“The Arboretum is my church … and heaven is here, all around us. Look at the venation on the iris – it’s just miraculous. The Arboretum makes us stop and look at these things,” she said.

Anne Jaster remembered her first visit to Landis more than twenty years ago. Fred Lape invited Ann and her mother into the “unimproved” farmhouse – she noted the hand pump in the kitchen. On another occasion, she investigated the Quarry Garden, then overrun with sawgrass, with Alpine specialist Kathie Lippett. Then, as a “fledgling” volunteer, she did, as she says, her fair share of weeding. She served on the Board of Trustees for six years and as its president from 1992 to 1994. Although she admits she is quite content “not leading,” she accepted the position because she saw it as a “leadership opportunity,” her mission to bring structure to an organization she grew to love and to write its policies.

Anne trained as an artist and has taught art in both elementary and high schools. Her passion is botanical illustration, which she pursues in a variety of media. She has taken her talent to many places in the world, notably Chile and Paraguay, and she has shared her gift by teaching several classes at the Arboretum. “Nature is art,” she reminds us. “If people really want to know a plant, they should draw it, see what it’s all about.”

Her current project is a comprehensive illustration of the flora of the Pinebush, including the insects that feed on these plants, most famously the Karner Blue Butterfly.

Anne’s association with the Arboretum has been both a “privilege” and “pure affection.” She had the opportunity to share, first-hand, in the Arboretum’s history, working with Fred Lape’s personal library as well as with his correspondence with horticulturists all over the world. And there have been simpler moments of privilege too: one evening after teaching a drawing class, she was moved by the unexpected sighting of a woodcock in the gully near the farmhouse.

Over the years, she maintains, Landis has met all her needs. Anne would encourage all new members and volunteers to experience what she’s found at the Arboretum – “the personal relationships that can develop, the learning activities that are always there – and, above all, the spiritual renewal that comes one a long walk” on the grounds.