Читать книгу Tower Hill - John W Trexler - Страница 10

In February of 1976, I took a six-week vacation without pay to Munich, Germany, with overnights to Bonn, Frankfurt, Cologne, and Tubingen. I asked Tom Buchter if he wanted me to bring back anything special.

“Yes,” he responded, “a Gunnera seedling.”

Gunnera is a South American herbaceous perennial that can grow to eight feet with leaves six feet across. Back then the plant was a kind of “holy grail” of horticulture. On one of my last days in Munich I visited the Munich Botanical Garden (Botanischer Garten) and had a private tour with a Herr Dr. Mueller who was generous with both his time and information. During our walk, I noticed two large dormant plantings of Gunnera (Gunnera tinctoria) partly covered by large wooden boxes. I asked Herr Mueller if I could possibly obtain a small division of Gunnera. Without hesitation he said, “Yes.” I picked up the division the day before I left for home. At least a cubic foot in size, it was far larger than I expected. My friend Stuart Simon who I had been staying with helped me clean all the soil off the roots and carefully box the plant. We tied the box with twine for easy carrying.

The Gunnera flourishing at Skylands, 1977

Without a plant import permit, it was a gamble whether or not I would get through customs in Boston. With some fancy foot work and good old fashioned begging, the plant was permitted to go through. At my parents’ home in Barrington, Rhode Island, I planted the division in a large pot using my father’s outstanding compost, drove back to Skylands and placed it in the warm greenhouse where we started annuals. Tom was delighted. In late April we planted the Gunnera along the stream in the Bog Garden on a hummock formed from Skylands compost. It grew beautifully that first year. The second year it was five feet high.

The West Lawn at Skylands, 1975

When I left Skylands for the Park Commission in 1978, I took a division of the Gunnera with me and it thrived. Later, during a tour that I led for a local garden club, I noticed in the distance a friend, Bill Whitaker, and his wife admiring the giant plant. Catching sight of me, Bill shouted in a loud distinct voice, “Hey John, where did you get the gonorrhea?” The garden club gave a collective gasp. Without hesitation, I shouted back, “Munich, Germany!”

I brought a division of that same plant with me when I moved to Massachusetts. Now all three plants have gone to that heavenly compost pile in the sky.