Remembering Hilary: The search for a lost Aquidneck Island Plant
Although I’m a little hesitant to admit it, I often find myself lost in Micheal Dirr’s Manual of Woody Landscape Plants, as the endless information on trees and shrubs within the thousand-some-odd pages can be addicting to consume. Junipers have become a recent obsession, as they are a wildly useful and underappreciated group of beautiful evergreens. The juniper cultivars listed in the Manual, of which there are many, blend together in a tan haze. Stumbling across a familiar name in the descriptions snapped me back to reality. Van Hof. As a horticulturist working in Newport, reading that name brought up thoughts of the historic Van Hof Nursery and Island Garden Center, local mainstays operated by the Van Hof family. The name of the plant was not familiar however, and it would lead me on an important horticultural journey I won’t soon forget.
The name of the plant was ‘Hilary’, and immediate internet searches provided zero information. It quickly set in that searching for the Hilary juniper was going to be like searching for a ghost. It is completely absent from recent nursery listings and catalogs. In fact, the only mention of the plant I could find anywhere was that cultivar description in Dirr I happened upon. Dirr briefly explains that cuttings were taken from an existing plant on the campus of the Portsmouth Abbey School, by Robert Van Hof of Van Hof Nursery, and named in honor of Father Hilary Martin, a longtime teacher and mentor at the Abbey. There is plenty of available information on the life of Martin, thanks to a fantastic article written by Dr. Blake Billings, a current teacher at the Abbey. Father Hilary was an instrumental and inspiring figure within the rich history of Portsmouth Abbey. He was responsible for the acquisition and stewardship of adjacent acreage, fundraising and designing of campus buildings, and the installation of a Zen Garden, which he himself designed. For those interested, I would suggest reading Dr. Billings article, which can be found on the Portsmouth Abbey’s website. As for the plant however, no additional clues could be found with googling, so a more direct approach had to be taken.
The shore juniper (Juniperus conferta) is native to the rocky and sandy coastline of Japan. It is a creeping ground cover, with needle-like leaves that are sharp to the touch. Shore juniper is often used along the edges of walls for its attractive trailing growth. Dirr describes ‘Hilary’ as an attractive selection of shore juniper with shiny green needles that has been successful in coastal Rhode Island and Connecticut. Shore juniper will mound up to 18 inches high and will spread slowly but indefinitely over time. An initial theory of mine as to why no trace of this selection could be detected in modern nursery listings and internet searches, is that it quickly fell out of favor. In recent years, several ground cover juniper cultivars such as ‘Blue Pacific’, ‘Emerald Sea’, and J. horizontalis ‘Wiltonii’ have become quite popular, while the overall demand for junipers has decreased. With old nursery records very rarely digitized, if an uncultivated plant was listed before the age of the internet, it could only be found written in ink.
Long time nurseryman, horticulturist, and plant propagator Ronn St. Jean was able to provide me with invaluable documents: Van Hof Nursery catalogs from the 70s and 80s. These fascinating articles had the plant listed for the first time (I believe) in 1982, describing it as a Van Hof clone that was hardier and more compact than typical shore juniper. In 1986 (possibly earlier), the plant received its name and was listed as Juniper conferta ‘Hilary’. Seeing these words made my heart skip a beat. It was finally proof that this plant did exist at some point. The plant appears again in the Van Hof 1989 price list, but according to Ronn, that is the last time ‘Hilary’ is listed in the Van Hof catalog. The question remained however – does the plant still grow, and if so, could it be tracked down?
When Ronn was a propagator at Van Hof Nursery years ago, the team would venture out to collect cuttings from different places around Rhode Island, including locations such as Swan Point Cemetery, Island Cemetery, Bonniecrest, and East Farm at URI. Among the collection sites was the campus of Portsmouth Abbey School, which has always held a nice assortment of mature specimen plants. Cuttings of ‘Hilary’, along with other Juniper cultivars like ‘San Jose’ and ‘Pfitzeriana Aurea’, were annually collected from the Abbey in the fall to be rooted by spring. Ronn recalled ‘Hilary’ growing voraciously in the terraced garden beds surrounding the picturesque church of St. Gregory the Great. Could the plant still be extant there?
On a dreary February day, Ronn and I set out for the Abbey in order to witness ‘Hilary’ in person. You could cut the anticipation in the air with a knife as we drove onto the campus and parked the truck. On approach of the church, masses of blue and gold spreading junipers came into view, but these types were not what we were looking for. We trotted up the path and made our way around the outside of the church. Then, simultaneously, Ronn and I spotted a sad looking shore juniper being overwhelmed by surrounding Japanese garden juniper (J. procumbens ‘Nana’). Upon close inspection, Ronn confirmed that it was “most likely” ‘Hilary’. Very anticlimactic, but that was how it happened. A small twig cutting was taken, as well as some ripe juniper berries. We circled the courtyard as Ronn described what the landscape used to look like, with green masses of ‘Hilary’ growing without care or worry. Then, upon return to the church, trailing over the terrace wall, was a green wall of flowing, dark green shore juniper we failed to spot. Considering the plant had grown from the top of the wall down to ground more than 6 feet below, we both knew immediately that this was part of the original planting. A huge smile came across my face; the lost plant had been found! A large sub from Jersey Mikes was joyfully eaten in celebration.
It wasn’t until later on, when reading Dr. Billing’s article for the first time, that I saw a picture of Father Hilary that made me almost fall out of my chair. In the photo, Father is talking to a couple beaming grounds crew members in front of the church, while what looks like a border collie gives side eye to the photographer. According to Brother Sixtus of the Abbey, the photo dates to the 1960s. In the background, the church, equipped with arching metal overhang, and the abutting stone wall are easily visible, structures that are also visible in my photo of the trailing juniper last February. In the exact spot where Father Hilary stood all those years ago, is now the place where a plant that bears his name grows happily. If there was any lingering doubt about the plant being the true ‘Hilary’, it vanished when I saw this photograph.
I would never have thought the answers to my Hilary questions would have been discovered in the way they were. I am grateful to Micheal Dirr, Ronn St. Jean, Brother Sixtus and Abbot Micheal, for bringing the plant to my attention, helping me find it, and allowing me to share my discoveries, respectively. One question remains, however; will the plant ever return to nurseries and garden centers, and perhaps the reader’s garden? I am not sure of this, but if it does, it will start with a single cutting.
By Joe Verstandig — Living Collections Manager
June 2024
References:
Dirr, M A. 2008. Manual of Woody Landscape Plants. 6th Ed. Stipes, Champaign, Il.
Dirr, M A. 1997. Dirr's Hardy Trees and Shrubs: An Illustrated Encyclopedia. Timber Press, Portland, Or.
Billings, Blake. Tracing the Legacy of Dom Hilary Martin. Portsmouthabbeymonastary.org
