Habitat

House of the Week: Multi-Level Marvelous

July 16, 2019 by Jennifer Martella Leave a Comment

It was a pleasure to find this property that has all four features I seek in a House of the Week: site, architecture, interiors and landscape. The 1.3 acre site has many pastoral vistas including a view of the pond beyond a tall willow tree and flowering shrubbery, the view of the Chester River framed by mature trees, a hardscaped terrace with an umbrella table for al-fresco dining with colorful beds of flowers and the view of the farm property across the road that is protected from development. The house’s exterior massing breaks up the linear plan with an upper level containing the bedrooms and baths and the lower level below the bedroom wing containing laundry and storage. The main level contains the entrance hall, living, library, kitchen, dining and screened porch. The surrounding green of the landscape is the perfect backdrop for the warm blue color of the exterior siding and crisp white trim.

I loved the interiors of all the rooms with their Scandinavian accents. The spacious entrance hall with its wooden floor, antique wooden table, framed art reflected in the mirror on the opposite wall and the vista toward the living room is a gracious introduction to the interiors. I loved the living room with the rear wall anchored by the fireplace flanked by bay windows with views of the landscape. Millwork “bookends” were on opposite ends of the room. The colors in the art above the fireplace inspired the color scheme for the mantel accent pieces and the entire room. A comfortable blue chair under one wall of books is the perfect spot for reading by the bay window. Both the beautiful wood slat-back settee and the upholstered loveseat have neutral cushions accented by colorful pillows. A small round table surrounded by wood chairs painted lime green finishes this simple but sophisticated look.

The focal point of the dining room is the stunning large round inlaid wood antique table with wood chairs and the hutch between the front windows displays serving pieces. The pale salmon wall color is broken by a white chair rail and double wood doors that lead to the living room. The dining room is separated from the kitchen by a half height wall and a French door on the other side wall leads to the screened porch. The corner location of the screened porch has expansive vistas of the farm across the road and the river.

Being a bibliophile, my favorite room is the library at the rear corner of the house. Daylight comes from the two exterior walls and the windows in the front wall to the screened porch. The rear wall is a window wall of French doors and sidelights against an accent wall of light pumpkin. The side wall is lined with full-height bookshelves punctuated with windows on either side of the fireplace and a TV is discreetly tucked into the millwork. Colorful accent pillows against the blue upholstered loveseats and an artisan coffee table form a cozy seating area in front of the fireplace.

The hallway that leads to the upper level bedrooms ends in a vista of an antique chest on top of an Oriental runner with a lamp and circular mirror above. Each bedroom has “bird’s eye” views of the serene landscape. I especially liked one bedroom since it reminded me of my own bedroom with the white coverlet, the mix of solid and patterned pillows, the translucent lampshades by the bed and the dark patterned rug.

Wonderful site enhanced by landscaping, a house in harmony with its setting, beautifully designed interiors inspired by Scandinavian design principles of clean lines, functionality and simplicity- utterly charming!

For more information about this property, contact Coldwell Banker Chesapeake Real Estate Company agent Richard Budden at 410-778-0330 (o), 443-480-1181 (c) or rbudden@easternshoremdre.com, “Equal Housing Opportunity”.

Spy House of the Week is an ongoing series that selects a different home each week. The Spy’s Habitat editor Jennifer Martella makes these selections based exclusively on her experience as a architect.

Jennifer Martella has pursued her dual careers in architecture and real estate since she moved to the Eastern Shore in 2004. Her award winning work has ranged from revitalization projects to a collaboration with the Maya Lin Studio for the Children’s Defense Fund’s corporate retreat in her home state of Tennessee.

Filed Under: Habitat Homepage Highlight, Habitat House of the Week

Adkins Arboretum Completes Parking Lot Alive!

July 16, 2019 by Adkins Arboretum Leave a Comment

June marked the completion of Parking Lot Alive!, a parking lot retrofit project at Adkins Arboretum. The project transformed a barren sea of asphalt into a parking lot that demonstrates best practices for managing stormwater and benefits from lush plantings and added shade.

