On tin- lift are shown some of the rare llowers found
in the Hie Satan nnh ; the star flower, white hracted
sedge, while frineed orchids and «ah bat las snake-
mouthed orchid and ereen and sold trumpets.
The Big Savannah
OIVE of tlic most bc.iiiliful spots in
\orlh Carolina and concerning
which very little is known.
By SUSAN IDEA
WTIJI.E gardeners in cities areequalled in the country as an interest-
struggling with drought or too ing native plant community,
much rain, with blights and At this vear’s session of the state
pest*, and are fertilizing nnd cultivat¬
ing to keep gardens in bloom, there is
in Eastern North Carolina, not far
trom Wilmington and about two miles
from Burgaw. a garden which is a
continual display of floral beauty and
loveliness from early spring until fall
without any horticultural aid. There
is hardly a time, except in the heart
of winter, when this garden i* not a
profusion of rare and beautiful flow¬
ers.
"God’s Garden of the Big Savan¬
nah'' is what it has been termed by
hr. B. W. Wells, botanist of North
Carolina State College, who fir.-t
brought this marvelous wild flower
area to public attention through lec¬
tures, published articles and the con¬
duct of nature study parties to the
Big Savannah. There is nothing in
the eastern part of the 1'nited States
to equal it. I)r. Wells says, and so far
as he has been able to find out, its
only rival in interest are the wonder¬
ful alpine meadows of the western
mountain slope*.
Consists of 1,600 Acres
The Big Savannah i- approximately
two and a half mile* long by a mile
wide. Its 1. fit Ml acre* are unfit for
cultivation, and frequent fires have de¬
stroyed many of the beautiful trees
which formerly dotted its area.
Many persons traveling by train
over the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad,
have noticed the little station labeled
"Big Savannah." and perhaps have
had their eyes caught by the wide
stretch of open field dotted with the
bright colors of wild flowers. Others
from speeding automobiles along the
hard surface highway, which cuts
across one end of the area, have caught
glimpses of lovely things growing, but
have' not stopped long enough to dis¬
cover that the section is almost un¬
legislature. Dr. Wells and some mem¬
bers of the North Carolina Garden
Club appeared before that body asking
for an appropriation of $10,000 with
which to purchase 500 acres of the
Big Savannah to preserve as a state
park. The legislators, however, were
not convinced of the interest and value
of this field of rare wild flowers to
the state, and the request was not
granted. But further effort* will be
made to preserve the area.
The Big Savannah has an ever-
changing aspect as the season advances,
the first flowers appearing in Febru¬
ary and the last in December. It is
a wonderful floral display between
these two periods which will well re¬
pay anyone to turn off from the hard
surface road for n short distance to
see it. The place is not as spectacular
as the man-made azalea gardens vis¬
ited by thousands every year, but is
far more wonderful in botanical in¬
terest.
Many Varieties of Flowers
l nder the hot summer sun the ten¬
der green grass that forms a thick mat
over the field is burned yellow and
brown, nnd over this sear carpet are
great splotches of the green gold of
trumpet plants, the russet of its sis¬
ter pitcher plant, the rose of sabatias
and meadow beauties, the yellow of
airy flax and St. John's wort, the
orange of polygala, sometimes called
red hug plant, or, more descriptive,
"Devil's Red Hot Poker.”
There are lovely white and orange-
fringed orchids, pink und lavender
orchids, delicate heads of lavendar
polygala, the drooping white sedge that
fools the uninitiated into thinking that
the graceful greenish white leaves are
a part of the flower; the pipeworts
who**? tight cluster of a hundred or
( Continued on page twenty-six)
