A YEAR IN PICTURES: The Transformation of Olana’s Landscape in 2015

By Published On: December 1, 2015Categories: Insider Perspective

Mark Prezorski, Landscape Curator

It’s rare that construction for an Olana landscape restoration project fits so perfectly within one calendar year, but Olana’s Main House Environs project demonstrates what a difference 12 short months can make. The Olana Partnership had been awarded a $343,000 New York State Environmental Protection fund grant for this project, and the design phase was completed last year. The project focused on some key landscape and architectural elements around Olana’s main house. The Olana Partnership, in cooperation with the New York State Office of Parks Recreation & Historic Presentation, worked closely with our consultants at Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects to fine-tune the project scope and prepare for the construction phase in 2015. Our landscape architects based their design choices on research through Olana’s archival material, and they factored in issues related to historic preservation, environmental factors, sustainability, and Olana’s use as a public park. Construction documents were developed, and the entire project schedule was based on seasonal factors throughout the year.

The Olana Partnership administered and managed this project, and we raised the required $114,000 in matching funds so that the project could proceed. This landscape transformation has proceeded on schedule, and the change between last year and this year is dramatic and fully evident: the Hudson River is once again visible from Olana’s main house, the steep slope beneath the main house has been re-established based on a sustainable and native planting plan, and the large spiraling retaining wall which elevates visitors to the front door of Olana’s main house is once again in great condition. This project was very much a collaborative effort, and we are grateful to the many people who lent their expertise over this past year, and we thank our supporters who make transformations like this possible at Olana.

In January, for the first time in many years, Olana’s iconic view from the main house was restored.
Invasive and second-growth plant material was selectively removed. Based on careful review, specific trees were preserved.
Hudson Hills Contracting completed this phase of construction, timed with the winter season due to wildlife nesting and habitat concerns.
In early spring, our contractor Mark Howard at Howard Landscape and Watergarden began the next phase of construction and preparation along this steep slope.
As spring turned to early summer, the hillside was hydroseeded with a native warm and cool season grass mixture, approved by the Environmental Management Bureau within NYS Parks.
The grasses established during the summer months, and the project area was monitored for returning invasives, particularly Ailanthus.
The project focus next shifted to the Olana’s spiraling retaining wall, a massive landscape architectural feature above the flower garden.
Robert Silman Associates had completed a structural analysis on the retaining wall, and this was done in cooperation with the NYS Historic Preservation Office and the NYS archaeologist.
While we were relieved to learn that the historic wall was structurally sound, significant restoration work was needed, including repointing, stone replacement and mortar repair.
The wall restoration was successfully completed by late summer, and improvement of Olana’s historic flower garden close to the retaining wall is part of the larger project. Our gardener Mary Hughes Pizza of Home Grown Perennials handled this phase in cooperation with our landscape architects.
The wall restoration work continued throughout the summer. Periodic site visits included Chris Flagg of the NYS Historic Preservation Office and John Monaghan of Swift Construction, which handled the masonry restoration work under the guidance of Robert Silman Associates and Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects.
By the end of summer, the invasives were brought under control, and the native warm and cool season grasses had established beneath the main house.
The view from the lower carriage road during Groundswell was radically different this year, and the John Cage Trust with Seth Christman took advantage of this new perspective during our exhibition event on September 19.
When fall arrived, we were ready to focus on our native planting plan, developed by Nelson Byrd Woltz and the horticulturalist Patrick Cullina.
More than 2,000 plants were installed, and the native tree selection included Redbud, Witch-hazel, Birch and Sassafras.
Our contractor Mark Howard managed this construction phase, especially challenging on such a steep slope, and the native shrub selection included Dogwood, Spicebush and Elderberry.
More than 1,000 small Christmas Ferns were planted and massed across the hillside, though their full presence won’t be felt until they further establish.
All photos by Mark Prezorski

Special thanks go to Cherie Miller-Schwartz of Preservation Planning & Project Management for help with grant administration, as well as to our New York State colleagues at Olana, Kimberly Flook and Tim Dodge, who helped and facilitated throughout. This project involved many people, and it was truly a public/private effort. The full extent of this restoration project won’t be fully felt until things leaf out and bloom next year, in 2016, and it’s fitting that this will all emerge during Olana’s big anniversary year — the 50th anniversary of when Olana was saved from near-destruction and entered its next phase as one of America’s great public works of art.

Photos by Mark Prezorski