Over the span of four months, Unity Landscape Design/Build implemented a design by Campion Hruby Landscape Architects and DesignGreen, LLC to create a beautiful, functional and innovative cultivated garden designed as a series of stormwater management devices. The parking lot is now outfitted with six erosion sediment control devices and seven additional planted gardens. Eleven areas throughout the lot have been densely planted with 17,000 native plants.

Areas of the lot were excavated and regraded to help direct stormwater, slow its flow and allow it to be absorbed into the landscape instead of flowing unchecked to the Arboretum wetland, Blockston Branch, the Choptank River and, ultimately, the Chesapeake Bay. Asphalt was removed and replaced with permeable pavers that also function as a pathway to the entrance bridge. An underground hydraulic bridge connects some of the gardens and now serves as an overflow redundancy for heavy rain events. The past month’s heavy rains have been held by planted swales that allow the rainfall to gradually percolate and transpire.

Photo by Kellen McCluskey

The dense plantings of trees, shrubs and herbaceous perennials have already attracted numerous species of birds and pollinators and will offer much-needed shade once they become established. A broad variety of native plants was selected for both dry and wet conditions, and plants were installed densely to reduce weed pressure.

Arboretum volunteers assisted in planting five of the garden beds and continue to help keep weeds at bay. Volunteers and staff have already dedicated more than 300 hours to planting and caring for the gardens. The public is invited to visit, enjoy the gardens and learn about best practices for managing stormwater.

Parking Lot Alive! was funded by the Chesapeake Bay Trust G3 Implementation Phase Grant Program and the Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays 2010 Trust Fund. The Arboretum has been fortunate to partner with project designers Campion Hruby Landscape Architects and Design Green, LLC and contractors Unity Landscape Design/Build, and to consult with the Caroline County Department of Planning and Codes and the University of Maryland Sea Grant Extension Program.

Adkins Arboretum is a 400-acre native garden and preserve at the headwaters of the Tuckahoe Creek in Caroline County. Open year round, the Arboretum offers educational programs for all ages about nature and gardening. For more information, visit adkinsarboretum.org or call 410-634-2847, ext. 0.

Filed Under: Garden Notes

Project WILD Professional Development is Aug. 3 at Adkins Arboretum

July 12, 2019 by Adkins Arboretum Leave a Comment

Adkins Arboretum will host Project WILD, a professional development workshop about wildlife and conservation, for K–12 teachers on Sat., Aug. 3 from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Presented by Kerry Wixted, wildlife education and outreach specialist with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, the workshop is perfect for teachers in both formal and informal settings, as well as anyone with an interest in environmental education.

A project of the Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies, Project WILD is dedicated to helping students learn how to think, not what to think, about wildlife and the environment. All curriculum materials are back by sound education practices and theory and represent the work of many within the fields of education and natural resource management from across the country.

The workshop will cover pollination, field investigations, inquiry-based learning and more. All participants will receive two free Project WILD guides filled with more than 100 lesson plans. The course counts as professional development for Maryland Green Schools and for Maryland Master Naturalists.

The Project WILD workshop is $25 for Arboretum members and $30 for non-members. Advance registration is required at adkinsarboretum.org or by calling 410-634-2847, ext. 0.

Filed Under: Garden Notes

House of the Week: Chesapeake Bay Bliss

July 9, 2019 by Jennifer Martella Leave a Comment

After a drive down a private lane with vistas through tall evergreen and deciduous trees, colorful redbuds and lower plantings, you arrive at a clearing where the drive circles around the corner of the “L” shaped house surrounding a swimming pool facing the Bay. The massing of the house steps down from the two-story wing to a one story wing to the pool. The corner of the “L” is the entrance hall with Mexican tile flooring and arched openings that lead either to the wide stairs to the upper level family room or to the other wing that contains a guest suite and the spacious master suite beyond.

From the entry, a short hall leads to the wing containing the kitchen/dining area and another guest suite. The kitchen has my favorite “L” and island arrangement and I liked the openness of shelves instead of upper cabinets, the white base cabinets with a contrasting island color and stainless steel appliances. Opposite the kitchen is a large screened porch along the length of this wing of the house for easy access from the kitchen and dining area and direct access to the pool area. Skylights strategically placed in the long roof area bring daylight into the screened porch. The dining area has a bay window and a fireplace and built-in cabinetry along the stair wall for storage.

