Recently I had a delightful conversation with a woman who had just discovered the pleasures of gardening. Though I cannot imagine deferring this addiction into one’s mid-forties, not everyone has an epiphany in fourth grade, as I did when memorizing Joyce Kilmer’s poem “Trees
Raised in upstate New York, I was surrounded by verdant vegetation rather than the subtle beauty of prairies. Pine trees became a particular passion, most especially hemlocks. Their stature and scent I always associate with home.
When we first moved to Naperville, I contacted a landscape company in Wisconsin that seemed to share my propensity for specimen plants. When asked for instructions about a proposed plan, my answer was simply “variety.” We have added as much diversity as our lot will support, the most recent being a tricolor beech which is currently leafed in lovely shades of pink, ecru and sage, and Its companion, a rare dwarf weeping pine.
Many people plan trips to water parks and beaches at this time of year, but for me, it is time to roam the countryside. Anderson Japanese Gardens in Rockford, Chicago Botanic Garden in Glencoe, Rich’s Foxwillow Pines Nursery in Woodstock, and perhaps the National Conifer Society’s summer meeting back east, are calling me.
With winter now past, Mother Nature whispers my name, coaxing me to wander amidst flower, leaf and vine.
