Sean Smith, a reporter for the Hendersonville Times-News, wrote a lovely article about the book, "These Trees." It was published in the September 3, 2017 issue. Here is the link: http://blueridgenow.com/news/20170903/branching-out The above photograph of a Sargent Weeping Hemlock, taken at Bullington Garden in Hendersonville, NC, was the top photograph in the article. Smith did a good job of capturing my passion for trees because I am, as he quotes me, "besotted with bark." The below photograph of monkeypod bark, taken in Hawaii, is one of my top 20 favorite bark pictures. The article also references my next event -- Poemscapes -- at the Hendersonville Public Library at 3pm on September 20. It will be a mixed media event of slides, prints, and poems about trees. Poets Kate Stockman and Carol Pearce Bjorlie will be reading their poems. I hope to see you there.
This is a photograph of a Cutleaf Japanese Maple. It is the tree that graces the cover of "These Trees." I name very few of my photographs, but I have named this one "Tree Spirit" because I just love all the energy you can imagine flowing through those strong but curving branches. I decided to post it on my blog today because people often ask me what kind of tree it is and, the memory being what it is, I often can't remember.
People sometimes think this is a Live Oak tree. Live Oaks also have branches that curve in a similar way, but of course the leaves and the bark are quite different. There is a photograph of a Live Oak with the poem "Crone Oak" by Kate Stockman in the book "These Trees." I took that Live Oak in the arboretum of Jacksonville, Florida. There is another Live Oak that is more famous and people often assume this cover photo is of the "Angel Oak" just outside of Charleston, South Carolina. Below is a photograph of the Angel Oak for comparison. Yesterday THESE TREES celebrated its official "Book Launch" at the Kenilworth Inn in Asheville, NC. Music! Poetry! Laughter! Friends! Food! all in celebration of trees, glorious trees. The first photo was taken during the sing-a-long portion of the party. You can see how much we enjoyed singing together! The second photo of a lady in a blue blouse is Ruthie -- enjoying herself signing copies of the book.
It goes without saying that I love trees because they are beautiful to look at, because some of them produce fragrant flowers, and because they provide much-needed shade from the heat of the sun. But there is another type of tree that also claims my heart: the plucky tree, the tenacious tree, the tree that beats seemingly impossible surroundings to live and grow. The trees that teach me perseverance. I took the above photo of a tree in the Little Tennessee River this past weekend. I'm still not entirely sure whether this tree was rooted and growing there, or was merely a branch broken off a living tree, rushed down river and then snagged on some rocks. But it just doesn't look to me to have the shape of a branch but rather a small sturdy tree whose roots had found purchase in the river bed and was flourishing in the midst of enough water to have 'drowned' most other trees. The above tree is an Ohi'a tree growing in a lava field on the Big Island of Hawaii in Volcano National Park. I learned that this tree (with a bright red flower, below) is the first tree to colonize the inhospitable lava fields, its roots breaking the lava down into a soil more hospitable to other trees and plants. But I admire the Ohi'a tree enormously for its pluck in rolling up its sleeves and getting to work turning a lifeless field into a verdant one. And what of these brave trees living on top of what looks like a solid rock ridge? I took the above photo in Wyoming's Crazy Woman Canyon. These trees survive ferocious winds while seeking out nourishment from what looks like a barren slab of rock. And yet not only one, but several trees have managed to live and grow for decades there. I think of how I mollycoddle the trees in my yard with compost windscreens and stand in complete awe of the many millions of wild trees who have persisted and persisted, staying true to their DNA-encoded natures, making the world a better place for having lived. I think there are lessons we can learn from them.
I just got home from the FIRST (but definitely not the last) book signing for the book, THESE TREES. It was in Tryon, North Carolina. I had the great pleasure and good fortune of being accompanied by Carol Pearce Bjorlie, one of the poets in the book. Carol is also a professional cellist so she played several songs on the cello for us. Carol also read her four poems about trees that are in the book and I read poems for half a dozen poets who were not there in person today. In addition to poetry and music I also talked about my relationship with the book, why I decided to create it, problems I encountered and some of my most memorable tree photographs. Next book signing is the Book Launch Party, Saturday, August 26 at 2pm, 60 Caledonia Road in Asheville.
