Volunteer Profile: Heirloom Garden Volunteers

On a sun-splashed May morning, the din of construction equipment bringing CBMM’s new Welcome Center to life provided a fitting soundtrack for the work happening just on the other side of the construction fencing.

In the Heirloom Garden, a transformation was well underway. A group of CBMM volunteers stayed busy pulling weeds, planting seedlings, and watering beds as part of a refurbishment of the garden designed to showcase centuries of plants and herbs historically grown in the Chesapeake region.

The Heirloom Garden will be one of the first things guests see upon entering campus through the new Welcome Center. Thanks to the attention and care of dedicated volunteers, the garden will be ready for its new spotlight.

“I’m just so thrilled with all this,” said Nancy Gooding, a local master gardener and longtime volunteer. “It’s a really great piece of history being restored to its original glory.”

The garden has been updated by CBMM’s facilities staff with new beds and plant labels and refreshed paths. Dozens of plants trace the evolution of agriculture, reflecting the home gardens cultivated by Chesapeake people from the 17th to the 20th centuries.

Supported through CBMM’s Regional Folklife Center under the Maryland Traditions program of the Maryland State Arts Council, the project emphasizes foodways as an important part of understanding regional culture and offers a place where these traditions can be demonstrated and interpreted through programming.

All involved are excited to soon share the sights, sounds, and smells of a flourishing garden with guests.

“It’s fun to see it resurrected,” volunteer John Thomas said. “We’re all involved because we want to make that happen. And, when the Welcome Center is finally open and ready to go, things ought to be in full bloom. That’s going to be really wonderful.”

The Heirloom Garden was launched in 2010 thanks to the inspiration and efforts of volunteer Roger Galvin. It became a labor of love for the retired attorney turned master gardener to continue expanding its scope and storytelling by combing through dozens of mail-order catalogs to source seeds from across the globe.

For years, Galvin spent a few days a week during the growing season tending to the beds and interpreting them for guests. He had increased the total species featured to 122 and logged more than 5,000 volunteer hours by the time he took a step back in 2019.

It was exciting for Galvin to come back this spring and see both the new campus orientation and the CBMM community’s excitement to make it a featured stop for guests as the area reopens following construction.

“A lot of times when people would come back, they’d say, ‘I never knew this was here,’” said Galvin, who is honored with a small plaque of appreciation next to the Log House. “Now, it will be front and center for everyone to enjoy.”

The work to refurbish the Heirloom Garden has been a team effort months in the making, with behind-the-scenes planning and hands-on contributions from staff, including Director of Curatorial Affairs & Exhibitions Jen Dolde, Human Resources Manager Amy Wales Reilly, and Facilities Manager Rob Pedersen.

The volunteer effort has relied on leadership from master gardeners like Gooding, Galvin, and Mary Sue Traynelis, and help from hobbyists like Thomas, who has appreciated the camaraderie in the garden and learned a little along the way, too.

The seed list was finalized over the winter, and volunteers with grow lights and home greenhouses soon got the growing process started. There was plenty of weeding and other prep work to do before the seedlings started going in the ground in early May.

Guests will soon be able to scan the seven beds—Native American, 17th Century, 18th Century, 19th Century, and 20th Century, plus separate areas for herbs and tobacco—and read interpretive information about the plants’ origins and introduction to North America and their uses by people in the Chesapeake region.

For Gooding, who has been a CBMM volunteer since 2012, it’s important work restoring a living exhibition that tells a vital story. She has overseen the planting and care of the herb garden, which has led her to fascinating research about the uses of various herbs through time to solve various medical and household challenges.

“With almost every plant, there’s a story behind why it was grown,” Gooding said. “Those stories can give you a better sense of how people lived. It fills in more details about the people who were here before us.” ★