The spacious ground floor master suite with wood floors has daylight from two pairs of double windows flanking the bed and two pairs of French doors that lead to a sitting room. This corner room has views to the landscape and the Bay from wrap-around windows. French doors that lead to the lawn and garden areas.

The stunning family room encompasses the entire second floor. Large windows on three sides of the room and a wrap-around deck offer panoramic views of the landscape and the Bay. One focused vista of the bay is framed by tall trees and beds of daffodils in the spring. The pitched ceiling with exposed collar beams, the seating area around the fireplace, the dining area and wet bar all combine to create a great space for relaxing with family and friends.

The wood floors, light colored walls and white trim throughout the house is a very pleasing interior color palette. The “coastal” plan with the great room on the second floor, the ground floor bedrooms and the kitchen/dining areas with direct access to the large pool works very well. Access to the beach along the Bay is a very pleasant stroll between tall trees and flower beds in the spring. All this and sunset views of the endless Bay horizon – a blissful retreat!

For more information about this property contact Lynn Hilfiker with Gunther McClary Real Estate at 410-639-2118 (o), 443-480-1163 (c) or lynnhilfiker@gmail.com, “Equal Housing Opportunity.”

Filed Under: Habitat Homepage Highlight, Habitat Portal House of the Week

July Pollinator Programs at Adkins Arboretum

July 6, 2019 by Adkins Arboretum Leave a Comment

Solitary bee. Photo courtesy of Pollinators Prospering People.

Adkins Arboretum will host a trio of programs this month aimed at educating about pollinators, their needs and ways to increase their vital habitat. All programs will be led by Melinda Fegler and Lindsay Hollister of Pollinators Prospering People (PX3), a nonprofit dedicated to promoting sustainable pollinator habitat. Programs include:

Befriending Bumblebees, 1–4 p.m. on Sun., July 14. Learn about the bumble’s importance for wildlife and for humans’ edible gardens. Participants will learn Maryland bumble ID and how to design a garden to attract bumblebees, as well as build a bumblebee hive box.

Solitary Bee Beginnings, 1–4 p.m. on Sun., July 21. What is a solitary bee? Learn about the ecology, life cycles and groupings of these lone workers. Participants will also learn about garden additions for solitary bees, build a solitary bee condo and practice identification.

Caterpillars to Butterflies, 1–4 p.m. on Sun., July 28. Learn about the mysteries of and threats to these beautiful pollinators and the important role they play in the natural world. Participants will build a chrysalis tree, learn to use identification resources and practice skills during a NABA butterfly count.

Each program is $35 for Arboretum members and $40 for non-members. All three sessions count as continuing education for Master Gardeners and for Maryland Master Naturalists. Advance registration is required at adkinsarboretum.org or by calling 410-634-2847, ext. 0.

Filed Under: Garden Notes

Spy House of the Week: Historic Charm with Modern Updates

July 2, 2019 by Jennifer Martella Leave a Comment

The setting of this house, built in 1900, with its blend of the best details of the Victorian and Queen Anne styles caught my eye. The house’s massing with hipped roofs broken by gables and dormers, the wrap-around front porch with fretwork, and the bay wings is very pleasing. The color palette of white siding with accents including the third floor gable with a contrasting peach color siding, the blue accents of porch columns, fretwork and window shutters and the exposed foundation of red brick with white lattice infill are picture perfect. Several large trees shade the house and the low hedge that borders the porch with accents of plantings amid the lawn areas creates a lovely setting for this charming historic house.

The bay window that protrudes into the front porch creates several seating areas for relaxing. Two white rocking chairs in the nook next to the front door and a row of white Adirondack chairs facing the street are great spots for enjoying a summer evening’s breeze and catching up with neighbors passing by. The front door with its transom and sidelights next to an accent window of stained glass opens onto a spacious entrance hall’s “L” shaped stair with the original balustrade and panels below that have been carefully preserved.

