Students Ring in Spring at the Charnley Norwood House

Words by Jeff Rosenberg; Photos courtesy of Ocean Springs School District

It has been a busy winter and spring at the Charnley-Norwood House in Ocean Springs. We celebrated the end of the calendar year with our ever-popular Holiday Open House on December 11. This event, typically held the first or second week in December, provides an opportunity for visitors to experience the house at their own pace while visiting with Mississippi Coast National Heritage Area (MSCNHA) staff members and enjoying light refreshments as the house is tastefully decorated for the season.

At the beginning of February, students from Ocean Springs Upper Elementary spent the week visiting the CharnleyNorwood House to learn about both the home’s architecture and its relationship to the meadow. While touring the meadow, students gained a better understanding of how vegetation can describe habitats, practiced observation skills and data collection through activities, such as scavenger hunts and making their own sound map of the meadow. Inside the home, students learned how architecture is designed to create specific experiences, how nature can influence design and about passive technologies implemented more than 100 years ago that are still applicable today.

While the meadow might look dormant during this time of year, it is alive with all sorts of activity. A variety of wildlife from pollinators to birds, along with turtles and rabbits, all make their home and forage for food in the meadow. During late winter, after the last threat of freezing weather has passed, the meadow receives its annual “haircut” where the grasses are cut down to eight inches in height. Both ashes and seeds are spread during this time. While the ashes simulate the nutrients that fire would typically bring to the meadow, the seeds ensure that the native fauna remains present, keeping invasive species at bay. By mid-April the meadow is fervently growing and becoming a riot of wildflower blooms.

The layout of the property with the rose garden serves as a transition space between the geometric order of the house and the organic order of the meadow. Late winter is the time for trimming the roses. Removing dead and diseased canes ensures the roses will survive, in addition to triggering new growth and encouraging the bushes to produce more flowers. While trees today shade the rose garden more than they would have historically, the roses still receive plenty of sunlight and are entering the time of year when most active blooming occurs.

Looking forward to the summer, our next open house will be Saturday, June 10, from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m., when we celebrate Frank Lloyd Wright’s 156th birthday. Stop by to visit the house and learn more about Frank Lloyd Wright’s involvement with the property, along with his life and times. If you’d like to tour the house before then, tours are available by appointment. Please drop us a line at heritage@dmr.ms.gov or call 228-234-7298 to inquire about availability.