WOODBURY, CONN. (February 3,2025) – Removing invasive plants from the land, restoring space and light for indigenous plants to thrive and reclaim their place and function in the ecosystem, unleashes creativity at the same time it reinvigorates the landscape. The connection between gardening and poetry will be the subject of a conversation and poetry reading at the Van Vleck Studio at Flanders Nature Center & Land Trust, 5 Church Hill Road, Woodbury, Friday, February 21, at 6:30 p.m. Poet Sandy Lee Carlson and “Ungardener” Dee Salomon will be the presenters at this event. The event is complementary to Flanders members and $6 for non-members. Registration is required at flandersnaturecenter.org or 203-263-3711.
Carlson, who is Woodbury poet laureate emerita and a novice gardener, undertook with a team of neighbors to remove invasive plants along Woodlake Road in Woodbury over the fall and winter of 2023-24. The group met their goal of removing invasive plants along both sides of the first quarter mile of Woodlake Road. The experience inspired Carlson to write a new collection of poems, Finding Home. She credits her inspiration to Dee Salomon and Heidi Cunnick, who provided training to Carlson and her neighbors to undertake the project. Cunnick is the chair of the Cornwall Conservation Commission.
Salomon, who will participate in the conversation at Flanders, developed a passion for protecting and restoring native habitats over a dozen years ago, when she began clearing invasives from her property. She writes a monthly column on the topic for the Lakeville Journal, which also appears on her website, TheUngardener.com. Her advocacy extends to guest lecturing, hosting workshops, and working one-on-one with people interested in similarly restoring their properties. Happily retired, Salomon spends much of her days in the woods and in her garden, which was featured in the November 2022 issue of Architectural Digest.
About Flanders Nature Center & Land Trust
Flanders Nature Center & Land Trust is a nonprofit organization that focuses on environmental education and the acquisition, conservation, and stewardship of open space. Through its land trust initiatives, Flanders actively works to protect important natural sites and the area’s landscape character and quality of life. Flanders manages over 2,400 acres of preserved land in Woodbury and neighboring towns. Educational programs for children and adults are offered at the Van Vleck Farm and Nature Sanctuary, Flanders’ main campus in Woodbury. Trails at its seven major nature preserves are open to the public at no charge from dawn to dusk. For more
information, call 203-263-3711 or visit flandersnaturecenter.org.
About Orenaug Mountain Publishing (OMP)
It is the vision of Orenaug Mountain Publishing (www.orenaugmountainpublishing.com) to be a beacon for poetic expression and to create a platform for poets to share their work with the world. We seek to champion the art of poetry by writers around the world by publishing high-quality work that challenges, inspires, and connects readers to the human experience. We do this through several themed anthology projects a year and via the online Orenaug Mountain Poetry Journal (OMPJ) at www.orenaugmountainpoetry.net.
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