History and Horticulture or What to Call the Stroll

An indicator of who is really in charge is happening right now. As much as we fuss and cajole, any garden works at its own rhythms and in response to the elements.

An indicator of who is really in charge is happening right now. As much as we fuss and cajole, any garden works at its own rhythms and in response to the elements. We know this when we watch the Galanthus nivalis break into glory; like premature babies they are here too soon.  Well, by our usual calendar. The Dunn Gardens generally shows them off in February and here they are popping up fresh and white right now in the very first month of 2015. Blame the warm days.

So we are having a little thinking about what we should do about the happening we generally call the Snowdrop Stroll.  Nature is telling us that this year we should reschedule the event or give it a different name. Like the country formerly known as Burma we may end up calling it the Mid-Winter Stroll, formerly known as the Snowdrop!

Our Curators, Charles Price and Glenn Withey, explain in their article ‘The Dunn Gardens, Creating History and Horticulture,” appearing in the January edition of Pacific Horticulture that our problem is merely part of the scheme of things. In their whimsical prose they explain the genesis of the Gardens and how they curate and care for them. And what man, and more particularly nature, has to say about that. How to manage mop-head hydrangeas that are thirsty and trees that are 100-years old are some of the challenges of their role.  They, and others, come about because of the dynamic interplay of a garden that is now beautifully old. 

Read what they have to say, beginning on page 24 of Pacific Horticulture and after wards think about what we should call our first stroll. Then let us know.