I love bay windows for the extra light they bring into a room and both the living and dining rooms had bay windows. The original wood fireplace in the living room with its inlaid mirror and shelf for display of collectibles is the focal point of the room and the front windows, side bay window and beautiful hardwood floor add more charm. The bay window in the dining room is a cozy spot for cocktails before dinner and the large Oriental rug, the Queen Anne antique table and chairs and the hutch filled with china evokes dinner parties from another era.

The smooth flow from the “formal” rooms to the kitchen, family room and sunroom makes this a great house for entertaining. A wide wall opening between the breakfast area in the large kitchen and the sunroom at the rear of the house connects these spaces and the family room next to the breakfast area completes the informal areas. In the heat of the summer, a dip in the pool in the rear yard would be hard to resist.

The second floor contains the bedrooms and the third floor attic could be a quiet studio for an artist or writer. Great historic charm that has been carefully preserved and all the modern conveniences you need to make this house your home.

For more information about this property, contact Jody Baker with Cross Street Realtors at 410-778-3779 (o),410-708-3536 (c) or jody@csrealtors.com.com, “Equal Housing Opportunity”.

Filed Under: Habitat Homepage Highlight, Habitat House of the Week

From Moth to Monster

June 30, 2019 by University of Maryland Extension Leave a Comment

A few weeks ago you were sitting back admiring your freshly planted garden. Neat little rows of tomato, pepper, squash, and cucumber plants accompanied by flowers and herbs were all planted in view from your back deck. As you sat there basking in the evening sun, relishing in your hard work, a little moth fluttered from flower to flower sipping nectar. With her hummingbird like flutters, the Carolina Sphinx moth floated through your garden, unassumingly laying her eggs on your newly planted tomato and pepper plants. Within a few days, from her little green eggs emerged a tiny but very hungry green caterpillar. Since that day, the ravenous little green Tobacco Hornworm caterpillar has spent his days munching away, perfectly hidden by the copious green foliage of your tomato plants, growing bigger and bigger. You begin to notice stems of complete defoliation. Maybe you think it’s a bunny or deer having a nighttime nibble as the little green caterpillar stays camouflaged, until the moment you notice the red-tipped horn and the very large green body of a caterpillar measuring almost 4” in length hanging on your prize winning tomato plant. During the last month the hornworm caterpillar has gone through 4-5 instars (growth stages) while feasting in your garden. If the hornworm reaches the final growth stage he will begin to wander looking for the perfect site to pupate. Once the perfect site has been found the caterpillar will form a pupal cell below the leaf litter or soil.

Hornworm parasitized by Braconoid wasps. Photo taken by Rachel Rhodes.

However, in our area there are many natural predators that love to make a meal of the delicious protein rich hornworm caterpillar or eggs. Birds, small animals, and insects find the hornworm caterpillar particularly delicious. Paper wasps use the caterpillars as a future food source in nest cells containing the wasp’s eggs. In sci-fi movie fashion, parasitic wasps (Braconid wasps), also use hornworms as a food source for their young, but in a much more diabolical manner. The small parasitic wasp inconspicuously stings the caterpillar depositing her eggs inside the hornworms body. As the larval wasps develop they devour the caterpillar, feeding on its blood as they grow. In the final pupal stage, the immature wasp spin small white cocoons that resemble grains of rice that protrude from the body of the living hornworm. Eventually, the parasitized hornworm will fall victim to the wasp and will stop eating and die. Using nature as your method of control is perhaps the best way to rid your garden of this very hungry caterpillar, so just sit back and watch the show.

For further information, please visit https://extension.umd.edu/queen-annes-county/master-gardener-home-gardening or see us on Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/QueenAnnesCountyMasterGardeners. For more information contact: Rachel J. Rhodes, Master Gardener Coordinator at (410) 758-0166 or by email at rjrhodes@umd.edu.

University of Maryland Extension programs are open to all people and will not discriminate against anyone because of race, age, sex, color, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, religion, ancestry, or national origin, marital status, genetic information, or political affiliation, or gender identity and expression.

