National Garden Club Award of Excellence #23
Garden Club Federation of Maine
Rebecca L. Linney, President
Candidate: Patrick Chasse’, ASLA
Box 118, Mt Desert, ME 04660
Patrick@MossKing.com (207) 244-0700’
November 2010
Patrick Chasse’ is immensely qualified to receive this award as indicated by his experience and passion for his work as a landscape architect.
His contributions to civic projects illustrate his dedication to the field of historic landscapes. At Garland Farm in Bar Harbor, Maine, Patrick led the effort to purchase and preserve this property the last home and garden of Beatrix Farrand, illustrating his generosity and dedication of her work. There, he was able to establish a garden research library and document and restore the landscape. As historic landscape architect on the restoration of the Benenson Conifer Collection at the New York Botanical Garden he received a Lucy S. Moses Preservation Award in 2005. As the first curator of landscape at the Isabella Stewart Gardiner Museum in Boston, Massachusetts he documented the evolution of the courtyard garden and reinstated elements of its design, along with developing an educational program related to horticulture. Thuya Garden in Seal Harbor, Maine is another example of his work in restoring a perennial garden.
Patrick Chasse’, ASLA, is Maine born and bred. He earned a Master of Landscape Architecture degree from Harvard Graduate School of Design, after a B.S. in biology, graduate studies in botany and a MEd in environmental education from the University of Maine. Patrick came to landscape design as a convergence of life paths in science and art. With training as a botanist and ecologist, his creativity found outlets in printmaking, painting, glassblowing (studying with Dale Chihuly), ceramics, precious metalsmithing, photography and other media. Art history formed the matrix for the cross-cultural perspective he took on human expression, and landscape design proved to be the ideal medium for synthesis of his sensible sensibilities.
Utilizing his science training Patrick has a passion for protecting natural resources especially native plants. As a young botanist Patrick has led bog walks thoughtfully explaining the development of a bog and the plants that hold it together. He was instrumental in renovating the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Garden in Seal Harbor, Maine originally designed in 1921 as a collaborative effort between Beatrix Farrand and Mrs. Rockefeller. The Spirit Path is portion of the garden lined with Korean statues and Maine native shrubs and ground covers.
He has taught at the Landscape Institute, Arnold Arboretum, and the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University, the College of the Atlantic in Maine and Sheffield University in the UK. He has been an instructor for many National Garden Club Landscape Design Schools in New England and presented seminars and lectures at garden clubs, historical societies, botanical gardens, arboreta and museums in the US, Canada and Europe. He has written numerous articles in Horticulture Magazine and other popular press on garden design. He has mentored garden club members, students and landscapers and been an inspiration to many others. Patrick has served on boards of many Not-for-Profit organizations, been on advisory committees and given pro-bono professional services to many communities. In 2006, The Garden Club Federation of Maine celebrated their 75th Anniversary in Bar Harbor. Patrick and Martha Stewart were the keynote speakers for a day of memorable, educational programs. During this Anniversary Celebration, Patrick graciously opened Garland Farm and conducted tours throughout the Convention.
Mr. Chasse’ maintains an active design practice, specializing in historic landscapes, the reconstruction of natural plant communities and design of new gardens, from Mt. Desert Island, Maine to Istanbul, Turkey. His list of clientele throughout his career is quite impressive, but of course, is confidential. Patrick was asked to renovate “Skylands,” Martha Stewarts’s home in Seal Harbor, Maine. This property is the only garden designed by Jens Jensen on the east coast and is planted using Maine native plants. The restoration of Edith Wharton’s garden at “The Mount” in Lenox, MA was particularly challenging for Patrick due to a lack of plans for the property. Beatrix Farrand was Wharton’s niece, and designed The Mount’s potager and sugar maple allee’. Patrick had to scour Wharton’s books and correspondence for clues to begin the restoration. Documentation revealed her fondness for ferns, wildflowers and the textures of the surrounding woodland.
Patrick Chasse’ and his body of work have made a significant contribution toward the advancement of goals and purposes of National Garden Clubs, Inc. These are:
· To aid in the protection and conservation of natural resources.
· To promote civic educational services and beautification of civic spaces.
· To encourage the establishment and maintenance of botanical gardens, arboreta for the advancement of science, public education and enjoyment.
· To advance the study of gardening, landscape design, environmental issues, horticulture and to assist by mentoring students in these fields.
· To cooperate with other organizations to further interest in horticulture, conservation, environmental protection, and civic beautification by example of sustainable landscape practices. P. 11, Directory, National Garden Clubs, Inc. 2009-2011.
As Patrick Chasse’ has demonstrated, creating gardens is like a symphony. He states “It’s more like putting together an orchestra to produce a single important concert.” His “Ideal Maine Garden” stretches the orchestration of timing with Mother Nature. His work is not engraved in stone, but allows for leeway to adjust to the site, the gardener, and the seasons with respect for plant communities. All of his accomplishments, contributions and work attest to a very successful concert indeed.
