WILD GARDENS
Back to the Gardens day was open to the public
Another Saturday afternoon; chirping bird; clear skies; a running stream; abundant plants and trees— some still in bloom—and staff and volunteers on hand to guide a tour of the Wild Gardens at the Grace Hudson Museum, providing a muchneeded respite, an occasion to safely mingle and an opportunity to learn more about plants native to the environment.
Little Bear sits behind a table of Native artifacts and explains the function of various objects on display that he uses as a teaching aid for school children.
The spear he holds, he says, would be used by someone walking, not
for hunting, to show strength if confronted by another; the turkey feather fan is used for cooling and for smudging.
There are arrowheads, string made from dogbane or Indian hemp—an herbaceous, perennial that grows in most of North America—obsidian knives, a drill, children’s toys and a clapper to maintain rhythm during dance.
Alyssa Boge, Curator of Education and Exhibits, begins my tour, introducing me to the tar-weed plant— a member of the sunflower family with small, yellow, three-tooth-ededged petals whose flowers blossom only in the morning and evening.
Plants were beaten with a seed beater to knock the fiber and pro--
tein-rich seeds into a widemouthed basket and, in the act of seed beating, Native women would deliberately scatter seeds into the surrounding area to act as seed dispersers.
Adjacent to this aromatic perennial are bushes filled with brilliant, bright- orange rose hips—the accessory fruit of the rose plant— that can be mashed and strained and, with the addition of honey, made into a delicious syrup.
We meet Museum Director David Burton on the path who says he is very happy to have the museum open once again to the public—a good way to welcome people back.
He further explains that tarweed seeds were added to acorn mush and used as a dry rub for salmon.
T he bird s, perched throughout the trees, creating a constant, euphonious choir of song, take off abruptly, fly overhead en masse—this way and that— and alight back to their tree
branches, high above the garden, and to their repertoire.
“It’s not just about the plants,” he says. “It’s about all the wildlife the gardens at tract— insects, birds, small rodents and mammals; visiting here is a way to get to know nature without leaving the city.”
As Boge and I walk along the salmon stream—planted with horsetail and sedges— she indicates the sculpture of the fish basket, so designed that once a salmon is caught it is unable to escape, and to the fish weir built across the stream to help drive the salmon to one spot, into a waiting basket.
A bit further on she points out the California bay laurel, whose leaves, fruits, nuts, and wood were all used by Natives. When crushed, the leaves release a strong, menthol-like fragrance used in cooking; the fruit was eaten either raw or boiled; the nuts or seeds were ground into a meal for bread; and the bark was used to concoct a drink for relief from headaches and colds.
There is a hazelnut tree,
with only a few smaller, more delicate nuts left— well-liked by the squirrels— with high nutritional content used by Natives to flavor soups.
“They would grind the nuts up into balls and use them like caffeine,” she says.
T here is manzanita , bright- orange California fuchsia, toyon, ghost pine, red and gray willow—used for basket making— and non- fruiting persimmon trees brought to the garden by John Hudson. Although non-native, they have remained because they were well-loved by Painter Lady Grace Hudson.
Museum gardener Andrea Davis joins us and identifies mugwort— used traditionally by Pomos as a tea to bathe itchy skin—and Redosier dogwood (creek dogwood) with branches of bright, red-burgundy used by basket makers.
As the tour is over, with yet more to be seen on another day, the birds remain, within the branches, filling the air with their consistent although somewhat erratic melodies, creating a most pleasant aural background.