February 2019 - 40

GROWER'S POSTCARD
Vegetable growing filled with challenging corners
SAM HITCHCOCK
TILTON
rcvcfarm@gmail.com
of corners. Some corners we can see
coming up ahead and imagine what to
expect on the other side. Other corners,
like an unexpected death, we don't see
until we are upon them, and cannot
begin to imagine how to make it around
and what will be waiting for us there.
Some corners are familiar, like the
Dear reader,
Each month you find me here in
this column doing my best to share
with you something helpful or at least
interesting from the horticultural
world. I'd like to share something a
little grander this month.
A death in my family caused me to
spend a few days in Denmark with my
father. We were there as a crack team of
child-care experts watching my niece
and nephew so that others could have a
little space to grieve. The winter weather
in Denmark is more mild than usually
found in my Wisconsin homeland, which
meant overcast days of 35 degrees. Each
day my father and I suited up to spend
the day outside and collected Aleks,
my young nephew of 9, and his sister
Matilde, who is 6. We would walk to the
train station and ride into downtown
Copenhagen for a day of adventure.
Even though we were on a mission in
a foreign land, I immediately searched
for horticultural landmarks to visit. One
day, after emerging from the subterranean
train station onto the busy streets above,
we headed toward the Copenhagen
Botanical Garden. With Matilde riding
on my shoulders we walked past the
small charming rock gatehouse into
the expansive gardens, which spread
out around a central lake. We generally
followed the path through the lawn all
the while throwing football passes to my
nephew as he darted here and there (the
Green Bay Packers are having a bad year,
so we must make our own football glory).
After strolling we came upon two large
seasons; every year we will turn the corner
from spring into summer, summer into fall
and fall into winter. While we don't know
what each season has in store, we've turned
enough of these seasonal corners to have
an idea. These seasonal corners, like others,
always lead back into each other.
Some corners we meet and by the time
hills arising from the landscape. Each was
the size of a large sledding hill, their surface
studded everywhere with granite rocks,
like the scales of a large reptile rising out
of the earth. Each crevasse between the
red granite shards was its own microcosm,
planted with small cacti, succulents,
mosses and herbs in a dizzying array,
their stalks and leaves exhibiting
kaleidoscopic patterns and colors. Like a
spirited 6-year-old refusing to change her
clothes before bed, many plants clung to their
verdure in defiance of the Danish winter.
Narrow walking paths crisscrossed the
hillside, winding up, down, and around.
A chortling stream at the apex of the hill
curved under the paths laughing its way
down. Artfully placed evergreen shrubs
and tall conifers provided maturity and
structure, some formally trimmed and
others gnarled and twisting. The hillsides
and their entwining paths bobbed like
the head of a sylvan goddess, the plants,
rocks and shrubs adorning her tresses like
a garland. In spite of their size, these twin
hills were an intricate piece of fine jewelry
wrought from rock and brick, the gracious
curves ornamented with emerald.
Each turn in the path offered a new view
of the sister hill, new plants, and different
views of the grassy valley and lake below;
the fresh bracing ocean air of the mild
Danish winter enlivening and connecting
both lungs and leaves.
Through this horticultural haven we
wandered.
The true test of any landscape is ...
are the children enchanted? Matilde
approached the hill first, and her wonder
grew as she wandered through this magical
garden, her face becoming more radiant.
At the first sight of a curve behind which
she could disappear she could no longer
contain her excitement, climaxing with a
cry of, " let's play hide and seek! " She and
her grandfather then sought each other
throughout the meandering paths for
untold time.
In these landscaped and crafted hills,
each turn around a corner brought a new
and beautiful vista. And while we didn't
know what to expect when rounding a
new bend in the path, we new we would
be safe. There are many other sorts
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we turn we are different people and can
never go back the way we came. And
then there are those corners that we miss.
Instead of taking them we walk right off
the path and must crunch through the
wilderness until we realize our mistake. I
have gathered some experience with this,
although every time I get better at keeping
my eye on the path ahead and the turns
that I need to take in order to stay on it.
Without guile or verbosity, I call you
my dear reader. You are dear because we
share something special. I have tried to
express the magic this Danish garden
cast upon us as we wandered and played
through it. The creators of this landscape
had been filled with the magic and
transcendence of nature, and this crafted
landscape was an overflowing from their
hearts of this natural connection and an
attempt to offer to others its inspiration in
a more concentrated form.
Vegetable growers experience the spell
that earth casts through the smell of the
soil and the vibrant green of their glowing
plants. And your toil, tragedy and triumph
make it only stronger. This connection
to nature and its direct experience is one
of the most important in my life, and so
those people are dear to me with whom I
can share it. VGN
Industry Scholarship awards were
presented to deserving students at
the EXPO banquet. These companies
and organizations made financial
contributions to make these
scholarships possible.
AllFresh GPS
Bernie Swindeman Memorial Scholarship
Breckenridge Insurance Agency of Michigan
Gerber Products Company/Nestle Infant Nutrition
Great American Media Services
MACMA
Meister Media
Michigan State Horticultural Society
Michigan Vegetable Council
Nutrien Ag Solution
Syngenta
Valent U.S.A. LLC
Wilbur-Ellis Company
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February 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of February 2019