Longwood Gardens is technically in Kennett Square, PA. But to give you an idea of where it is, lets just say it is in a suburb of Philadelphia. It was formerly the private estate of Pierre DuPont, who made his fortune in gunpowder and chemical manufacture. In 1906 he bought the original 202 acres of the land that is now Longwood Gardens and soon began planting decorative trees and flowers. He also built impressive fountains. Eventually Longwood Gardens grew to encompass 926 acres. Pierre DuPont had no children and was concerned about keeping Longwood Gardens preserved as a garden, so in 1946 he sought and received government approval for the gardens to become a Foundation operated for the sole use of the public. This massive estate was created piecemeal, with work on one particular type of garden at a time. For those looking for interesting trees you should check out the original arboretum (Pierce's Park) as well as the seven acre pleasure park (Peirce's Wood). Having said that, however, there are plenty of large old trees to draw your admiration from wherever you are ambling. Below is a photograph of a Copper Beech In the Japanese Garden section you will be enchanted by the many varieties of Japanese Maples that are on display. I don't generally visit greenhouses unless the weather is very cold, rainy and/or windy. But you should make an exception for the Longwood Gardens Conservatory. First, it is so huge you will almost feel like you are outdoors. Second, they have stunning displays of lots of flowers -- not only the tropical ones we have come to associate with conservatories. Third -- this is where they have their water lily ponds. If you are a photographer you should know that they will not allow tripods inside the Conservatory after noon, so if you want to photograph the water lilies go in the morning! If you go -- address is 1001 Longwood Road, Kennette Square, PA 19348. Cost of admission is $23 for an adult. They have a fabulous gift shop. They have two types of dining facilites. Restrooms are at the main entrance and also in the Conservatory. There are wheelchairs available for rent. There are drinking fountains and water is also available for purchase. Plan to spend the entire day -- you won't want to leave.
I visited the Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden for the first time in 2017. It isn't far from Charlotte, North Carolina; on the edge of Gastonia. This garden isn't as large as some I've visited. It says it has 100 cultivated acres, but considerably less than that are reached on trails. I'd like to return in the fall when it is cooler and explore some of its acreage that isn't on a trail. That being said, it is a delightful place to visit. They boast 12 different fountains -- including one called the Alle Garden. It has several arching fountains from two sides forming a 'tunnel' effect. It does, of course, boast a huge Azalea Garden as well as a Children's Garden, Cottage Garden, and other specialized gardens. It also has a very large greenhouse devoted to orchids. I loved their Horse Chestnut trees, blooming in April. I was astounded by how deeply pink these blossoms are. Another lovely feature of this botanical garden that I have not seen anywhere else -- if you ask a staff person about the identity of a plant or tree and they are unsure -- they give you a business card with the name and contact information of someone who can help you identify the plant. How great is that? REALLY great, in my opinion!
The official address is 6500 S. New Hope Rd. Belmont, NC. It is open daily 9 - 5. Cost is $12.95 for adults. They say a picture is worth one thousand words. Mostly I agree with that statement. But if you have looked at the book, “These Trees,” I think you will agree that the pictures have also been enhanced by the words they are paired with. I have had a few people ask me, “How did you ever find so many poems that fit perfectly with your photos?” How indeed! First, I already knew Carol Pearce Bjorlie and had collaborated with her on a previous project we called “Poemscapes” where we had combined some of her poems with a slide show I made of my photographs that illustrated her poems. Two of those poems, Dialogue and These Trees also found their way into the book. I liked These Trees so well that it seemed natural to use it as the title of the book. Carol contributed two more poems to the book, Green Cathedral and Here – Autumn. To see those Poemscape slide shows you can go to YouTube and search for:
“Poemscapes Dialogue Between Mountains” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8QKVjQTMsg or find poem “These Trees” on Youtube at: https://youtu.be/HrKGHtXVgOo There are 19 other poets represented in this book. Two of them, Jean Cassidy and Annelinde Metzner, I know socially, or perhaps I should say musically as I have sung with both of them. Kate Stockman I had met at a retreat. The other 16 I found by posting a “Call for Poetry Submissions” on the Creative Writers Opportunities List. The posting was answered by over 90 poets submitting a few hundred poems. I was amazed myself at the perfect matches I found: Paperbark Maple, by Sally Zakariya, when I already had photos of a Paperbark Maple; Redbud, by Annelinde Metzner, when I already had a photo of a Redbud tree; and Crone Oak by Kate Stockman when I already had photos of beautiful old live oaks taken in Jacksonville, Florida. But many other pairings between poem and photos sprang readily to mind and those were the ones placed into the book. I had one when I visited the Hortulus Farm Garden and Nursery for the first time in June 2017. Once you get to this idyllic Bucks County farm it is nearly impossible to believe it is only about 30 miles away from Philadelphia. The farm house, still used as a residence, was built back in 1793. It is