Former Resident Returns 60-Year-Old Plant to Bristow Park

Most seven-year-old boys like to spend their days inside playing video games; most like to race toy cars and look at picture books. Yet, that wasn’t Ken Booth. While most of his peers were watching superhero TV shows, Booth was becoming somewhat of nature’s “Robin Hood.”

Booth, who graduated from New Canaan High School in 1976, grew up across the street from Bristow Park and spent his childhood traversing the sanctuary’s beauty. He’d go with his family and friends into the park to play games and explore the vegetation.

During these adventures, young Booth developed a fascination for plants, especially a flowering plant called a Jack-in-the-Pulpit. This plant was abundant in the park at the time, so Booth thought to himself, “Why not take one with me?”

“I kept seeing them and wanted one at my house,” Booth said on a recent morning while reflecting on his heist. “So, I dug up the plant and moved it. It’s been growing in front of my house ever since.”

Cristen Cottrell removing the Jack-in-the-Pulpit bulb from Ken Booth’s house. Credit: Donovan West

That Jack-in-the-Pulpit has been growing in front of his house for nearly 60 years now.

The plant, which requires no maintenance to survive, has stayed in New Canaan longer than Booth, who now lives in Texas; it’s outlasted every other Jack-in-the-Pulpit that grew in Bristow six decades ago.

Booth, who has a background in property management and the military, was taught some gardening techniques by his father, but said he has “always had an interest in plants.”

He doesn’t quite know why he thought it was a good idea to bring the plant from Bristow to his house, but now believes he owes it to the sanctuary to put it back.

“Honestly, I’d forgotten it was even there,” Booth said. “This year, I came to New Canaan in June and saw that it was blooming. I felt really guilty and thought that it should be back where more people can enjoy it.”

He continued: “I used to love going to the sanctuary and seeing all of the different plants. I want other people to have that same opportunity.”

Cristen Cottrell pouring water over the plant. Credit: Donovan West

These feelings and a run-in with New Canaan Land Trust Executive Director Robin Bates-Mason inspired a plan to transplant the Jack-in-the-Pulpit back into Bristow.

So, on Tuesday afternoon, Booth, NCLT President Cristen Cottrell, and Board Member Sarah Hering removed the bulb of the plant from Booth’s yard and walked it to the park. There, they chose a spot in the Cam Hutchins Pollinator Pathway Garden, and Cottrell began the transplant process.

Cottrell first dug three inches into the soil and placed the plant’s bulb into the dirt. She then covered it in mulch and poured a gallon of water over it. Additional mulch was mixed in, but the transplant process was complete. With more watering over the next few days, Cottrell feels confident that the Jack-in-the-pulpit will become a beautiful addition to the sanctuary.

When asked what makes stories like these so special, Hering spoke to the power of community.

The Jack-in-the-Pulpit plant after its transplant. Credit: Donovan West

“It shows how much this community participates in this property and nature,” she said. “There are so many people who want to put their time and their focus into these open spaces and help preserve them, and having this plant returned by a neighbor of the park is such a great example of what we do.”

Cottrell added: “The idea of a neighbor is something special in our town. Neighbors get to have these open spaces right near them, and people like [Booth] have seen the progression of Bristow throughout his whole life. It’s neat to be able to protect and preserve these spots and to have neighbors recognize their worth.”

Cottrell also pointed out that seven-year-old Booth’s Robin Hood-like actions of taking the plant from a place of abundance and inserting it into his own soil may have actually saved the Jack-in-the-pulpit.

“If [Booth] had left the plant in Bristow, it probably would not still be there today,” she said. “In many ways, [he] protected, preserved, and then brought it back. Now, as it returns home, we can watch it thrive.”

You can sign up to volunteer for the New Canaan Land Trust here.