Adventures in the Polly Mobile 2: University of Delaware and Driving to Washington, D.C.

It was sad to say good bye to Barb and the wonderful gardens of Delaware, but I had to keep moving on. I was on my way to Washington, D.C.

Herbaceous Garden at University of Delaware Botanic Gardens.

But before my epic leg down the Delmarva Peninsula, I made arrangements with my dear friend Jason Veil to visit the University of Delaware Botanic Garden and to talk about the curatorial assistantship program there.

How Jason and I met is just another testament to how serendipitous horticulture really is. We met by chance as we rode the final bus back to the parking lot after the Woody Plant Conference at Swarthmore College this summer. I think we were talking about the Longwood Graduate Program when he put the bug in my ear about UDel's plant curation program. Little did I know that chance meeting would lead me back around to the university.

So, fast forward to this morning. I got a few extra minutes of sleep, thankfully, and had enough time to say my last goodbyes to the Stremples. I drove down to the garden, checking in with Jason to make sure we were both still undeterred by the cool, grey drizzle. Nothing keeps plant people out of the garden. Jason met me in the parking lot outside of the botanic garden's office with a parking pass, reminding me of the joys nightmares of university parking. After a brief stop in the office, we headed over to see Dr. Frett before he left for the day.

Next was the tour of the garden. It surrounds the agriculture buildings and abuts the dairy, displaying a menagerie of old landscape favorites from the 70s and 80s. There were some impressive specimens, including a maturing Acer griseum, as well as a few who needed some TLC. Overall, there was an interesting story about the fairly recent history of the grounds and how the collections were rooted in teaching plant ID classes. Throughout Jason's fantastic tour, he answered all of my probing questions, and dealt out a couple of jabs at my anti-invasive species comments. There were also some new additions to the gardens, including an impressive removal of some huge hollies and exciting new plantings going in, per Jason's vision as curator. It reminded me a lot of the J.C. Raulston and I can only imagine what the space will look like as it matures. Planting new plants really is an incredible way to show vision.

I highly recommend getting out to see the garden. Although it may be intimidating being on a college campus, it exists as a teaching tool to all, students and members of the community, local and otherwise! Check out the garden's website to find out about parking and upcoming programs, including their plant sale!

So, after my wonderful tour with Jason (and getting some yummy ice cream made at UDel's creamery), I was off down 301, the interstate that snakes down the Delmarva Peninsula, crosses the Maryland state line and the Chesapeake Bay, makes its way to Anapolis and then Washington, D.C. It was a slow, grey afternoon, but it was an easy, incredibly flat, drive. Very little traffic allowed me to look out at the many farms and new developments coming up (which saddened me because of what is to come after that, as I've seen with the land around Charlotte as I've grown up). The bridge to cross the Chesapeake was amazing, so much longer than I thought it would be, and it was a great place to catch the sunset.

And then the traffic began. But, I was okay with it because the highways were now the organized ones of the south (whoo, crossing the Mason-Dixon line!).

My final thought will be to the people of the southern states: be thankful for your roads and how they are organized. Appreciate the many road signs you have. There are those who do not have them, who live in a place where right lanes just end.

Okay, and my post- post-final thought will be check out these awesome musical people: ilyAIMy.

Adventures in the Polly Mobile 2: Exploring Ledge End, Climbing Mount Holyoke and Touring Smith College

A view of Southampton, MA and the Connecticut River from the top of Mount Holyoke. It was chilly but a nice place to have a morning snack.

(Click above for photos)

It was looking to be another packed day, but since I wasn't terribly pressed I spent a little time to explore Ledge End before I left. It was a gorgeous early morning, crisp with frost and on fire in the sunshine. It was asleep for the season, but the garden had flares of adventure and creativity, much like the folks who tended it. I made my way around the garden and then was on my way to climb a mountain.

It was such a cold morning on the dark side of Mount Holyoke. I was so thankful for my ski gloves, of which I'd gotten more use of in the last couple weeks than the entire time I'd owned them, and my long-necked jacket (the best $12 I'd ever spent). The side of the mountain went straight up from the road that wound to the top of the mountain. The sun made the angle seem even more extreme. But I was bound and determined to climb it. The trail was slow to start to climb and I took the first trail I saw to begin my ascent. Only after halfway up did I realize I'd chosen a precarious deer trail instead of an official one. I eventually met up with a marked trail and completed the final push through a thick stand of Tsuga canadensis, Canadian Hemlocks. The view of the golden valley below was worth every slip. There were trails that ran the top of the range and I headed toward the Summit House, an old hotel on top of the mountain, where I knew I'd meet the road, because I sure as heck wasn't going back down the way I'd come. I met a very kind man and his dog on the porch of the hotel and we chatted about the trees and the Massachusetts winters as we both walked down the road.

