The Gardens at the Thomas Cole House

By Margaret Donsbach Tomlinson

When artist Thomas Cole lived in Catskill, the village was surrounded by primeval forest, though change was already coming. In his 1836 “Essay on American Scenery,” Cole bemoaned “the ravages of the axe” and worried that “another generation will behold spots, now rife with beauty, desecrated by what is called improvement.” Today, the landscape is much changed, but the guardians of his former home are working to restore some of what has been lost.

The nonprofit Thomas Cole National Historic Site owns the house and six acres of what was once a 110-acre farmstead. For years, the site was neglected, maintained primarily by clearing brush and mowing lawns. But an archaeological study commissioned by the Cole House found traces of flowerbeds along a path to the front door. Old letters, journals and a painting by one of Cole’s fellow artists helped identify many of the flowers that had flanked the path: hollyhocks, larkspur, poppies, roses, asters, dahlias and valerian. Today, the restored beds focus on some of our most beautiful native wildflowers, including coneflowers (Echinacea purpurea), beebalm (Monarda fistulosa), black-eyed Susans (Rudbeckia hirta), and a double-flowering cutleaf coneflower (a cultivar of Rudbeckia laciniata).

Small pocket meadows recreate the wild beauty Cole so loved, while providing seeds and nectar for birds, bees and butterflies. The pocket meadows are gently maintained by removing invasive plants and by carefully timed mowing that cuts down invasives before they seed while allowing native wildflowers, which set seed at different times, to grow and multiply. Although expanses of mowed lawn are still maintained for the comfort of visitors, the grass is mowed to a higher, healthier level. The staff have been studying where best to add more flower beds for pollinators, “carving out sections and seeing how it goes,” says Betsy Jacks, the Cole House Executive Director.

When enough funds are raised, a large new bed for native shrubs and wildflowers will be planted in front of the new Visitor Center, which officially opened to the public this past July. Contributions for the new pollinator garden will come from people who “adopt” a shrub or plant, and whose names will be featured on identification markers.

The native wildflowers on the Cole House grounds have qualified it for a place on the official list at Pollinator Pathway. This organization encourages people to plant small or large gardens of native plants to help our bees, moths and butterflies survive and thrive. Home gardeners are welcome to enjoy the Cole House gardens at 218 Spring Street in Catskill, and to linger for ideas and inspiration. The grounds are open free of charge to the public from dawn to dusk daily.

Margaret Donsbach Tomlinson enjoys gardening in Catskill. She also writes a weekly Substack series, The Generous Garden, online at mtomlinson.substack.com.