Louise Rowland would give the Energizer Bunny a run for their money! Full of vim and vigor – and a snappy wit! – Louise seems to have her days filled to the brim with constant activities. Whether it’s volunteering with the Horticulture Group or in Lucille’s Garden at Tyler Arboretum, book clubs, bridge clubs, hiking groups, travel groups – Louise seems to do it all!
A native of Swarthmore, Louise moved to the San Francisco Bay Area (Moraga, CA) in 1979. She made her way back to the East Coast in 2021 because her two sons, now grown, and their families lived here (“darn them!” she would say). She actually didn’t know about Tyler Arboretum when she lived here the first time around, but when she moved back, she happened to somehow end up on a hike at Tyler and asked if there were any volunteer opportunities available. And that’s how it all started.
So since 2021, Louise has been volunteering with the “Hort Crew” and in Lucille’s Garden. With the Hort Crew, she spends most of her time in the Rhododendron Garden. In addition to the free transportation up and back to the garden (one of her favorite aspects of the volunteering), she enjoys being up there because there is just so much to do. “You finish one area and you drive back down” because the morning is over “and you wish you had another 5 hours,” she explains. She loves the camaraderie of the Hort Crew and likes “being a part of something.” Even though she might spend her morning pruning only two azaleas, she feels like she is making a contribution. She likes the physical work. The one thing she does not like, though, is mulching. That she will not do. And she tried her hand at wreath-making for the holiday shop, but then felt very bad for anyone who may have bought what she made. Her fellow volunteers got a big laugh about her efforts in that endeavor.
Louise Rowland
Meanwhile, in Lucille’s Garden, she does whatever work Senior Gardener Bess Trout needs her to do. Louise loves being outside and there is something calming about working in Lucille’s. Lots of people hate weeding, but she likes it and there is always a weed to take care of. She likes hanging out with Bess and talking books, movies, life “and all that sort of stuff.”
Prior to retirement, Louise worked in commercial real estate doing due diligence for a real estate advisor. After retiring in 2008, she did landscaping work for a friend’s landscaping business. Gardening, being outdoors and doing physical work is what she loves. And presently, when she is not outside at Tyler, she is hiking a few times a week with different hiking groups, traveling (Italy is her next trip), or meeting with one of her many other clubs or groups – never a dull moment for Louise, it seems!
Although she misses California (especially the weather) Louise is adjusting to Pennsylvania, enjoys being a part of the Tyler family and looks forward to her volunteer days.
If you’re looking for a laugh and some motivation to wake up in the morning and do 700 activities every day, find Louise at Tyler for some inspiration and humor!
