Emeritus landscape architecture professor Nick Dines creates a 'living landscape' in the center of Williamsburg.
Hampshire Gazette
Tamara Llosa-Sandor
Leaning back on a bench along Main Street, landscape architect Nick Dines took in the burst and bloom of the plants before him.'Beautiful job,' a woman said to Dines as she bustled by.
He smiled. 'You can never have too many flowers,' he called to her. 'That's what I tell everybody,' he added, settling back.
This summer, Dines planted annuals and perennials outside the Grange Hall, adding to what he calls the 'Williamsburg Walk of Flowers.'
The walk begins at the Williams House, goes by the Veteran Memorial, Town Hall, the Grange and up to the Williamsburg General Store.
The grass strip between the sidewalk and street holds mounds of bark mulch alive with hostas, dicentra 'bleeding hearts,' goat's beard, and penstemon 'husker's red,' to name a few.
'It's more than just decorative art,' said Dines, a retired UMass professor. 'These flowers have an intrinsic worth to the community.'
Part of that worth comes from the beautifying of public space, and also making that space more available by placing something there with which people can interact, such as a garden.
'The metaphor is a living landscape,' said Dines. 'Public space has become a dead zone with pesticides or it's paved over.'
Dines' influence can be seen throughout the downtown area, from the fronts of Dove Business Associates and Cichy's Garage, to the sweep of space between the Williamsburg Market and Florence Savings Bank, and up the brick-laid entrance to Meekins Library.
Clusters of color and leafy greenery unfold along this particular bend in Route 9. People pass large flower pots as they amble up the bank's steps. An herb garden releases fragrant spice smells just a few feet from where residents buy groceries.
Dines, who lives on North Street, recalled 1999 as a major moment for Williamsburg's control of public space. The constellation of events included the 100th anniversary of landscape architecture and Route 9's renovation.
In Dines' words, part of the construction 'involved a simple intersection - where North Street meets Main Street,' where state planners wanted to put in a parking lot.
Concerned residents pulled together a petition that 800 people signed. The state shelved its plans and accepted an alternative - the current layout in front of the bank and market.
'We put in granite curbs and a base for walking, added a sidewalk cafe and peninsula that protects children. And we added two parking spaces in the process,' said Dines. 'We reclaimed the pedestrian space.'
Dines said the 1999 project was an opportunity to demonstrate 'everyday beauty in an everyday landscape.'
'The market, gas station and bank are now surrounded by flowers,' he said.
Dines believes that people have become accustomed to what he calls the 'mall parking lot,' and that it is this impersonal space that hastens the loss of public sensibility, or 'the consciousness of place.'
Dines entered the field of landscape architecture in the mid-1960s just as there was a resurgence in the idea of public space. The movement included a design framework that incorporated economic factors, the surrounding environment and a community's social values.
Currently, Dines is helping the town's Angel Park Committee develop a set of criteria for the placement and design of Quiet Reflections Garden, a park to memorialize deceased residents.
'Finding a place is the greatest hurdle. It's truly an act of love that these families are motivated by. It should be a place of quiet reflections, it should be accessible, (and) it should be in the heart of town.'
Though Dines' work in Williamsburg is guided by his personal vision, he is quick credit many others in the community. Lashway Lumber donates bark mulch, Main Street businesses express interest and manage upkeep, and volunteers tend to the many flowers.
Related Information:
Department of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning
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