Continuing Ed

Much like any garden constantly changes and grows over time, both in small ways daily and in larger cycles, so too does the continuing education of the gardener, whether it's by taking classes, walking somewhere wild or very skillfully cultivated or just paying attention to the ways plants change through the seasons. Susan and I got a dose of all three today, attending the first round of the Winter Lecture Series at NYBG (The New York Botanical Garden) and on a quick walk on the grounds which revealed the delicate beauty of Caryopteris seed heads in the winter light. I'm not sure that I'd ever really looked at this plant before in winter and it seems I was missing out. Think those wispy seed heads in the wind were all I saw and learned? Not by a long shot. The aptly named Todd Forrest of NYBG also gave an introduction at the lecture about the newly renamed Thain Family Forest over time, and the human endeavor involved in some of the current work being done to measure, manage and restore this remnant of old growth forest. An added bonus? Seeing a picture of good old Anne during his slide show demonstrating the process of measuring the DBH (diameter at breast height) of the forest's trees, which brought back memories of my day doing the same in the forest with her.

It's nerdy but true that I believe that any day in a garden is a day of Continuing Ed for me, but not every day contains the possibility of taking in so much at once. So today was a very good one.

Caryopteris Seed Head, winter, The New York Botanical Garden