Background

Martha Crone had volunteered her time helping Eloise Butler in the Wildflower Garden for about 15 years prior to Eloise's death. In 1933 Martha became Temporary Curator of the Garden, made permanent in 1940, retaining that position until 1959. She wrote many articles and columns about plants and the Garden. She was editor of the Fringed Gentian™, the newsletter of The Friends of the Wild Flower Garden, Inc., from the first issue in 1953 until her retirement from the Friends Board of Directors in 1971. The historic photos shown here were taken by Martha for use in illustrated lectures she gave to many groups in the 1950s. We have added recent photos of some of the plants referenced in her story. Some of the plants she refers to are no longer in the Garden (Photos of some of those that she writes of are shown at the bottom of the page).

The longer days of spring with their additional warm sunlight and mellow south winds are warming the moist earth and again stirring life anew. It is due to the uplift this magic season gives to the human spirit after a long winter, that the first wild flowers are so treasured. Who does not love the sweet fragrance of rain-wet leaf mold, mosses and green growing things in the spring?

The first blossom to appear is that of the dainty Snow Trillium (Trillium nivale) a miniature of the later blooming Large-flowered Trillium, altho the plant is barely a few inches tall the blossoms are several inches across. They bloom and bring beauty and cheer even while patches of snow still remain in sheltered areas where the winters sun never penetrated.

One of the loveliest sights in the garden after a gentle spring rain is the pushing through the ground of young fronds of fern, each rolled up like a miniature fiddle-head, Great numbers of Ostrich Ferns, Royal Ferns, Interrupted Ferns and Cinnamon Ferns in addition to 35 other species of ferns are well distributed throughout the garden.

A few years ago the garden area was greatly expanded by the addition of a much needed upland or prairie garden. The making of this entire new portion of the garden has been a delightful experience. Here the first flower to appear is the Pasque-flower (Anemone patens) of the Crowfoot family. The frost is still in the ground when this brave little flower pokes through the ground, thickly covered with silky wool as if to keep itself warm. They are closely followed by Prairie Crowfoot, Ground Plum, Puccoon, Prairie Potato, Prairie Rocket, Avens, Phlox and an entire hillside covered with the attractive Lupine. Nearby, a dense mat of creeping Pink Phlox forms a brilliant ground cover. Birds-foot Violet (Viola pedata) the largest of our violets and sometimes called wild pansy covers another hillside with varied colored blossoms.