For many Chappaquiddick visitors, Dike Bridge Road is merely a conduit to East Beach, a vast sandy shoreline and fisherman’s paradise. But for those in need of a respite from the summer sun, a calm oasis awaits just steps away from the Dike Bridge.
Nestled among the trees is Mytoi garden, a 14-acre property and Japanese-style garden filled with lush native and exotic plants, winding paths and wooden bridges. The garden was created in 1958 by Edgartown architect Hugh Jones, who spent time in Japan while serving in the U.S. military. He gave it the name Mytoi, which is an alternative spelling of “my toy” and has no Japanese translation.
“You can go out onto the beach and there’s hot sun and wind and the ocean and it’s all very beautiful,” said Darci Schofield, Islands portfolio director of The Trustees of Reservations, which owns the garden. “But when you come to Mytoi, it’s very grounding, soothing and cooling. It’s an interesting contrast of delight.”
After Mr. Jones’s death in 1965, Mytoi was cared for by Island conservationist Mary Wakeman. Eleven years later, she donated the land to The Trustees of Reservations in exchange for a promise to keep it open to the public.
“As you enter the garden, you’re supposed to keep left on the trail,” explained Mytoi manager and Trustees steward Oliver Valdes. The space is designed so that the left-most paths take visitors on the longest walk through the garden.
Mr. Valdes has been managing Mytoi for two years and aims to honor its past. He grew up visiting the garden with his uncle and prides himself on keeping it timeless.
“We really try not to change things,” he said. “The garden is designed with a window theme. Each section has a sort of ‘window’ with a distinct foreground and background that you can stop and see in the [path’s] cul-de-sacs.”
But sometimes nature has its own plan.
Three decades ago, Hurricane Bob made landfall on the Vineyard and destroyed nearly 70 per cent of Mytoi. Former head gardener Don Sibley, longtime Mytoi volunteer Lindsay Allison and Boston landscaper Julie Moir Messervy, spent several years reviving the garden. Now, many of the trees are 30 years old, and the garden appears untouched by any storm.
But Mr. Valdes keeps in mind how easily his work can be altered by nature, especially when herds of deer feast on his finely-pruned rhododendrons.
“They really destroy a lot of the plants, and then you have to do your best to help the plants rebound back or just replace them,” he said.
In addition to blooming rhododendrons, Mr. Valdes protects the garden’s vibrant pink peonies, waterside irises, ruby red Japanese maples and other flora that have recently blossomed.
Mytoi is open for exploration year-round and daily, but Ms. Schofield encourages anyone hoping to catch the season’s brightest blooms to take a trip to Chappaquiddick soon.
“Every season has its own flavor but this is our flowering season,” she said. “This is just a great time in the garden.”
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