Going too the Botanical Gardens was far from a new thing for me. I go just about every week, usually on a Sunday morning, as part of a walk to clear my mind and get some much needed exercise. I didn’t really know what to expect from going with a group, but I hoped I would learn something new, or at least gain a new perspective on the garden.

Indeed, my wishes came true. The tour guide had a lot of information to present, about Barbara McClintock, about each specific garden, and more. It’s cool be able to say, instead of “my favorite garden is the one with all the gardens” to rather say “my favorite garden is the Winter Garden”.

What really struck me however was, in the end, the trees. We were presented with many trees, ranging from Dogwoods to the aforementioned conifers, and nearly all of them had some story dating back to their planting in the early 20th century. In fact, to preserve these old trees, lightning rods have been affixed to a good many in order to prevent strikes. And preserving them is worth it – one of them is said to have been planted by students of the old schoolhouse located centrally in the garden, and others still have similarly old stories attached to them. In the end, it gave an interesting framing to my own life, how short is has been, and how short it will be. Not that I necessarily find that terribly depressing, but rather, I am amazed to think about all things the trees could tell us if they could see.