DIAMONDS IN THE ROUGH

Things are ever changing in life and in the garden.  There is a natural order of things that are incomprehensible.  We humans polish stones from the earth along with our friends and family while we are experiencing the whisper of life here on earth.  Sometimes we start something that becomes so much more meaningful as it develops and we wonder 'How did that happen?' 

This Memorial Day weekend my husband and I finished a planting that will become a place of remembrance for a member of our family that enriched our lives by his very being for 69 years. Jeff unknowingly showed me what to do with a garden space that had become the last piece of frustration in the design of my Gardens in Woodlands.  

Let me tell you how this garden has evolved. It first lived its life as a 30' buffer between a tobacco field and south facing forest edge. For me it became a perfect place to plant and watch grow a 100' long mixed border of large trees and shrubs including Cleyera japonica, Cornus mas, Lagerstroemia faurei, Osmanthus fragrans 'Aurentiacus', Nyssa ogechee, Magnolia grandiflora, Spartan Juniper, Loropetalum'Blush' and Cryptomeria japonica 'Gyokuru'. Finally, beautifully mature, it has provided a dappled shady respite where once grew a sunny perennial bed. 

The Victorian swing was added as a destination / focal point evoking memories of childhood. 

  Arching over the swing is an oval of six  50' tall native Cedar trees planted as 2' tall saplings found on the surrounding  tobacco farm.  The bower of Cedar came about after reading a story in which Andrew Jackson planted such a formation for his Grandchildren to play under.  

An oversized diamond patterned trellis complete with a stained glass panel depicting the moon and stars was constructed for privacy when the tobacco field was sold and filled with a beautiful big white house.  It has been this trellis that became a point of contention in my mind. The strong pattern never seemed to settle visually into the space. It provided a sense of privacy and let cooling breezes through in a most pleasing manner. 

All the plants in the mixed border along with the towering Cedars now give the space a magical quality of moving shadow shapes throughout the day.  But the trellis still dominated the scene.

The perennial bed became a calming oval of shade tolerant White Clover and Red Fescue. At one end of the original perennial bed there was (and still is) a patch of tough drought tolerant Carex flacca 'Blue Zinger' happily spreading in it's dry shady home filling a triangular shape. I had the idea to use this plant mixed in with the Clover and Fescue. 

The diamond pattern still loomed. 

Jeff emerged into this world not as a Diamond in the Rough but as a rock - steadfast, tough, full of promise and fully faceted with shining surfaces that gleamed and glowed for all who were fortunate enough to know him.  The Diamond pattern and shape had strength and meaning to go forward with a ground sculpture dedicated to Jeff. 

I marked and started digging 4" channels with a spade in the shapes of diamonds.  There was room for three diamonds of varying sizes. 

My happy go lucky German Shepherd helped me in this first phase by holding a board down to make sure the cuts were straight. 

I had 6 flats of the Carex making a total of 144 plugs to be planted.  There they are waiting on a bench behind the turquoise containers.  The Sunday Jeff left this earth my husband put aside his research and suggested we plant this garden in his memory and honor. 

I mixed up 1 1/2 bags of Pine Bark Soil conditioner with 1/3 bag of Permatil and 1/2 bag of Daddy Pete's Plant Pleaser for backfilling around the plugs. 

We made sure the channels and surrounding soil were moist by watering for an hour. 

We began the installation by breaking up the roots of the Carex plugs. 

We placed them side by side in the channels gently backfilling with the specialized soil mixture. 

An hour later we had our 'DIAMONDS IN THE ROUGH'. 

It is interesting to see them in the turf from a distance and walk toward the patterns on the ground as they gradually reveal their shapes. The diamonds are compass's marking North, South, East and West. Another reminder of one of Jeff's many passions for travel by sailboat, plane and car.  He took his whole family, immediate and extended,  with him on so many adventures. 

These diamonds are subtle,  placed as they are to grow in the ground, reminding us of what life can be if you let yourself go and trust the mysteries of the world unfolding before you. 

Keep your dreams alive and enjoy your life to the fullest in your Garden in Woodlands. 

FLOWERS AND FOLIAGE OF MID-MAY

As the cool breezes of Spring subside......in the garden the kindness of plenty of moisture through last month is helping flowering buds to open and give another lovely pop to the lush foliage that will provide all the exquisite textures of Summer.  Above is Chrysogonum virginianum (Green and Gold) blooming between Helleborus argutifolius and in the distance Dryopteris erythrosaura. 

In the moss Memorial Garden at the foot of the stone Meditation Bench the most  prolific ground cover and bloomer at this time of year is Saxifraga stolonifera (Strawberry Begonia) . It is happiest growing in a consistanty moist but not waterlogged spot. Here it cohabitates with Anemonella thalictroides (Rue Anemone). Both will colonize a space. The Saxifraga is a bit more agressive. 

