STRETCHING THE DEFINITION OF 'CANOPY'

After much of the southern forests were cleared to grow cotton and tobacco many grand houses were constructed with deep porches that provided much needed shade from the relentless summer sun. The porches were oriented to catch the south eastern breezes. 

I am fortunate to live near many of these homes built around the turn of the last century and have been able to experience a lazy midday sitting with the owners who have lovingly taken up the gauntlet of restoring and maintaining the old beauties. 

Notice the dark green shutters on the house as they are repeated in a landscape feature to come. 

I visited this local home all dolled up for the holidays and as I walked around it's porch I reveled  in the charming spaciousness of the floors and ceilings that rambled around the front and sides of the main house. 

I entered at the side where the original porte cochere had been given a floor and gracious side steps up. 

Through the columns facing the road the owner had cleverly repurposed the driveway into a semi-secluded terrace under a pair of mature Hollies and an Eastern Red Cedar. 

The real treat that day was to reveal itself at the other side of the house. 

Backed by an enormous Southern Magnolia was a raised open dining arbor.  

Moving off the main porch and into the open boxed arbor closed in on two sides with the same dark green shutters on the house I was at first enchanted by dreaming of past afternoon teas and intimate evening dinners at the simple but elegant table and chairs. 

Then stepping off the other side of the arbor onto a beautifully crafted pea gravel path I was completely enveloped by the Magnolia. In the dining arbor I felt in control with the human scale structure around me, but within seconds, only two feet away standing on the path, the huge Magnolia took charge. 12' long branches dipped to the ground from the massive trunk reaching out to make It's presence felt. 

The owner had enlisted this magnificent specimen to make a spectacular garden experience. First the arbor had replaced the canopy of the porch and second, the Magnolia had replaced the canopy of the arbor.  What a masterful transition from house to garden it was. 

The owner had enlisted one tree to make a spectacular garden experience. I knew then that even one tree can help you feel like you are in a garden in a woodland.