to protect his intensely private daughter from a harsh and frightening world. His property speaks to a man’s need to both put his ambitions on display, yet obscure his private life. While it lacks the mark of a trained designer, it is not without meaning. Like the thousands of gardens, yards, farms, burying grounds and commons throughout this country, Edward Dickinson’s vernacular landscape tells a story that helps us better understand who we are as Americans. Martha H. Lyon, ASLA is a registered landscape architect, adjunct professor of landscape architecture at the University of Massachusetts, and managing principal of Martha Lyon Landscape Architecture, LLC, a Northampton, Massachusetts-based firm specializing in design, historic preservation and planning. She is currently restoring several historic landscapes, some vernacular, in New York and New England, including the Emily Dickinson Museum. 2013 Boston Society of Landscape Architects Fieldbook 91