Wildflowers and Bluegrass - A Beautiful Day for All

Thank you to all those who joined us for our most recent HEARTS’ event “Wildflowers and Bluegrass” on May 14, 2022 at the Hugh Torance House and Store and Cedar Grove.

This was the third installment of the new HEARTS happenings and did not disappoint with the many offerings ranging from wildflower walks sharing historic plant lore and identification, to live old-time bluegrass music, to a visit from the past by the 1700’s botanist explorer Andre Michaux, and much more.

In Cedar Grove’s grand front hall, visitors were greeted with "Nature Through the Artist's Eyes, (click here to take a virtual tour) presenting the bucolic and beautiful landscape oil paintings by Tony Griffin juxtaposed with the whimsical and thought provoking mixed-media assemblages of vintage images and found objects by Nicole Schoepflin.

“Cedar Groove” presented old-time fiddler and traditional music history buff, Chris Sekerak and his bandmates Josh Campbell on banjo and Fred Mock on bass and guitar, performing “Digging the Roots,” an exceptional show on our region’s musical roots and how it evolved into today's popular styles.

Special guest Charlie Williams performed his one-man play, “Live with Michaux,” his re-enactment of 18th-century botanist Andre’ Michaux sharing his travels to our region visiting with locals while on expedition for the king of France.

Afterwards, in the parlor of the Hugh Torance House and Store, there was a book signing for Williams’ book Andre’ Michaux in North America: Journals and Letters, 1785-1797, a massive compilation of the illustrations and translated text of the botanist’s journals and letters. The Store has additional copies for purchase, if you’d like your own copy of this botanical masterpiece.

A new feature this month was the Outpost tent, featuring hard to find native plants from Dutch Buffalo Farm and fresh wildflowers from Hawk and Sparrow Flowers - Raceway Berry Farms, and also the meeting point for the Wildflower Walks with native plant enthusiast Marion Sekerak. Over 25 interesting species were identified and their history, uses and lore were shared on the walk, and Master Gardner intern Mona Morgan shared her knowledge and expertise with guests at the tent. Visit our Resources page for more wildflower and native plant information.