Loeb House garden: Colorful blooms of Elizabeth Gray
Elizabeth Gray, senior associate secretary to the University, has tended the Loeb House garden in Harvard Yard since 1985. “It began as a very small effort,” said Gray. “A row of potentilla was in already in place alongside the holly hedge when I started adding annuals to extend the season of bloom. Then one perennial led to another.” Taking inspiration from a visit to Cambridge, England, Gray described her plantings as “exuberant cottage-style garden,” that are “a little quirky and not too neat, with a season of bloom that starts with early spring crocus and runs until late October — including a big crimson splash of peonies around Commencement.” As a walk-to-work Cambridge resident without a home garden of her own, Loeb House’s garden has been a constant learning opportunity for Gray and her colleagues who help maintain the space. “The site has its own challenges, from part sun to maple shade,...