The Friends of Herrontown Woods (FOHW) hosted a wildflower seed collection event at the botanical art garden (Barden) on Sunday, October 6. The Barden is located in Herrontown Woods Arboretum (HW), a 142-acre wooded enclave gifted to Princeton by Mercer County in 2018.
This seed collection event had the unique ambiance of a bustling marketplace in the center of a forest. The warm bright sun shone through green, yellow, red, orange and brown leaves, and the attendees were wearing light summer clothes.
Mathilde Burlion, the facilitator for the event and instructor of children’s classes at HW, helped attendees collect seeds from wildflowers such as Frost Asters, Goldenrods, Wild Sennas, Clustered Mountain Mints, Bee Balms, Milkweed, Purple Coneflowers and New England Asters.
Burlion says, “Beyond the distraction of modern life, I think there is a disconnection for many kids. It’s a disconnection from the land.”
Burlion continues, “They don’t have an idea about…what it takes to get a vegetable. When you get this kind of disconnection, you don’t get a sense of how to care for the land and how it is important.”
As a way to educate children and adults alike, Burlion explained to the group where seeds come from. She showed the participants how to gather seeds from the pistils of dried flowers which they then collected and sorted in corresponding envelopes marked with the flower names.
The flowers used for seed collection were planted around a large social space enveloping a gazebo in the center in a partially shaded clearing of the forest. Each flower had a protective fence around it with a photo of their appearance in full bloom and their name.
Also using this shared social space was HW’s monthly coffee social, May’s Cafe. While people drank coffee and ate baked goods, donated by FOHW volunteers, they joined in to hear about collecting, storing and planting seeds.
Included in the discussions was an explanation of how seeds need a cold winter dormancy period to germinate in the spring. Burlion says people can replicate this by refrigerating seeds stored in a dry envelope until March.
Burlion hopes that people will use their new knowledge of collecting, storing and planting native seeds to help the environment.
Burlion says, “Native plants were living here, it was a thriving ecosystem. [Then] all this land is replaced by lawns, that don’t bring any life to the system, that kill [the native plants].”
Similar to Burlion, Steve Hiltner, a botanist and FOHW’s founder and President, hosts educational and social events at HW that demonstrate to the community such topics as biodiversity.
Hiltner says, “Nature is complex, not very tidy, and I think these traits can be off-putting for people. How else to explain the rows of houses in suburbia that subdue and simplify nature into lawns and manicured shrubs?
Hiltner continues, “At HW, we nurture and work with nature’s diversity and complexity, and seek to add some creative, cultural touches of our own. The effort we give back, and do some healing of what has been harmed, is also healing and rewarding for us.”
The spirit of informal camaraderie, cooperation, learning, and unstructured socialization was alive in a small preserved forest, visible in the participants’ easygoing smiles and relaxed demeanor.
Mary Joan Gaynor, one of the attendees says, “I think it is a very nice community event to have, to make people aware of what they can plant and to provide for people.”
At the end of the seed collection, many little envelopes filled with seeds were taken by their new owners to be stored, and then to be planted and grown in the springtime on not so manicured lawns.
FOHW plans a November hike to observe the fall foliage, and a seed planting session before the winter sets in. For more information and a complete list of events at HW, visit www.herrontownwoods.org
Note: The author volunteered for FOHW over the last few years and practices yoga in the summers in HW with Gratitude Yoga, an organization benefiting HW by donating 100% of the proceeds of all HW yoga classes.
This article was produced as part of MCCC’s Community Reporting “J Lab” certificate program made possible by grant funding from the New Jersey Council for the Humanities and The New School: Journalism + Design. For more information about the J Lab contact Program Director Prof. Holly Johnson at johnsonh@mccc.edu.
