It is well known that Frederick Law Olmsted was a late bloomer. In the words of Olmsted expert Charles Beveridge, he “gathered experiences” many years before finally settling down as a landscape architect at the age of 43. Many of those experiences were gathered on Staten Island, where Olmsted lived from 1848-1855 and undertook “scientific farming” at Tosomock Farm.
To honor Olmsted’s 200th birthday, the Olmsted-Beil House recently unveiled two new offerings at the Farm.
First, they debuted the “Frederick Law Olmsted on Staten Island Discovery Map.” Created by local graphic designer and illustrator Giuseppe Settinieri, the map illustrates the many Staten Island locations associated with Olmsted. You can learn more about the illustrator and the map here.
Olmsted-Beil House Park also welcomed a new pollinator garden. With the support of the New York City Parks Department, Eagle Scout Lora Panepinto transformed a part of the landscape by removing invasives and planting pollinator-friendly plants. By the project’s end, the garden had more than a hundred new native plants supplied from the NYC Parks Native Plant Nursery located on Staten Island. You can read more here.
