Sakura

from the bud

a blossom's mind is set

on falling

(Haiku by Robin Gill)

The beautiful weeping cherry tree burst into triumphant bloom for the re-opening of Greenbrier Library. I suspect Virginia Landers had a quiet word with the tree. After all, she’s been here off and on all week with her landscaping crew. Creating a beautiful Zen-like garden where the cherry holds court outside the great curving wall of glass. Tucking a pocket sized garden in each of the three window niches featuring reader’s club chairs. These gardens will be her swan song to Chesapeake.

People in Chesapeake may not know her name, but Virginia Landers has brought significant beauty into their lives. For almost thirty years Virginia has been landscaping the civic grounds of Chesapeake. In late summer the local roads are lined with lushly blooming Crape Myrtles, the City’s official tree. Virginia helped plant hundreds as part of the Chesapeake Beautification Program between 1989 and 1995. These trees in bloom are one of the most striking features of the cityscape. Washington, D.C. has Cherry trees, but the City of Chesapeake has Crape Myrtles.

Wandering around the park-like City Hall Campus on Cedar Road there are many wonderful discoveries. A small bridge and walk curve through a naturalized area connecting the parking lots and City Hall. Drifts of daffodils and snow drops fill woods that are full of birdsong. Star Magnolias and three miniature “Razzle Dazzle” Crape Myrtles spangle gorgeous blossoms outside the library. When the Fringe Tree blooms the fragrance is so heady and evocative that patrons reel into the library asking “What is that tree?”

Virginia was born to the gardening life as the child of a Norfolk landscaping family. She recalls that it was her father’s beloved Camellia bushes that first captivated her imagination. Virginia studied botany and dendrology (the study of trees) at Frederick College. Last week, she was behind the library working with her crew; kneeling, shoveling, and sowing. She rattles off the plant names in Latin, like the names of her children. She describes how the new garden will look gesturing with her hands, outlining a flowing umbrella shape as she explains how the bush will grow to fill the corner of the building.

Her hands are unapologetically weathered, brown, and capable. As a relative newcomer I ask her what grows well in Chesapeake. She responds, generous with her knowledge in the way of gardeners.

“All kinds of magnolias thrive here, and azaleas with the right partial shade and acidic, organic soil. Scuppernong grapes, peaches, not apples, it doesn’t get cold enough for them. Nandina bushes, Bermuda grass, which is the native grass, Camellias, and Chinese Holly. Bald Cypress trees do very well here; even in dry median strips, although they are a wetland plant. Butterfly Bushes, willows, and of course, Crape Myrtle, which can take the car exhausts. The herbaceous perennials often don’t do as well. This is a transitional area between zones 7 and 8, northern and southern plants will grow here, but sometimes the conditions can be difficult for each.”

She enthusiastically recommends her favorite reference source. Best Plants for Hampton Roads: A Landscape & Garden Companion (co-authored by Dawn Alleman, Ed Bradley, Laurie Fox, Norman Grose, Brenda Johnson-Asnicar, Sherry Kern, Eva Lynn Trump and Jim Williams). Virginia suggests visiting the Botanical Garden in Norfolk, which has a great horticultural shop. Although her passion is undiminished, Virginia is retiring on June 30th. When I read up on cherry trees, and their prominent role in Japanese culture, I realize what a fitting finale garden she created.

The Japanese call cherry blossoms sakura, which is also the name of the time of year when they bloom, a time to gather with friends and celebrate the beauty of spring and life. In Japan, the life cycle of the cherry blossom is emblematic of the beauty, fragility, and fleeting nature of all of life. The sakura season provides an annual reminder that life is glorious and passes swiftly, and that each fleeting moment is precious. It is a time to ponder your accomplishments and to think ahead of remains undone.

Virginia is leaving behind a wonderful legacy of beauty for her community. She has good reason to celebrate her achievements with friends as she gazes forward to her new life.

after sunset

the moon and i toast

the blossoms

(Robin Gill)

Betsy Fowler