Make Like a Tree

It’ wintertime and although I know it’s supposed to be cold, I wish it wasn’t so dark. It was bright and sunny last October when a friend and I took a walk in Bartram’s Garden in Philadelphia, enjoyed a guided tour, and learned about the trees that populate the grounds. I’ve always loved trees. I took copious notes on my phone about all the different kinds of trees we saw. But when I got home, I…

Long before North Americans could pick up tomato seedlings at their local hardware store, there was John Bartram. The 18th-century horticulturist supplied seeds to the likes of Thomas Jefferson and established the US’s first botanical garden near the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia. But what gardening enthusiasts mostly remember him for are his boxes — 3-x-2-1/2-foot containers that he carefully packed with plant specimens and then shipped off to prospective buyers in Europe.

A spring photo of the Osmunda cinnamomea (Cinnamon Fern) in front of the house at Bartram's garden, to go with this photo (which is one of my favorite photos that I've taken) of the same plant in the fall.

I was enchanted by these Iris cristata (dwarf crested irises) at Bartram's Garden today. They're so tiny! Look at the oak leaf for scale.