There’s a new Greenhouse in my town. It’s a Hartley, and its owner is Mary Maroney, who invited me to visit. So one lovely summer evening I did just that, enjoying a glass of wine in Mary’s equally lovely Greenhouse.
When Mary was a young girl in grade school, she was asked to draw what she wanted to be when she grew up. She drew a Greenhouse filled with plants. After a career as a librarian, she finally got her wish. She now has a Greenhouse, and it’s already filled with plants. Moreover, every Tuesday evening in the summer, this Greenhouse is also filled with local guests who have come not just to enjoy the wine and cheese but also to experience the ambiance of a Hartley. As a result, this Greenhouse has become a centerpiece not just of Mary’s world but also of her neighborhood’s.
On the evening that I visited, she showed me around her extensive garden where tomato plants rub elbows with net-covered blueberry bushes teeming with berries. These bushes stand next to a fenced-off garden with beets, onions, peppers, and herbs. Outside the fence, daylilies, bee balm, lemon balm, ox-eye daisies, and a plethora of other flowers lead one’s eye to Mary’s shingled bungalow with its front porch overlooking a profusion of other plants. Her entire yard has very little lawn – all mowed with an electric mower. In one corner, there’s a Chicago Hardy Fig tree; in another a thornless blackberry bush. A Mission Fig tree towers over oregano and balloon flowers next to Mary’s “she shed.” This shed was formerly her happy place, but now her Hartley Greenhouse has taken center stage.
When asked why she chose a Hartley, Mary said she loved the traditional styling. “It looks just like a real Greenhouse should look,” she said, pointing to the lovely Victorian Lodge Greenhouse with its stone-faced knee wall and green finials. “I originally looked at a smaller Greenhouse, but the local architect, Ron DiMauro, who I worked with, suggested that I get the larger size.” She nodded in approval, gesturing toward the generous space. “I’m glad I worked with an architect. He made it so easy to get the 3 ½-foot-high, stone-faced walls built and the Greenhouse located properly so that it looked like it was always a part of my home. I also loved working with Dan Barry at Hartley to make sure everything was done right. All-in-all, everyone involved made it so easy.”
Mary’s Greenhouse has a small breezeway connecting it to her house, enabling her to access the Greenhouse in any kind of weather without going outside. In winter, the heated breezeway holds her most tender plants. By leaving the breezeway door open, she can view the Greenhouse interior from her kitchen’s new glass door. On warm, sunny days, all the doors and windows can be thrown open and the plants can enjoy the natural island breeze and bright sunshine.