Making Friends at Church

     A couple of Sundays ago, I had the chance to meet a fellow blogger, Marilyn Kircus. I've been following her blog, Adventures of a Vagabond Volunteer, for some time now, as she documents her travels and volunteer work for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. I've enjoyed reading about Marilyn's encounters with wildlife, her hikes, her canoe trips, and even the more mundane work she has had to do. Many of the photos she has shared on her blog had me ready to throw the tent and sleeping bag into the back of the truck, lace up my boots, and head out west. Her stint at each refuge lasts several months, and when I heard she was going to be working this winter at the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge just south of here in North Carolina, I suggested a watery meet up at Merchant's Millpond State Park. I have been this place several times before, and hoped that she would find it as special as I do.

     I got there a little early, and the park was not open yet. Riding further down the road, I saw someone, camera in-hand, and knew it had to be Marilyn. We caught up with each other as mist rose over the pond's dam, and is as often the case with kindred spirits, we didn't stop talking until it was time to go, which is likely the reason Marilyn reported seeing so few birds in her account of the trip.

The Dam

This structure is a fish ladder that enables river herring to continue upstream.

     Just as was the case during my last visit to Merchants Millpond, the dark, tannin-rich water transformed its surface into a mirror. In these parts it has not been the most spectacular fall color-wise, but what little we did see was made twice as nice by the watery reflection.

Spanish moss (Tillandsia usneoides) has an affinity for bald cypress (Taxodium distichum).

Swamp Rose (Rosa palustris)

Parrot's feather (Myriophyllum aquaticum) might have a nice texture, but it is an exotic invasive.

Sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua)

Longwood in Mid-October

     As part of our itinerary for the Perennial Plant Conference in October, we scheduled a stop at Longwood Gardens on the way back home to Virginia. Though I have been there several times before, this was my first visit in the fall. Since I now work in public horticulture, my time at Longwood is seen with a different set of eyes. I marvel at the seemingly spare-no-expense attitude, and speculate at what needs to take place behind the scenes to make it look as it does. I am not envious; I am actually glad there is a place where people who do what I do are seemingly unhindered by lack of money, personnel, or facilities (even if it only appears that way), and where the public is shown the potential of horticulture.

     Outside the visitors center we were greeted with a display of bananas, Crinum, variegated Manihot, bright yellow mums, and a new-to-me Cassia (C. didymobotrya), seeds of which I have already sourced.

    We first headed towards the Flower Garden Walk, where several Salvia species and cultivars (especially S. leucantha), dahlias, mums, and ornamental peppers were vying for center stage. Along the way there were containers to admire.

     Entering Pierce's Woods, plants more typical of the eastern woodland were showing their fall colors.

     At the Conservatory the Chrysanthemum Festival was just getting started, though most were not yet open. However, there were many other things to look at.

     While we were in Philly the local weather forecasters were calling for the first freeze of the season for the next night. With that different set of eyes earlier mentioned, I kept seeing many plants throughout Longwood that would need to be brought indoors for protection, and it looked like it was going to take a Herculean effort to get it all done. The three of us were happy this wasn't going to be our job, and that we could still enjoy all of the tropicals in the garden, including those in their famous waterlily display at the Conservatory.

     The last stop we made at Longwood was the restroom. Each one of the doors in the green wall leads to an individual, single seat, very private, spacious, unisex restroom. 

     The thing I was most looking forward to seeing at Longwood was the new Meadow Garden, and it did not disappoint. We got lost there, but not directionally. I will need to show you in another post.