On our campus, pansies are good until May, while tulips and small lilies bring just an eyeblink to the parade of color. So how does Elizabeth do it?  As our grounds supervisor, she presides over the landscape.

Some years we have a sharp early spring—the azaleas and dogwoods fill in later, more slowly, in a will-they-arrive-at-all pace that enthralls us.  Who doesn’t love hesitation?  This year, with a scant three weeks of ice and snow, the blossoms have arrived in volleys—like children let out to play.  February’s camellias are sharing time with flora we usually see later, and “late blooming” tulips have for the most part sprung and shattered. 

What we don’t want to miss is the orchestration of taller shrubs and small trees providing winter interest, summer glory and fall hues.  Thanks, Elizabeth, for our beautiful surroundings!