Rosemary Krill shares her observations from Friday, May 15, 2009:
The best place in the Winterthur Garden today was standing under the handkerchief tree (Davidia involucrata) and watching the white petals waft down with every breeze, as if someone were giving me my own personal ticker tape parade. I’d gone outside to walk up to Azalea Woods. As happens so often, the Garden had other plans.
The delicate white petals in various sizes were sprinkled over the walkway. Inspired by the work of Andy Goldsworthy, photographer who makes art with natural materials, I started lining them up, pointing visitors up the steps toward the Reflecting Pools. A different kind of white arrow. But the breezes interfered.
Then I made starbursts on the garden chairs, and added petals, until it looked like a white cushion on the metal chairs. A man and woman came up. They stopped at the tree. They took a picture of my “cushion,” then a photo of the sun shining through the white petals and green leaves. Then they tried to “catch” on film a petal floating down. We all . . . and the five other visitors who stopped.. . .had fun.
I put two “handkerchief” petals in my breast pocket, before returning to work, like a vintage pocket handkerchief square in a natty blue blazer. . . or like the handkerchief fluffily arranged in the pocket of a 1960s diner waitress!
RTKrill 5/15/09
I love Handkerchief Trees. There are a few, dotted about in Cornwall, England, that I love to visit when I lived there.
I am so pleased to see them growing here.
Myrtle Luma.