My descent was much quicker than I anticipated, but I went ahead and headed to the Botanic Garden at Smith College to see my friend Elaine Chittendon. I was very early so I took the opportunity to take my time and explore the Lyman Plant House, where they had two exhibitions going on: Thesaurus Woolwardiae, Orchid Paintings by Florence Woolward; and Woods of the World. I'm glad I had the time to fully appreciate these high-quality displays. Although I came with no preconceptions, I was thoroughly impressed with the interpretive displays I saw. Smith College should definitely be on your horticultural bucket list.

Elaine with the Cyphostemma juttae, a weird member of the Vitaceae, or grape family.

I pulled myself away from the Camellia Corridor and met up with Elaine. It was so nice to see her and she was so accommodating, fielding all of my questions about the collections and the operations, and horticultural outbursts. She led me through the teaching facilities, introducing me to people along the way, and then through the conservatory for a brief introduction to the collections there, including through the two "genetics" labs. We'd put it off long enough, so we bundled up and it was out to the gardens outside.

The weather had turned grey and cold, but we were not deterred. Apparently the grounds of the college are considered part of the botanic garden, which means Elaine has to go through and keep up with the records for all the plants on campus. Elaine led me through the rock garden, telling me stories as we went, then to beds of red-twigged dogwoods, which we were both a little fuzzy on with the taxonomy. I was impressed with and probably way too excited about the huge tree ring around the historic Metasequoia glyptostroboides. Anyway, Elaine gave me a thorough tour of the campus and showed me quite a few interesting trees across campus, including the Davidia involucrata, Dove tree, which had set seed that year, and a beautiful, huge Platanus occidentalis, sycamore.

Another Google Auto-Awesome, this time of a Sparmannia africana, in the Malvaceae, or hibiscus family.

Adventures in the Polly Mobile 2: Exploring Mount Holyoke College and Amherst College (and a stop at the Hadley Garden Center)

This is a Lycaste deppei, Orchidaceae at Mount Holyoke College's Talcott Greenhouse. I'm not one for bizarre photo-editing effects, but I have to say I was struck by how well this Google Auto-Awesome came out.

(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

I rushed off to Mount Holyoke College next to check out the famed grounds Tom worked on before he came to the Polly Hill Arboretum. Both Tom and Elaine Chittenden, the manager of living collections at the Botanic Garden at Smith College, told to me say hi to Russ when I visited. I walked over ice and snow on the sidewalk, vaguely aware of where I was going. Thankfully there were campus maps at the bus stops that guided me to where the Talcott Greenhouse was.

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.

~~~

You're probably wondering why a local garden center is on my list of destinations? It's a funny story, actually, and shows what a wonderfully small world horticulture is.

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

Adventures in the Polly Mobile 2: Hanging out near Kingston, RI (aka a Summer Town in Winter)

It was a cold, dreary day in Kingston, Rhode Island, as you would expect for this time of year. Not yet the bitter cold of January, but definitely getting grumpy.

East Matunuck State Beach

 

(Click above for photos)

I had to get up super early in the morning to get a parking pass to save my car (and my wallet) from the college parking Nazis. Once I was up I just decided to go post up at Hope Student Center to catch up on some work and get a super reasonably-priced coffee. As the morning zombies filtered in, I realize I blended in, but also didn't. There were people pouring over flash cards and staring blankly at their computers, hopes that the information they needed would beam into their sleep-deprived brains. I was just hanging out. There was only a slight tinge of urgency to my work, but I was spared the future-crushing pressure of being under the academic wire.

Tessa let me know when she was done and we met at the Horridge Greenhouses (here's their blog). I took a quick jaunt through the grounds of the botanical garden to check out the collections. It was a modest offering and came complete with signage! I've really developed a taste for the need to have tags on plants and I was happy to see them (and the Magnolia grandiflora 'Bracken's Brown Beauty').

It was a low-key afternoon and evening exploring southern Rhode Island. Not much was going on and Tessa and I were reminded of the California Dreamin' Mad Libs fiasco that occurred on the way back from the Woody Plant Conference because it was definitely a 'Califonia Dreamin'' day as we were standing on East Matunuck State Beach.

We ended up walking through a forest of Juniperus virginiana that looked like something out of a horror movie and to take the edge off of the experience we contemplated what kind of monster we might encounter. Apparently people with chainsaws were the first thing she thought of. What an irony.