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?)

Adventures in the Polly Mobile 2: Morning at the Botanic Garden at Smith College (before driving to Delaware!)

That's right, folks: Western Massachusetts to Delaware.

Into the belly of the beast....or at least the pitcher of a Nepenthes truncata.

(Click above for photos)

But since I'd only been able to walk by all of the botanical treasures at the Lyman Conservatory at Smith College yesterday, I made sure I was up, packed and out the door early the next morning so I could be there when they opened the doors. I think I surprised the visitor center volunteer when I came in so early, as I'm sure a visit to the conservatory isn't most people's idea of the first thing to do on a dreary Saturday morning.

A view into "the Jungle Room" at Smith College.

I made myself at home though, hanging up my coats in the hallway, and immediately delved into the collections, taking my time to savor each detail of each plant. I read tag upon tag, quizzed myself and took hundreds of pictures. It was a great moment of reflection to think back on what I'd seen at other conservatories I'd visited before. I knew I needed to be on the road, but there was so much to see. Each room seemed to hold a thousand more treasures.

But, I knew I was pushing into my long drive to Wilmington, DE, and I eventually had to tear myself away from the succulent house.

In an effort to avoid New York, New Jersey and I-95, in general, I charted my own path down 84, through the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, and some beautiful mountain areas. Sadly, I could only imagine what beautiful scenery I was passing through, as the low clouds hid most of it.

The weather had not improved during my warm explorations inside. There was a steady drizzle and the shade of the cold, grey of the morning had been passed on to the afternoon. The frustrating roads of Massachusetts gave way to the slightly more sane ones of Connecticut, though I have to say I knew I was in Yankee-land driving through the scary narrow ways of Hartford. Once I was out of the city though, the traffic disappeared and landscape opened up and became more mountainous. I almost forgot I was in Connecticut and I wished so badly to be able to see through the thick blankets of clouds. I could tell there were more hills and mountains, especially in New York and Pennsylvania (which PM2 made me painfully aware of), and the flora shifted, sometimes more natives and sometimes more invasives.

By the time I got past Bethlehem though, it started getting dark. The traffic dramatically picked up and I found myself surrounded by urban sprawl. I quickly found myself eager to be in Delaware. And then my GPS died an hour or so later....eagerness turned to panic.

But, I made it, almost eight hours after leaving Smith College, and Barb and Phil were waiting to welcome me to their home. Whew, what a day!

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: Traveling to Granbania

The weather may not have been totally inspiring during my trip to South Kingston, RI, but I had a great time catching up and hanging out with Tessa. She is such an awesome horticulturist and cool to hang out with because she's down for anything just for the sake of adventure.

But the fun has to end and we said our goodbyes at the URI Horticulture Club's plant sale. She headed for an exam and I took off for the next exotic locale of Granby, MA.

A Google Map of my winding way from the University of Rhode Island and Granby, MA

It wasn't a horticulturally-inspiring treck, except for the increasing height of the trees on the side of the road and the changing diversity as I tried to ID plants at 45 miles per hour.

I chose to avoid the highways of Rhode Island and Massachusetts because what little driving I've done on mainland New England has helped me form a strong aversion to the chaotic driving style. As a friend of mine told me, you have to have a certain insanity about you and that "using your turn signal is giving information to the enemy." Not my kind of driving conditions.

I pulled into Tom Clark's home's driveway just before night fell in the mountain town. I could only make out the glowing frame of the absolutely adorable house in the dim light and the faint silhouette of a stand of towering Pinus strobus, white pine, beside it. The anticipation of seeing them in the morning reminded me of how it felt the night before Christmas morning.

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.

Adventures in the Polly Mobile 2: Going back to college

You can never "go back" to college once you've been to the real world. It is merely an illusion.

But today I felt a slight reversion taking place. After Tessa's mom's generosity of letting me stay at her house and with me off to visit Tessa at URI, I felt like I was back in the insulated world of college life.



The Carey Mansion on Ruggles Road, next to the entrance to the Cliff Walk. Jeez.

 

(Click above for photos.)

Tessa's mom was kind enough to give me another tour of Aquidneck Island from her own perspective and show me the sights she loved the most. I got to see the sea-side cottage Tessa had talked about all summer, get more of the natural and cultural history of the area and hang out with a cool lady all morning.

In the afternoon I was off across the terrible roads of Rhode Island (seriously, watch your tires!) and the Jamestown and Newport Bridges, complete with toll, to crash Tessa's afternoon grounds maintenance class, which was planting trees on campus! I got my parking permit and left my car to take to campus on foot. I blended in with the students because of my age, but I got tons of weird looks because, I would find out later, making eye contact and smiling just isn't done up here. I found Tessa easy enough though and we were off to meet with her class.

After class Tessa and I made some loose plans about what we would do that evening. Taking my stuff up to her dorm room (because I was sleeping on her floor!), eating at the dining hall and hanging out in the library were all on the docket. How much more "college" can that be? Despite how typical the evening plans were for a college student, the experience made me feel the distance between what my time in college was like and where I was now. Oh, how so much has already changed.

We had a great time though! After the tasty dinner (goodness, does URI have a cool dining facility at Hope), Tessa and I made our way to the library because I just had to check it out. We explored the many different collections (they still have newspaper negative readers) and floors, and made some cool discoveries. Of course we hung out in the plant and ecology sections of the stacks and found some fascinating books. It reminded me of how much I love libraries and how much I wished I'd had more time to hang out at D.H. Hill at N.C. State!

The front-page fold out woodblock print of "The Araucaria Avenue at Bicton" from The Manual of Coniferae (1881) by James Veitch and Sons, of the Abies veitchii fame.