(This is a long blog post. I think it's worth a read, but I'm just warning you. Check out the photos by clicking the photo above.)
Just as I expected: it was like Christmas morning.
The weather seemed to break for the day's adventures and allowed the rising sun to light the tops of the Pinus strobus with fire. I remember when Tom told me about Ledge End, with a proud Tom-smirk on his face. He's cleverly named his garden this and I had only the man to give hint to what kind of place it really was. It didn't disappoint in real-life, even with a blanket of snow on the ground and the cloak of winter on. He and his wife, Sandy, have taken advantage of the unique space surrounding their cottage to make a beautiful garden (even if Tom says it's still a work in progress; what garden isn't?).
I headed off first thing in the morning to get my oil changed in South Hadley Falls, where I got to see the falls of the Connecticut River and what black spot looks like on Acer platanoides, Norway Maple.
 |
| Talcott Greenhouse |
The squat complex was nestled next to the stream that flowed through the campus and seemed to glow in the morning light. The headhouse was warm and cozy, and still had the character of a turn-of-the-century potting room with benches along the wall and tiled floors. Branch cuttings of Ilex, holly, and other evergreens were lined up on one of the benches, ready to be bundled up and arranged for the Christmas displays. One of the greenhouse workers told me Russ had stepped out but welcomed me to wander through the houses.
Orchids and other non-hardy plants filled one house, then the succulent house was joined to it, and finally there was a catch-all house at the end of that wing. I'd just made it to the succulent house and had my mind-blowing Senecio-is-in-the-Asteraceae epiphany, when the greenhouse worker came back in and said Russ had come back.
I went out to introduce myself and we chatted about Tom, the greenhouses and the plants at Mt. Holyoke College. I asked him which trees I should see on campus while I was there and he kindly offered to give me a quick tour in the Kubota! We whipped around campus, Russ giving me the highlights and insights, fielding my endless questions. He showed me two Cornus kousa, which were there prior to him coming on at the college and which J.C. Raulston, of N.C. State University fame, had expressed interest in. He pointed out trees, including some newly-planted fastigiate trees by the amphitheater and a large Cornus florida, flowering dogwood, tucked in a warm corner; and talked to me about some of the challenges with some of the trees, including the aging out of many of the Acer saccharum, sugar maple, and the sometimes frustrating management of trees on campus (which isn't a challenge unique to MHC). He also showed me the courtyard outside of the college's president office that Tom used to manage when he was there. It was such a fun (and warm!) tour and it was so kind of Russ to take the time to show me.
We came back to the greenhouses and he talked to me a little more about the collections there and projects that were going on. Some professors utilized the greenhouses, but not as much as one might expect. Despite this, there were tags in every plant, and all the plants were clean and evenly-spaced. The floors were clean and I saw very little insect activity. The day and light were prime for photography and I lost myself with each plant. I learned a lot just from looking at tags. Check out the photos (linked to the photo in the beginning) for more details. There are too many to mention here.
I had to tear myself away around 12:30 so I would have enough time to see the Hadley Garden Center before heading to Amherst College.
~~~
So, it all started when I was sitting in Introduction to Horticulture at N.C. State University in Fall 2009. Bryce Lane was my horticulture professor right out of the box and his animated storytelling inspired us with horticulture lore. He told us of how he got his start in horticulture unloading trucks of plants at the Hadley Garden Center in Hadley, MA, near his native Amherst, MA. He served as a source of passion and inspiration throughout my time at N.C. State and joked I should go visit the garden center some time. Well, fast forward to my aspirations to come to the Polly Hill Arboretum and work with Tom Clark. Bryce had told me about Tom and PHA (although he'd never actually met Tom or been to PHA). Come to find out, Tom had worked at the Hadley Garden Center while he was in high school as well, and it just so happened he met Sandy, his wife, there as well. After this, I just had to see this place. So, I did, and I met the wonderful folks who run it and talked with the wonderful Clivia, who reveled in the wonder of how small the world of horticulture is. And I also bought more plants (a cute little Pinus mugo for my Christmas tree that I'm going to train into bonsai and a little pot of frilly, white cyclamen, because I was wooed by the Christmas offerings).
~~~
Finally, I was off to my last stop at Amherst College to see the Japanese garden Tom had suggested to me.
I parked in downtown Amherst (because, as I should have expected, parking on a college campus is a nightmare) and walked to campus. It was a beautiful afternoon, albeit frigid, for an afternoon walk. I wandered around the buildings to the center green, peeking in between buildings to see if I could see where the garden was. I looked all around and could not see anything reminiscent of a formal garden. But it wasn't all for naught; I discovered a statue of Robert Frost and was reminded that he taught at Amherst College! The college also has a beautiful war memorial circle with an amazing view of the Mt. Holyoke range in the distance.
Since I was lost, I stopped in the Robert Frost Library to get some hot chocolate and some direction. A kind librarian gave me detailed directions for a rather simple jaunt across the quad. Seems I just hadn't looked quite hard enough.
 |
| Yūshien from the top of the hill. |
When I looked down the hill into what seemed would be a little crevice of a courtyard, there was a frozen mountain scene of wind-whipped pines and weathered rocks. A little sign next to a gate made of woven bamboo give an introduction to what was playing out below, Yūshien. After a rather exciting adventure of following clues, I made my way through the building to where you could enter the courtyard. Along the way I discovered an unlikely, but surprisingly rich past between Japan and Amherst College.
It was a place for quiet reflection and was sheltered from the hubbub of campus and traffic. You could almost imagine you were on the side of a mountain. The plantings were rich with Japanese natives, including Pieris japonica, Japanese Andromeda, and Acer palmatum, Japanese maple. The mix of evergreens and deciduous plants played well together. I was probably most excited about the obvious pruning on the Acer palmatum though. It always seems like people are installing gardens but fail to keep up with proper maintenance, so it is heartening when you see it.
The sun was sinking below the ridge of the mountains as I made my final notes on the landscape. I reminisced in the simplicity of not necessarily having to get up. It was growing colder in the shadow of the building and my haiku were getting strained, however, so I called it a day.
Mountain solitude
Serendipity's embrace
Time in plant and stone
No comments:
Post a Comment