Resources:
Horning in on your tomatoes-Tomato and Tobacco Hornworms: https://bugoftheweek.com/blog/2013/1/9/horning-in-on-your-tomatoes-tomato-and-tobacco-hornworms-imanduca-quinquemaculatai-and-imanduca-sextai?rq=tobacco%20Hornworm

Tobacco-Tomato Hornworm:
https://extension.umd.edu/hgic/topics/tobacco-tomato-hornworm-vegetables

Featured Creatures: University of Florida http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/field/tobacco_hornworm.htm

Filed Under: Garden Notes

Spy House of the Week: Craftsman Gem

June 18, 2019 by Jennifer Martella Leave a Comment

This house was built in 2015 but its style evokes the craftsman bungalows of the 1930’s with its compact massing, materials, textures and architectural details. The “L’ shaped footprint has a wrap-around porch at the side that is recessed from the main façade and is covered by a metal roof with tapered wood columns on stone bases. The porch leads to a deck at the water side and one bay of the porch leads to the front door with sidelights and another window. The front wall of the house is a mix of stone at the first floor with a triple window and board and batten siding around the double window at the second floor. The garage is at a right angle to the house and its architecture is as beautifully articulated as the house. The pitched roof has a shed dormer above the craftsman garage doors. On the other side, the roof extends to become a shed roof projection with a stone base and board and batten siding above. The gable end wall with a single window set into board and batten siding above a shed bay projection clad in stone with a triple window completes the striking composition.

The front door opens onto an entrance hall that steps down to the great room with living, dining and kitchen areas. The “L” shaped stair is opposite the wall of windows that bathe the great room with sunlight on three sides. The fireplace on one side wall is flanked by pairs of double windows and at the rear four single windows are ganged together for views to the water. The dining area has a bay shape that extends to the floor at the rear and a side triple window unit with a French door to the deck. The galley kitchen with a long island and bar stools defines the kitchen area. The lower level has a family room with dining space and another kitchen to bring the indoor entertaining area closer to the terrace, dock and water.

I loved the master bedroom with its rear bay window and side triple windows for water views. I coveted the free-standing tub in the master bath underneath four windows ganged together for contemplating nature while enjoying a slow relaxing soak after a day on the water.

This prominent home site is surrounded by water. Outdoor rooms from the porch, deck, covered terrace at the lower level, the terrace with its semi-circle of Adirondack chairs surrounding the firepit and the sandy beach all beckon the nature lover

For more information about this property, contact John Burke with Gunther McClary Real Estate at 410-275-2118 (o), 443-206-3727 (c) or jburke57@gmail.com, “Equal Housing Opportunity”.

Filed Under: Habitat Homepage Highlight

Habitat: The Work of Architect William Draper Brinckloe

June 12, 2019 by Jennifer Martella Leave a Comment

I have a particular fondness for the “Period” style of American architecture from the early twentieth century. Partly as a reaction to the previous elaborate Victorian style, these Period homes were compact, with space plans defined by separate rooms according to function. Designs were inspired by English Tudor, Colonial Revival, French Colonial, Spanish Colonial, Bungalow and Craftsman styles. Two of my favorite Period houses in Easton’s Historic District are a bungalow on Washington Street and a Dutch colonial on S. Harrison Street. After some research, I discovered they were designed by the same architect, William Draper Brinckloe, who lived to Easton from 1911 until his death in 1933. He was also an author of two books, “The Small Home” and “The Volunteer Firemen”. In his book “The Small Home” he mentions that he is designing a small bungalow for his family which became known as the “Dutch Cottage” on Harrison Street.

“A Small Home” is out of print but through the Easton Library’s loan program, I obtained a copy that was invaluable to me in my research. Brinckloe discusses sixteen categories of planning and building a house and includes plans and perspectives of sixty of his charming designs. I chuckled when I saw rooms on several plans named “sewing room” as my sewing skills are limited to sewing buttons or fixing hems! As a veteran of many home makeovers, his chapter on “Making Over the Old Home” had a simple rule “Do as little tearing out as possible; remodel by building on new work, rather than by changing old” and my architectural practice has endeavored to adhere to that rule. I then wryly read his comment that he “…specialized on remodeling to some extent; and I have probably done more of it than my brother architects”. Little did he know that today all but one of Easton’s architectural firms have women principals.

