The class is off to a outstanding start - last week we focused on Washington and his beloved Mt. Vernon. We explored the passion Washington displayed for gardening and horticultural design. We were most interested in Wulf's discussion about the fact that Washington spent an enormous amount of time during the "war" years corresponding with his gardener at Mt. Vernon. We pondered the question of how the current American media and public would respond to state and national leaders spending, hours upon hours focused upon personal botanical and horticultural interests during times of war or international conflict. For example, we discussed how the 24/7 news culture would handle Defense Secretary Hagel's hypothetical obsession with rose gardening or the President's hypothetical passion for urban gardening back "at home" in Chicago. We agreed that Washington's genuine passion for gardening, even when he was leading the war that would lead to the birth of our Democracy, distinguishes him as the first American Gardener-in-Chief.
Washington collected a bounty of trees native to this young country as he designed, implemented and fostered the gardens and bowling green at Mt. Vernon. A portion of our class discussion focused upon the establishment, significance and impact of LIBERTY TREES during the Revolutionary War. Washington and others during the American Revolution designated a prominent tree or trees in a community as "Liberty Trees". Liberty Trees were gathering spots, points of communication, and special places in the lives and communities of the young nation. Liberty Trees hold a special spot in our history, and clearly Auburn University is an institution that embraces and celebrates the value of a community tree. As the class session was winding down, we took a personal inventory of own personal liberty trees. Each student's offering described a place of beauty that held special meeting. For me, I suggested to my students that my Liberty Trees were three-fold, a large oak that held my tree-house at my grandparent's farm, the large ginkgo outside Munger Hall at Birmingham-Southern College, and the stately live-oaks that cloister First Methodist Church in Montgomery. As you reflect on Washington and his horticultural legacy, also give some thought to the location of your own "Liberty Trees".
From just reading your blog, this seems like this would be a fun class to take. Hope your students know how lucky they are to have a "Professor" that thinks outside the box.
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