very easy to believe you have time-travelled back to the 19th century, if not the 18th. The 100-acre property was acquired in 1980 by Renny Reynolds and Jack Staub. Staub is a garden author whose work has appeared in House and Garden, House Beautiful, Organic Gardening, Country Living and numerous other publications, as well as books about gardening. I have visited botanical gardens/arboretums where there were hardly any paths at all, others with paved paths as smooth as a linoleum floors and everything in between. But the wide lush mown grass paths that escort you through this estate are in themselves reason enough for a visit. You pay your $15 admission at the little store at the nursery, are given a brochure with a map and let loose to wander on your own. You can, if you have a group of 8 or more, make arrangements in advance for a group tour guided by one of the owners. As it was, it was just my sister and myself so we wandered around on our own, although we did accidently run into the owner and his friends twice. The rest of the time we never saw another soul. You can rent the entire gardens, all 100 acres of them, for a mere $2,500 per day for an event or a photo shoot. I still can hardly believe we had the place to ourselves by the sheerest good luck. Our own private Eden indeed. Thirty acres of the property are broken up into several types of gardens – edible plants, woodland walk, yellow garden, pool garden, herb garden, etc. But a tree-lover would not want to miss the “Specimen Arboretum.” At the entrance to the arboretum is a delightful little garden gate to welcome you. Once through the gate, the first tree that will stop you in your tracks is a catalpa tree. In mid-June it still had a fair number of flowers as well as some seed pods. Maples, shaggy bark hickory and dogwoods are just some of the other trees on the property. When we spoke with the owner he said it was a shame we hadn’t been there at the end of May because more things were blooming then. But as it was there was still plenty of botanical eye candy in terms of Indian Paintbrushes, irises and roses. There are also swans, ducks, at least one peacock and horses. If you visit: the gardens are open May – October on Tuesdays – Saturdays from 10 – 4. The location is 60 Thompson Mill Rd. Wrightstown, PA. If you have a group of 8 or more you can call 215-598-0550 to arrange a tour. Make sure you take water! Once you leave the little store at the nursery there are no rest rooms and no place to procure water, so be sure to take some with you!
Marcel Proust wrote, “The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.” With that thought in mind, I visited a botanical garden last week that I have toured before, the Morris Arboretum, and endeavored to look at the landscape with ‘new eyes’. To my mind, Morris is both an arboretum and a botanical garden. I base this on the fact that Morris boasts many large, old, beautiful ‘specimen trees’ including these: Katsura, Bender oak, Trident maple, Blue atlas cedar, Lacebark pine, Weeping Canada hemlock, Japanese Stewartia and Threeflower maple which make it an arboretum. The Katsura is massive. The Weeping Canada hemlock feels mysterious and the Japanese Stewartia festoons itself with white flowers. It is also a botanical garden as it boasts within its rose garden not only roses but also oak leaf hydrangeas, mountain laurel, clematis, foxglove and others. Altogether there are more than 12,000 labeled plants of approximately 2,500 types. Although the tags can be annoying to a photographer, I find them infinitely useful for learning to identify trees and plants and I appreciate them greatly whenever I see them. Since I have completed my tree book I decided to wander the arboretum without an agenda. I have already photographed most of the major ‘specimen’ trees and I decided to just amble about in my sunhat, with my camera and tripod, and allow myself to be surprised by beauty. How could I possibly have overlooked the Dragon Spruce? The trunk and needles of the tree are not terribly remarkable, but the roots are! They curl and stretch like ocean waves caught and held fast by soil and rock. A tree that stopped me in my tracks and literally dropped me to my knees to permit closer inspection of its bark is the White Tigress maple. Look at the bark closely, doesn’t it look as though it is deliberately inscribed? But is the ‘inscription’ meant as decoration or to communicate something? It is said the tree got its name because someone thought it looked like a tiger had scraped the bark with its claws. To me the lines are more delicate than that. Take a look and let me know what you think. I’m also including a picture of the Chinese Witch Hazel here, although it is a shrub and not technically a tree. But I loved the texture of its leaves. I only discovered after I got home and looked it up that it flowers from January to March and that it has a particularly lovely scent. I never suspected that while admiring its summer leaves. Of course if one is not on deadline, why not linger awhile in the well- manicured, terraced rose garden? The roses in mid-June were in full bloom as were several other flowers, including a glorious purple poppy.
The Morris Arboretum, part of the University of Pennsylvania’s holdings, is in the greater Philadelphia area. Its address is: 100 East Northwestern Avenue, Pennsylvania. |
Ruthie RosauerRuthie photographs trees because she loves them. Archives
February 2019
CategoriesUpcoming EventsDecember 7 1 - 3pm A Walk in the Woods 423 N. Main St. Hendersonville, NC BOOK SIGNING Photographer and editor Ruthie Rosauer will be on hand to autograph copies of her book, THESE TREES. The book, a compilation of 140 trees photos paired with poems, has been described as "A gorgeous book, a heart-opening photo collection." |