åBrinckloe also designed several commercial projects, including renovations to the landmark Stewart Building that the Prager Group has updated to become the Jewel in the Crown of Federal Street. Brinckloe’s design for the brick building near the corner of Dover and Aurora Streets is simply delightful. Red brick with accents of white banding between the lower floor windows and the arched transoms, the recessed archway that is an open vestibule to the French entry door beyond, three single windows that step up in tune to the stairway and two pairs of four window units create a lively façade. I especially liked how the white lintel band created a small open transom for the vestibule beyond. The wall above the stairwell rises above the parapet and is crowned with an arched top that steps down to the adjacent roof. The second floor windows are covered by a deep shingled roof overhang and enhanced by window boxes below.

In addition to Brinckloe’s designs for the Washington and Harrison Street residences, Aurora Street has a row of his Period designs across from Idlewild Park. When I was active in real estate, I showed the irresistible red brick bungalow with a tile roof. The roofline flares at the front elevation and a wide shed dormer creates space for a second floor. I loved the symmetry of the front elevation with two pairs of shed roof dormer windows that were centered over the front door below and the end windows that were centered over the wide bay windows below that are tucked under the wide soffit. The exquisite one-story semicircular bay wing on the right of the house is surrounded by continuous windows for sunlight and views of the park.`

The other Aurora Street bungalows are equally charming with their brick facades and the variety of roof styles that create a delightful streetscape. One house has a hipped roof with two dormer windows and a front porch gable flanked by two pairs of windows. The center and each end of the elliptical window headers are accented in white to match the façade’s white quoins. Another house has lighter brick with white quoins and two shed dormers in its tile roof. The third house has a gambrel roof, double window dormers above an asymmetrical façade of a triple window bay with quoins, front door and double window. The fourth house is a lovely elongated façade of light brick with white quoins, the entry porch at one side, a wide shed dormer that meets the front wall of the main floor below and a single window wing at the end.

I was very fortunate to have tours of both the Washington Street bungalow and the Harrison Street “Dutch Cottage” that Brinckloe once called home. The Washington Street bungalow is the last illustration of his book. Brinckloe wrote that “the living room is particularly attractive with its curved ingle-nook bordered by bookshelves” and it has remained so. I absolutely love the front elevation with its gable front, deep eave broken by an “eyebrow” to mark the front door, the deep wrap-around porch with its wide, flared columns, the hipped roof wing next to the gable with a triple window-a perfect example of proportion and style that has been lovingly maintained by its current owners.

Brinckloe’s “Dutch Cottage” residence is set back and angled from the street for privacy. A weathered wood fence along the street frontage is broken by a curved brick path that leads to a gate in the fence. After a short walk through the landscape you cross over a bridge where a stream once bisected the property. You arrive at the two-story gambrel roofed cottage that is sited parallel to the dry stream bed for maximum privacy from the street. The exterior walls are painted dark gray that disappear into the landscape and the crisp white multipaned windows, trim and pale brown shutters are appealing accents. The front door opens to a view of the stairs that split at the landing in two directions. The dining room has a fireplace with a surround of Delft tiles and an arched niche above for family photographs. One bedroom is tucked under the eaves with a triple window dormer for sunlight.

Brinckloe’s home will be featured in the first Fall Spy House Tour of Homes on Sunday October 6th. Homes will be designed by architects and interior designers in a celebration of Talbot County’s great architectural heritage, past and present. Stay tuned to the Spy for more information.

Many thanks to the owners of the Washington Street and S. Harrison Street residences who graciously welcomed me into their homes and shared their photographs.

I am indebted to my friend, the artist Carol Minarick, for leading me to the work of this gifted architect of an earlier generation. I am also grateful to the architect Charles Goebel for his help during my research.

Exterior Photography by Ted Mueller, tedmuellerphotography@gmail.com, 443-955-2490

Filed Under: Habitat Homepage Highlight, Habitat Portal Highlight

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