A gray catbird greeted us when we got to the Ebenezer Avery House at the bottom of the hill at Fort Griswold. The last time we visited was in January a year and a half ago. Of course there was nothing growing in the small garden at that time. But this time the air was filled with a pleasant fragrance that must have been some herb or flower I didn’t recognize.
We had a nice walk all around the fort and then it was a delightful surprise to find this little front yard garden surrounded by a picket fence. We lingered here for quite a while, enjoying the colors, smells and visiting butterflies. The flowers were in all stages of life, new ones blossoming right alongside the fading beauties. Please enjoy!
eastern tiger swallowtail
monarch
After we had our fill we made our way back up the hill and past the fort to our car. It was a good workout. 🙂
looking up the hill to the fort
I started to imagine what the people who were in this house during the Battle of Groton Heights might have witnessed from their vantage point that tragic day in 1781.
Yesterday Janet and I took a three-hour stroll through the Connecticut College Arboretum, and I came home with 147 pictures! First we made our way through the native plant collection…
tulip tree ~ 5.22.10 Connecticut College Arboretum New London, Connecticut
… and then hiked through the woods, noticing the abundance of mountain laurel and flowering dogwood under the dying hemlocks, which used to rule the forest. Finally we made our way to a secret garden hidden in a corner of the arboretum, the Edgerton & Stengel Memorial Wildflower Garden.
5.22.10 ~ New London, Connecticut
We opened the gate and were soon greeted by a Cheshire cat, who let us know that it ‘didn’t matter which way we went’ in his lush and untamed neck of the woods. He appeared and disappeared as we explored the maze of paths, drawing our attention to various wildflowers and settings.
5.22.10 ~ New London, Connecticut
5.22.10 ~ New London, Connecticut
Janet will have to identify some of these flowers…
5.22.10 ~ New London, Connecticut
We were surprised to discover that maidenhair ferns have black stems – the black and green contrast was striking!
maidenhair ferns
maidenhair ferns
“Who are you?”
See the cinnamon sticks in the cinnamon fern?
cinnamon fern
star of Bethlehem
lady slippers
To see the world in a grain of sand, And a heaven in a wild flower; Hold infinity in the palm of your hand, And eternity in an hour. ~ William Blake (Auguries of Innocence)
There are a couple of Jacks-in-the-Pulpit (aka Indian Turnips) in this picture if you look carefully – they’re not fully in bloom yet.
Jack-in-the-pulpit or Indian turnip
yellow birch
May apple
waiting patiently
Sadly, all the hemlocks are slowly dying… new life is taking hold under bare branches…
hemlocks over wild phlox
he was so tame and affectionate
The Cheshire cat disappeared before we could say good-bye.
an enchanting garden
After this delightful sojourn we sat and rested for a bit and studied our map. We still haven’t seen the whole arboretum, even after three hours! So we’re planning another visit in a month, when different things will be in bloom, and of course, we hope to come and see Shakespeare-in-the-Arboretum in July, too. Plans made, we then headed for Ruby Tuesday and quenched our thirsts with two strawberry lemonades each!