PowellsWood Garden Foundation

Work or pleasure? Both. PowellsWood has become both a great toil and an immense joy. The truth about gardens is that gardens give back. Since I started here in 2017, I have become increasingly acquainted with every detail in this garden, including the issues. I know the places that have poor drainage that kill every rhododendron we plant there. I know the single stair that has needed a simple repair for several years. I know where the weeds like to gather. It’s impossible for me to look at photos of the garden without seeing a weed or slug damage or an unkept plant. I even have plant nightmares on occasion. Yet somehow this place still refreshes my soul. Frances Hodgson Burnett would refer to this as the magic of the garden.

A couple of years ago, while hiking the trails at PowellsWood, I came across a river otter. Equally startled by this unexpected encounter, we shared a brief gaze before it quickly darted back to the stream. This short encounter has been implanted in my heart. It left me with a new burden for this place. A burden to maintain and preserve this habitat for wildlife, plants, and humans alike.

Gertrude Jekyll once wrote, “The giving of pleasure is the highest purpose of a garden.” There is surely pleasure in every aspect belonging to a garden. Most obvious are the sensual pleasures of sight, smell, and touch. But there is also a deeper pleasure in giving it away. Sharing it. When others find your garden to be a place of healing and rest. When children fill your garden with laughter and discovery. When others are inspired. When the community utilizes your space as a safe place to connect with dear friends. When, just for a moment, a visitor is transported beyond their current realities.

These are the reasons I work at a public garden: finding pleasure and giving it away.