Henry David Thoreau and the maple’s winter coat
This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast:
February 23, 1856
Dearest reader,
On this day, we are gifted with the tranquil musings of Henry David Thoreau, who, in the gentle hours of morning, trekked to Fair Haven Pond and recorded the quiet revelations of late winter’s embrace.
His journal entry begins:
“9 am to Fair Haven Pond upriver – A still warmer day –
The snow is so solid that it still bears me – though we have had several warm suns on it.
I sit by a maple on a maple –
It wears the same shaggy coat of lichens summer & winter.”
Can you imagine Thoreau’s steady footsteps, the snow crunching soundly beneath him, despite the sun’s recent attempts to soften its resolve?
Like a gardener attuned to seasonal shifts, he marveled at the enduring resilience of familiar forms, where warmth had yet to vanquish winter’s crystalline grip.
Have you ever lingered in such moments—where the landscape whispers of transition but stubbornly refuses to surrender?
Thoreau sits by a maple, that ancient sentinel draped in its lichen cloak. The tree stands unchanged, “wearing the same shaggy coat of lichens summer & winter.”
Is there not wisdom there for gardeners and nature lovers alike?
While blooms come and go, growth pauses and resumes, some elements remain constant—a soothing reassurance that amidst change, some beauties endure.
What secrets might that lichen share, having weathered both blizzard and blazing sun with equal grace?
Might Thoreau’s quiet observation inspire us to notice the oft-overlooked details in our own gardens—the moss that clings to shaded stone, the rough bark that persists year after year?
What treasures lie in patient, unyielding forms, awaiting the wandering eye and contemplative heart?
