Celia's passion shared
by many

Copyright © 2006 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.

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Recently I spent a few days on Star Island (10 miles off the coast of New Hampshire) to attend workshops organized under the auspices of the Botanical Society of America. One morning we visited the gardens of Celia Thaxter (1835-1894) on nearby Appledore Island. In her day, Thaxter was famous for her talents as a gardener, a poet, and an intellectual.

Thaxter's father was a lighthouse keeper and later a hotel owner on the Isles of Shoals, and she spent virtually her entire life there. As an adult she wrote poetry that was loved then, but is considered mediocre now. She also wrote a wonderful little book, "An Island Garden," which came out in 1894 and was reprinted in 1988. The book describes how she gardened -- from dealing with slugs to preparing the soil -- and her passion for gardening.

Passion is a little discussed aspect of gardening. After reading her book, I realized that, like Thaxter, I probably derive more joy from my flowers than most other people do. She writes, "He who is born with a silver spoon in his mouth is generally considered a fortunate person, but his good fortune is small compared to that of the happy mortal who enters this world with a passion for flowers in his soul."

She explained that her love for flowers is what made her successful: It gave her patience, constancy to persevere, and "the power of foregoing ease of mind and body to minister to the necessities of the thing beloved." For her, that included getting out of bed to look for slugs by moonlight. Wow.

Her book contains a map of her garden, which was primarily a cutting garden, that was just 15-by-50 feet. Few gardens of the era are so carefully documented, so if you have a house built in the late 19th century and want to have a garden typical of the era, hers is one to see, or to read about. The garden was restored in 1978.

The garden itself is nice, but not remarkable. Still, every garden offers a chance to learn something. I encountered an old-fashioned annual there for the first time -- salpiglossis, also known as painted tongue or satin flower. I was enamored of its velvety 2-inch blossoms in shades of red and purple with stripes and overlays of gold. I found some for sale at Edgewater Farm in Plainfield N.H. when I got back, and am now growing them.

The island has poor soil, so she used wood-sided raised beds which she filled with a mix of island sand, compost and animal manure. If you have poor soil, you might wish to try the same. A 50-50 mix of soil and compost served up in a raised bed will please most vegetables and flowers. If you wish to grow vegetables, DO NOT use pressure treated planks -- not an option in her time -- as they will leach toxic chemicals that can be absorbed by veggies. Gardeners Supply (www.gardeners.com or 888-833-1412) and Lee Valley Tools (www.leevalley.com or 800-267-8735) sell kits with metal corner braces for building raised beds.

Thaxter endeared herself to me when I read that she imported toads from the mainland to help with her slug problem. She had teenage boys catch toads and send several dozen of them (by boat) to help her out. If you wish to encourage toads in your garden, give them shade, shelter and a saucer of water.

Appledore Island is managed by the Shoals Marine Laboratory, a research institute run by Cornell and the University of New Hampshire. Because of the fragile nature of the island ecosystem, outside visitors are allowed just once a week. They have contracted with a boat leaving from Eastman's Docks in Seabrook, N.H. on Wednesdays at 9:30 a.m., and returning at 4:30 p.m. The boat trip and a guided tour of the garden costs $75.

Bring your own lunch. Unfortunately, the gardens are not handicap accessible. For more info go to www.shoals-lab@cornell.edu or call 607-254-2900.

Henry Homeyer is the VT/NH associate editor of "People, Places and Plants" magazine. Contact him at gardening-guy@valley.net or P.O. Box 364, Cornish Flat, N.H. 03746.