The Errea Garden
Anna Marie Swanson: A Change of Season
by Carol Cunningham
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| Anna Marie Swanson contemplates her next task in the Errea House Garden (Photo: C. Cunningham) |
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Visitors to the Errea House Garden have noticed that, whatever the seasonal changes in the plants, it remains a place of beauty and peace; the reason lies in the work of several women who have nurtured it throughout the years. The first garden director was Mary Farrell-Haubrich, who with her committee, took a long-neglected side garden space and made it blossom.
This year, the garden is undergoing more than a seasonal change; Jerry Cowan’s cool shade garden will continue to border the Errea House porch, but Anna Marie Swanson, our wonderful garden director for the last three years, is moving next month to Redlands to be near her grandchildren. Barbara Williams, the new director, has already begun creating new beds. Both women value the other’s abilities and opinions, and both praise Cathey Powell, whose spectacular irises explode in various colors in the garden center.
Anna Marie’s work in the back garden has created the blooming oasis we see now. She remembers when “trash and debris lined the back yard” and a tree stump posed a major obstacle. She praises the help she received from everyone in the early days of cleaning up rubbish and creating the paths of pea gravel lined with bricks.
Anna Marie rescued roses scheduled for destruction from the senior apartment complex in which she lived and planted them in the once forlorn SW garden corner. Now their color and fragrance surround visitors to the garden.
Children are a major element in Anna Marie’s love of the garden and she was planning a butterfly garden for children to enjoy. Afterwards, she thought it would be fun for them to take “a small Styrofoam box with a tiny plant in it” for them to nurture at home.
One constant in the garden is most visible in early spring, when the iris beds reflect iris donor Cathey Powell’s knowledge and love of the plants. Myriad colors and types appear in the beds, and Cathey knows each one in detail --no surprise, since she spent her childhood in Washington, where her aunt hybridized iris.
The collection Cathey has planted includes flowers from the original Errea Garden, as well as cultivars from the gardens of various Tehachapi “old time residents” like the Cuddebacks and Mrs. Harriet Barker. Many irises are historical: Quaker Lady, a stunning pale pink bloom with subtle variations, is “over 60 years old,” states Cathey with pride. “And some of the others,” she says with a sweet smile, “are from my own garden.”
Like Anna Marie, Cathey loves having children in the garden. She remembers a little girl of about 10 who declared with great seriousness that she liked to come into the garden to “sit and relax” amid the blooms. Creating a place to relax is one of Cathey’s happiest achievements in the garden.
Many others have contributed to the Errea House Garden’s success, from Edna McCallion and her group of “herbies” tending the herb garden to Mindy Pugh’s trusty truck deliveries to the dump. On any visit to the garden, you may find its garden caretakers – whether they hold official positions or not --watering, weeding, planting, and keeping it lovely. Thanks to all of them, the garden belongs to the people of Tehachapi.
Errea Garden Party
by Judy Reynolds
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Judy Reynolds at the
Garden Party
(Photo: C. Cunningham) |
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Thank you to all who attended the May 28th Garden Party at the Errea House. The gardens are spectacular due to a small, but very dedicated group of volunteers led by the new Garden Chair, Barbara Williams.
I especially want to thank my several "right arms" who helped prepare the food, serve, and most importantl, helped to clean up!
Gloria Imera prepared two of the hot dishes and the veggie tray, did some of the shopping, and helped to clean up; Barbara Williams, Merrily Flanagan, and Mindi Pugh brought food, helped set up and clean up; Del Troy and Jerrie Cowan brought food; Frank Flanagan and Charles White helped set up; and my husband Bob made the run to the store for things I had forgotten! Finally, thanks to Ernie Fong for his origami magic. It was a wonderful evening! |
