Saturday, June 6, 2015 was one of those days which will stand out for me as a particularly good, kind, beautiful day. And I have visual souvenirs.
Invited to be one of a handful of "Vendors" for the Bartlett Arboretum's "Summer Fete" Garden Tour Marketplace, I expected to relax and leisurely chat with gardeners, hopefully sell my cards, matted prints, gardening book and scarves. Visitors to my table would be on the way to pick up tour tickets and later their lunches on the way to self guided tours of private gardens in the vicinity of the arboretum in Stamford, CT. Yes, they were friendly, fellow vendors were jovial, the lunch was great (Thanks - LaRocca's Country Market!) and sales went well but that day was extraordinarily lovely in so many ways. Here is my chronological report...
Walking back to the big tent from parking my van, I just had to savor a few moments under an evergreen refuge and take this panorama shot of the view. (All of these snapshots were taken with my iPhone camera.)
Next, I noticed the many precious "moments" in the border gardens. Here are a few:
During the day, I took a break to talk to the watercolorist who was painting this scene:
Later on, I took a little walk down a shady path to find a magical Taro Grove:
The Herb Garden, maintained by the UCONN Master Gardener program, coordinated by the always wonderful, Regina Campfield was a treat to behold. The allure of the Aromatics prompted me to beg for to sample from that garden quadrant from head herbarist, Linda Albanese. She let me have my pick and offered to provide plant identification. Here are a few location shots:
These are low resolution versions of my scanner photographs, arranged cuttings from the Aromatic Quadrant of the Bartlett Arboretum Herb Garden:
One of the visitors to my vendor display was Dana Weinberg, a local gardener whose nearby property was on the garden tour. Of course I accepted her invitation to stop over at the close of the day, see and pick from her plants. The generosity of gardeners never ceases to amaze. I only had time for a brief visit when I arrived. I asked Dana, "Is there a particular plant, aspect or area of your property about which you are particularly proud?" She told me that she loves noticing all of the plantings along the side of her driveway upon arrival. This is the scan I made with cuttings from Dana's welcome home drive.
The backstory:
Usually, I travel with tools and containers for the spontaneous garden raid, but I had just cleared out my van to load it with examples of my work to sell at market. When inspiration hit, I was ill equipped to act on impulse. Thanks to the Bartlett ("Herbies") Master Gardeners for loaning me cutting shears. Just outside the arboretum, I ran into High Ridge Nursery and like a crazy woman, begged to buy or borrow cutters for my visit to the Weinberg property. Jennifer lent me her very own trusty Felco #4's for the deed. When I returned them, half an hour later as promised, with a package of notecards in thanks, she gave me a hug and exclaimed, Gardeners are GREAT! Of course I answered, YES THEY ARE.
What an amazing day.
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