Walking among wildflowers

In late June, we visited the Woolwich Nature Preserve, named for the famous author, Robert P. Tristram Coffin. He graduated from Bowdoin College in 1915 at the top of his class, having won several prizes for his excellent writing. Awarded the Henry W. Longfellow fellowship, he spent a year at Princeton, and then went to Oxford University as a Rhodes scholar. His studies were interrupted by a year in the armed services during World War I. In 1924, he published his volume of poems, “Christchurch,” the first of 40 books. By 1936 he had won the Pulitzer Prize for “Strange Holiness.” Coffin returned to Bowdoin to teach from1934 to 1955, and was honored there on July 9, 1948 when he read from his poems and displayed his drawings.

A wildflower sanctuary was established in his name in Woolwich, a 180-acre preserve, it is owned by the New England Wildflower Society. It contains more than 200 species of flowers, grasses, trees and shrubs. Over 100 species of wildflowers include pink lady slippers, yellow violet and white baneberry. Features include a lovely cobbled cove, hemlock stands, and a swamp. Hilly woods, a brook, and over 1,200 feet of sandy shore and tidal marsh make up the 180 acres.

To reach it, take the Maine Turnpike north to exit 44, then proceed northeasterly to I-95 to exit 28, the Route 1 turn-off for Brunswick and Bath. Continue on Route 1 for four-tenths of a mile after crossing the Kennebec River at Bath, turn left (north) on Route 127 for 2.2 miles. Bear left on Route 128 and proceed for 4.5 miles. There is a small parking area on your left immediately north of a blue sign for Chops Crossing, with a path leading to the right coming in, just behind the entrance sign.

We did not hike as far as the bay area, but enjoyed a short walk, surrounded by early wildflowers, including starflower, Solomon’s seal, bluets and clintonia. I plan to visit this sanctuary later and hike to the bay area. It is a beautiful setting. I should take one of Coffin’s books along and read a few paragraphs.

It is a fine memorial to this famous Maine man.

Widow forced to mow down flowers

An 82-year-old widow in Tulsa, Okla., was ordered to mow down her wildflower garden, or the city would, and charge her $100.

I read an Associated Press article, cut it out, and meant to write the library or the Tulsa Garden Club for more information. I still plan to -is her wildflower garden, which she had cultivated for 25 years, still there?

Five hundred people had visited her garden, on a “Natural Habitat” tour, and the viewers were incredulous. After the news was out, strangers stopped with stories about how they go out of their way to see her sprawling garden, and admire it.

The lady had cultivated the garden, a 50-foot stretch of wildflowers that bloom waist-high along a ditch in front of her stone house. The city code dictates that weeds and other vegetation be no higher than 12 inches, unless they are tended, cultivated gardens.

The president of the Tulsa Garden Club said, “It’s a hypocrisy for the city to come along and say ‘Don’t pick our wildflowers,’ but they’ll go on private property and now mow someone else’s down.”

RECIPE

We had used a little different version of Pauline Spencer’s blueberry recipe in this column. She has sent me a printed copy of her recipe, and here it is.

BLUEBERRY DESERT

1 box of graham crackers, crushed

1-1/2 sticks of margarine

Two 8-oz. pkgs. of cream cheese

8 oz. of whipped topping

1-1/2 cups of sugar

2 tsps. vanilla

3 cups of Maine blueberries

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup of cornstarch

1/2 cup of cold water

Melt margarine and mix with graham crackers. Put half of the mixture in the bottom of a buttered 9×13 pan. Press down firmly. Bake in 375-degree oven for 10 minutes. Mix together the two packages of cream cheese, whipped topping, sugar and vanilla until smooth. Mix blueberries, sugar, water and cornstarch together and cook over medium beat until mixture becomes thick. Cool. Next, put half of the cream cheese mixture in the pan, on top of the graham crackers. Then put all of the blueberry mixture next. Put on the rest of the cream cheese, then the rest of the graham cracker mixture. Refrigerate overnight. Keep refrigerated at all times.

This will make a large recipe. Enjoy!