Adventures in the Polly Mobile 2: Visiting the Tyler Arboretum and John Bartram's Garden

Just because it was a late night doesn't mean I slept in! I was up and out the door bright and early to get over to John Bartram's Garden first thing. Only....I remembered it was Sunday when I pulled into the parking lot, which meant they opened later in the morning. So after I enjoyed the beautiful Philadelphia skyline, I was off to the Tyler Arboretum instead!

A beautiful sunrise for a beautiful day.

I wasn't a fan of driving in the narrow streets of the Philly-area after the nonchalant roads of the Vineyard, but I made it to Tyler safe and sound. The lovely volunteer at the visitor center pointed me to come of the sights, since I knew there was no way to see all 650 acres. I headed off to the old barn to see the herb garden on my way to the champion Sequoiadendron giganteum in the Pinetum. Along my path I was dwarfed by some of the Painter brothers' amazing Cedars and Magnolias. Whoa!

The most amazing part of the whole walk around the natural areas and in the Rhododendron collection was the size of the trees. Finally, the Liriodendron tulipifera were straight, towering giants in the forest and the oaks were stretching to keep up. Everything growing at its best and some old, familiar faces in the mix too. I fell in love with the eastern North American forest again and I'm sure if anyone saw me walking through mumbling to myself, they would have thought I was crazy. Residual Tree Cabin Fever from my time on the Vineyard, I guess. On second thought, maybe not.

But, I knew if I didn't get over to the Bartram's by 1 p.m. that I wouldn't be back in time to head over to see Cat's new (super adorable) house with Barb and Phil, so off I went.

~~~

View of Philadelphia over the Bartram's Garden's meadow.

The Bartram's, if they were still living in their beautiful home, would have one of the best skyline views of the city, even with the industrial buildings on the opposite bank of the Schuylkill River.

So, why was visiting this garden so important? John Bartram is easily the father of American Horticulture and his son William continued his legacy as a premier naturalist and plantsman. Without them, and other southeastern botanists, we wouldn't have nearly as rich a picture of the natural history of the South, the place I proudly call home.

American botanists, old and new, (well, and quite a few folks from Europe) are unsung heroes of American history. They may not seem like they contribute much of anything to American society, because their work doesn't seem as grand as military heroes' and their jobs aren't as glamorous as those of politicians and public figures. But the formal establishment of a working body knowledge of American natural history (because no one was really listening to the Native Americans very well), and their efforts to preserve and conserve the natural heritage of where we founded our new nation, while most were just thinking about building farms, have made them visionaries and champions of the ages. Without them, we would not know nearly as much about the natural wonders we find ourselves surrounded by every day, nor would we be able to appreciate the damage we have done and mourn what we have lost.

Speaking of which, take the Franklin Tree, Franklinia alatamaha. If it weren't for a chance meeting with the Bartrams as they were traveling the bank of the Altamaha River and their fascination with its beauty enough to collect seeds, we would not know this gorgeous, fall-blooming member of the Theaceae today.

So, I'll climb down off my soap box now. In short, I felt visiting Bartram's Garden was a very important pilgrimage to take, to pay homage to these visionary men.

The property itself is very humble. The garden has kept up the buildings, the nursery and kitchen garden, and several other beds. There are some amazing trees, including a Cladrastis kentukea, yellowwood, collected by André Michaux himself, and one of, if not the, oldest Ginkgo biloba in the U.S. Personally, I fell in love with the Platanus occidentalis next to the Taxodium sp. It was a very fine tree, whose bark was so white it glowed. (Cool fun fact for the day: DNA evidence has shown that the genus Nelumbo, which includes the better known sacred lotus, is a close relative of the genus Platanus. Who'd've thought?)