Saxifraga has made a fine edge in the Driveway Garden

And here it has found it's true and favorite home in the cracks of a short stacked stone wall. You see, it grows naturally in the wild on cliffs of rocks with seeping water keeping its roots moist but not water logged.  Helleborus x hybridus seedlings cover the stone path and above the wall you might notice a miniature Rose in bloom. It gets just enought afternoon sun to put on a show.  The fern is Bracken Fern surrounding Virginia Creeper. I have my work cut out for me in this little corner editing the lush growth. 

The little frog sitting on the wall is looking up at the tall single stem of a Geranium macrorrhisum flower playing among Helleborus, Sedum and purple leaves of Oxalis regnellii. 

A shock of textures waiting to bloom later in the summer. Acorus and Hosta mingle with purple Oxalis. 

Across the courtyard path the last of the buds and blooms of Iris virginica 'Contraband Girl'  dancing above Geranium leaves. 

And down the way is a favorite blooming Campanula portenshlagiana that has been in one of Lasting Impressions planter balls for at least 8 years. It sits in full shade under a Cephalotaxus harringtonia 'Drupacea' still showing it's chartreuse tips of spring growth.  The wooden piece is a Cypress knee. 

Shrubs and trees  blooming now are Hydrangeas, Hollies,  Trochodendron  arailiodes, Agarista populifolia and Stewartia monodelpha shown below. 

Hydrangea quercifolia 'Snowflake' under Stewartia monodelpha. 

Ilex verticillata 'Red Sprite' and Ilex pedunculosa on the right. Sadly I saw no bees on either plant when I took these images at 7pm. 

Agarista populofolia and Trochodendron arailiodes the Wheel Tree just finishing it's bloom. 

I'll be eagerly awaiting the tall lily-like flowers of this river of Hosta above a splash of Lonicera nitida later this summer. 

And the brilliant orange blossoms of this bold textured Canna musa (apply named Canna Banana.)  A Tulip Poplar  WINDLEAF twirls with the slightest breeze. 

Meanwhile I'll be enjoying the huge Tetrapanax leaves among the Dead Nettle....Lamium maculatum and the wonderful sculpture of Pam Beck's specimen Tetrapanax by Lasting Impressions, sculpture mimicking nature at it's best. 

THE CURTAINS ARE DOWN BUT THE SHOW'S NOT OVER

The leaves are finally filling in the bare branches of winter.  Etherials on the forest floor are grasping for the last vestiges of as unobstructed sunlight as the trees will allow. 

In spring understory specimens planted near the house become curtains of all manor of foliage texture, flower color and shape.  The 30" paddle whorls of Magnolia tripetala against expanding crinoline petticoats of Hinoki Cypress hover over ferns and decorative ground covers. 

Star shaped chartreuse cut leaf Japanese Maple leaves fill in the picture over the wall garden. 

Tiny flowers and leaves of Pink Chimes Styrax japonica back up a stained glass panel. 

In my woodland garden the 12-25' tall accent trees like this mature Styrax japonica off my deck are backed by the noble trunks of Loblolly Pine and graceful dipping branches of White and Turkey Oaks.

 The tallest trees (Oak, Pine, Tulip Poplar, Sweetgum) help moderate the high temperatures of summer as do the shorter native and ornamentals. 

The Styrax japonica is the most dramatic curtain of all spanning 25' across three windows. Two of the windows are flanking the fireplace in the living room. 

I love the play of shadows in the afternoon on portions of inside walls as I take a short rest to put my feet up before making dinner. 

This house is situated in a doughnut hole of an opening in the native forest. It was cleared for three years by the previous owner. The bare woodland became my playground for adding interesting supporting plants. I focused on the understory trees to bring the natural soaring canopies down to human scale. 

Inadvertently my placements (10-20' from the house) have become lovely curtains in the vignettes of the gardens just outside the windows. Looking through the screened window of a bedroom, Stewartia monadelpha drapes over Hydrangea quercifolia 'Snowflake' .  A moss path carries your eye into the distance.  Both masses were planted as gallon plants and as mail order bare root from Camellia Forest Nursery and Woodlanders successively. 

It's time to take another walkabout to look at some other outside curtains. 

Stewartia monadelpha and native Fringe Tree with a purple Loropetalum. 

A graceful Oaklahoma Redbud takes center stage 20' from my office window. 

A Dwarf Variegated Hinoki Cypress dresses up with a yellow fringed edge on its fan shaped needles next to the porch. 

The tree is a Coral Bark Japanese Maple. 

Quite a while ago I had the idea to paint all the views from the dozen windows of the house. This is one that I painted with the entry arbor as canopy.  The Mermaid Rose that grew on the arbor at the beginning if its life has long been replaced with native twining vines of Carolina Jessamine and Coral Honeysuckle and the Art Gate by Carol Stein is now in another location in the garden. 

WHO NEEDS CURTAINS IN MAY!!!!