Summer isn’t quite over yet, but already I hear the hum of a new garden year starting up. I took several small trips these past two months, and my latest trip took me to an area around Hartford, Connecticut. Unlike our mid-Atlantic region’s steamy heat, it’s a cooler damp which is obviously conducive to lush, green gardens throughout the summer months. On the way back from a visit to lovely Canton, Connecticut, I spotted a sign marking something significant so I couldn’t resist stopping. Along the Farmington River is the oldest tree in New England and Connecticut, the Pinchot Sycamore. We pulled off into a park nestled along the river, a popular place for fishing, canoeing and sculling. But the big draw is one of the biggest trees I’ve ever hugged (yes, I hugged it!) The tree’s circumference is more than 25 feet and believed to be over 200 years old. It is magnificent to behold. Protecting a tree of that size is a challenge for any community and as I stood under the canopy, I could see a discreet network of cables intertwined amongst its massively heavy limbs. Without taking away from the tree’s beauty, the cables provide support and stability so it can weather storms throughout the seasons. In a way, our Club, almost 58 years old, is like that grand old Sycamore. And we serve as those cables, supporting it through the seasons with talent, service and joy. Why? Because it is worth caring about, preserving and nurturing its wonderful traditions. We may change, we may grow, we may continuously blossom, we may set seed, and in so doing we support the Club and each other, just like those cables hidden in the Pinchot Sycamore. Discovering this beautiful old tree was one of the highlights of my trip – that and visiting Mystic, Connecticut, a wonderful old seaport not too far from where the Long island Sound meets the Atlantic Ocean. And yes, there really is a Mystic Pizza!! Have a wonderful September and a great garden club year! – Thea McGinnis