It is perhaps the most prevalent topic in the 40 years of the Gazette’s publication. With invitations such as “Spring Wildflower Walk” and “Cruising Eagles”, information on “Persied Meteor Showers” and the “Pileated Woodpecker”, reports on “When Maple Sap Flows” and “Vernal Pools”, descriptions of the “Onslaught of Wild Turkeys” and “Bears in our Backyard”, and tributes to our venerable friends with “Our Streetscape Changes” and “The Demise of an Old Ash Tree”, the Gazette reflects one of our town’s most treasured interests: nature. Excursions and programs in our preserves, articles on local, national and global conservation efforts, opinions on environmental protection, gardening advice, and Hampton’s flora and fauna captured in photographs and poetry — these comprise many, many of the pages in our town newspaper.

Since its inception, the Gazette has published the monthly events of various sanctuaries and organizations: Connecticut Audubon, the Quinebaug-Shetucket Heritage Corridor, and Joshua’s Trust; annual pilgrimages through Hampton’s Blue Flag Meadow, Rad’s Woods, and the Preston Sanctuary; and the history and happenings of our important preserves Trail Wood and Goodwin Forest, bequeathed to us, respectively, by Pulitzer prize winning naturalist Edwin Way Teale, and one of the nation’s first foresters, James L. Goodwin.

Lois Kelley was the first to write articles on nature. Starting with the very first issue of the Gazette, she contributed chapters on Pine Acres Pond, several columns on the Little River, and a series titled “Notable Trees of Hampton”. As Director of Goodwin, she kept us apprised of programs at the Conservation Center and at the Teale Sanctuary, starting with the 1981 announcement “Connecticut Audubon Society Acquires Trail Wood”.

During the spring of the second year of publication, Max Dean’s garden column debuted, beginning with “It’s Time to Plot Your Garden” and ending with “Prudent Pruning” in 1993. His practical and ecologically sound advice informed us, for example, on ridding our gardens of destructive insects such as Japanese beetles, potato bugs, and cabbage moths with natural solutions using soap powder, baking soda, stale beer, garlic, salt and tea.

With the rise of environmental concerns, a column called EarthCare commenced in May, 1991 and continued until May, 2010, with contributors Kay Gaines and Virginia Welch approaching ecological topics from different perspectives. While Kay advocated for political action locally, on a state level, nationally and on a global scale with articles such as “EarthCare Queries Candidates on Land Acquisition” and “Nine Ways to Save the Planet”, Virginia sought to endear the earth and all its creatures to us with charming columns such as “Mousecapades” and “Wild Goose Chase”, lovingly offering us lessons and laughter on wildlife.

Marcia Kilpatrick’s “Green Thumbs” has provided eco-friendly advice since 2007, a seemingly endless source of information. With intriguing titles like “Sneakers, Glass Cleaner, and Salad Greens”, Marcia continues to instruct us on subjects such as organic mulches and fertilizers, rain gardens and rain barrels, “clean” cleansers and recipes for natural repellants, attracting pollinators, internet gardening, container gardening, polyculture, and “Reducing the Carbon Footprint”.

While most contributors’ subjects have been very broad, a few have been very specific. The Conservation Commission advocated for native species in a 2012 series and against invasives in 2013, and from 1982 to 1998, Henry Sefton earned the Gazette distinction as New England’s most definitive source on the subject of bluebirds.

Some of our contributors have included nature in their genres. Ruth Halbach’s “Craft Corner”, from 2004 to 2008, featured several articles on garden ornamentation with titles such as “The Pink Flamingo (not so pink anymore!)”; and nature has often been the topic of Pete Vertefeuille’s “Photographic Notes” which began in 2008 and continues periodically, often with gentle titles and subjects such as “The Fawn Who Came to Visit.”

When I volunteered to serve on the Gazette, I perused the first twenty-two years of its pages, a review which revealed gardening as a popular topic and one to which I could contribute. Since penning the first one in 2000, 164 garden columns have encompassed subjects such as color in the garden, attracting bees, birds and butterflies, the garden in sun and shade, under the moon, and in all seasons, garden walls and walkways, weeds and weeding, garden design, ornamentation, types, projects, and reflective essays on life in the garden. My personal favorites are the ones I write on “Our Neighbor’s Gardens”. These columns are a way to acquaint ourselves with new neighbors, or to become acquainted with old friends in new ways. Among the tumultuous times of local and national politics, we find “common ground” in our gardens, where nature insists upon itself and provides an unparalleled level of comfort. Our gardens transform us somehow, the way that our children do. We speak of flowers differently, generously, tenderly. We fuss over them, worry over their health, their survival. When they show signs of illness or unhappiness, we seek advice on their care. When they struggle, we ease their growth. We always share our pride in their accomplishments. We boast when they flourish, and rejoice in their offspring. In a word, garden conversations are filled with: love.