By Erik Keller, Horticulture Therapist
One of the few things all of us can do (still) is to take a stroll outside and experience the awakening of the Earth as the days get warmer and longer this Spring. One of the best places to do this now is right here at Ann’s Place. A crackerjack group of volunteers have been helping me over the last few weeks tidy everything up so the place is looking great. I have put out most of the benches (some still need to be refinished) so there are plenty of places to walk, have a seat, and reflect on life.
And not to be missed is the display of nearly 15,000 daffodils.
Let’s go!
Starting on the left side of the building as you face the main entrance, take a peek at the Lenten roses (Hellebore) on the right as you pass the building. They are an early flowering plant that we put in last year and are having their first display. You may be distracted, however, by the nearby flowering weeping cherry (Prunus pendula) that is bursting with colorful blossoms.
Walking toward the back, on your left, the tuffs of recently cut sea oats grasses (Uniola paniculata) have just started their reemergence. Further down toward the picnic table, buds are appearing on the American holly bushes (Ilex opaca) as the sweet woodruff (Galium odoratum) ground cover pokes its way thorough the leaf litter. Over the next few weeks, feel free to snip off a few woodruff sprigs before they flower to make a delicious Spring drink, May wine.
To your right, the plants in mint (Mentha) walk are coming back. Bend down and rub your fingers in them, expressing their essential oils, to experience their different scents. The three raised beds nearby are in different stages of recovery. Many of the perennials in the kitchen garden, to the far left, have started to emerge. The annuals will be planted within a month as well as the scented geraniums that reside in the center raised bed. Coneflower (Echinacea), sage (Salvia officinalis) and chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla) are regrowing in the medicinal raised bed that is on the far right.
Going through the gate (please don’t forget to latch it,) the first swash of daffodils (Narcissus) will greet you on the left. This garden was the first we planted nearly 10 years ago and the first to be refreshed last Fall with nearly 3,000 new bulbs. If you look carefully in this area over the next week, new ferns are emerging including the very tasty and edible fiddlehead or ostrich fern (Matteuccia struthiopteris.) This fern is easily identified by the notch along its stem and should be harvested before its frond unravels.
Walking on the stone dust path toward the labyrinth, a few stray grape hyacinth (Muscari armeniacum ) dot its edges near the wetlands the defines most of the 4.5 acres that is Ann’s Place. Keep your eyes open for emerging Jack-in-the-pulpits (Arisaema triphyllum) plants. Before this plant flowers, it is often confused with poison ivy (Toxicodendron radicans) and trillium (Trillium) as all have a similar three-leaf configuration prior to flowering.
It is early but the buds on the red (Aronia arbutifolia) and black (Aronia melanocarpa) chokeberries, and azaleas (Rhododendron) along the back paths are swelling and ready to burst out in the next few weeks.
Exiting the enclosed back area (please don’t forget to latch the gate,) standing on a bridge you come into view of nearly 7,000 daffodils of different colors and scents. It washes over your eyes in a gentle curve leading to an arbor covered with four budding American wisteria (Wisteria frutescens,) which will flower out in the months to come. To your right are two stone benches adjacent to a wall, soon to be covered with hops vines (Humulus lupulus) that have sprouted at its base. These vines are sending up tendrils that in the summer months will cover the black wire fence above with green leaves and yellow cone-shaped flowers.
Resting, in front of the wetlands covered with invasive Japanese barberry (Berberis thunbergii), you should consider a contemplative circuit around the labyrinth. But before you leave, take a deep breadth of clean air, listen for a lonely woodpecker bang out a rhythm against a hollow tree, gaze out toward the greening trees and try to look forward toward the better days that will come.