Garden Design

by

THE DAFFODILS

The Wordsworth Meadow is in full glory. The very first time I looked at this property, before I saw the interior of the house, I imagined this area flooded with sweeps of Daffodils “fluttering and dancing in the breeze.”

                                                                                

It was a privet and wisteria  jungle that took me months to clear. Then the planting began. the first autumn I ordered  500 bulbs recommended for the south.  The following year I planted more, but when spring arrived, only a fraction of the original planting returned. 

                                                                         

Does this look like 500 daffs? Today,this is what is left of the original planting.

                                                                         

Devastated, I thought my plan for this area would have to be abandoned untill I passed an old deserted homestead with a neat line of daffodils… big, fat,full clumps with many blooms. If these daffs could survive and INCREASE over the years….they were for me.

                                                                          

And so it began, sourcing,  digging, dividing and replanting.  Yes, I ALWAYS ASKED FOR PERMISSION.  I still regret those that were bulldozed to make way for a strip mall before I could find the owners.

                                                                                   

There are no words to describe the joy these bring every spring as I watch them multiply over the years.

Do you think it was worth the effort?

by

CAN IT BE ….SPRING?

I can’t believe I went from this..Image

to this in one day!!Image

How wonderful to be back in Georgia, where it appears we are in full-blown spring….

The gardening to do list grows daily as the overwhelming season is upon us.  Trying to separate the list into A) what will make an impact in the garden visually, and B) plant requirements. e.g. weeding  and feeding.

                                                                                       

All the camellias, both in the Circle of Friends, and the Camellia Walk are in bloom along with the Hellebores.

                                                                                          

Permeating the air is the fragrance of Daphne odora…. The garden is truly magnificent. A celebration of all the senses.

                                                                                             

The daffodils… well, they deserve their own  post.

by

WINTER GARDEN WALK 2

This time we had to see if there was any damage in the garden. We had already heard the loud thump as a huge limb fell in the drive. Our guests thought it might have hit their car, which it did not…. but not by much!

                                                                                                                                                     

This is the other side of the coin… gardening under trees can result in some damage in a windstorm. and these storms are not uncommon in Georgia.

                                                                                  

Below,the evergreen planting of Viburnum awabuki ‘Shindo’ meant to hide the garden shed is ravaged! A large limb (not shown)  came down right in the middle of it.

                                                                                   

                                                                                             

 Some major pruning and clean-up, is now on my “To Do” list.

Still there is so much beauty out there I can hardly complain…

                                                                                     

While Mother Nature is editing the garden……..

by

WINTER GARDEN WALK

Although it has been a bit dreary and raining I couldn’t resist taking a walk in the garden today. I could see the Japanese Flowering Apricot (Prunus mume) from the kitchen window but to experience the fragrance I needed to venture outdoors.

                                                                                   

Plenty of eye candy wherever one looks.                                                                        

                                                                                        

 Here at Hamilton House,  the scale is so vast that a  plant had virtually no impact unless it was large and from a landscape point of view, there needed to be several of the same plant to form a balanced composition.

                                                                                   

There was, initially the temptation to plant several plants close together so it would in a very little time have more impact; but I opted not to do that. I had seen that done in several gardens in Atlanta and always wondered which plants would have to be sacrificed when they outgrew their space. Instead I went with the tried and true technique, where, no matter the size plant I started with, it was planted with plenty of space to allow it to mature to its ultimate size.

                                                                                        

Needless to say the first several years everything looked silly as the plants were small and one could see clear across the entire garden.

                                                                               

Today, 15 years later, I know it was the right choice.With a little pruning here and there, everything (well, almost) can be kept within bounds.

                                                                                   

Still to come (above) Daphne odora ‘Aureomarginata’

The bees are happy too!

by

A GARDEN VISIT

Yesterday I visited with Margaret Moseley. As usual I came home with a list of ‘must have’ plants.

                                                                                            

Margaret  has been an inspiration for many gardeners. Every season her garden is filled beauty wherever one looks.

                                                                                   

Above, a welcoming entrance… the large tree to the right is a Ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba), straight ahead is a Japanese Flowering Apricot (Prunus mume).

Margaret laid those stones when she was in her 70’s!

  Below, a seating area beneath a flowering cherry tree  (Prunus serrulata ‘Kwanzan’) surrounded by azaleas, camellias and underplanted with a variety of textured  & fragrant groundcovers…                                                                         

                                                                                      

Well thought out focal points….

                                                                                   

Her philosophy…

                                                                                 

Camellias in bloom…. my new plant list…

                                                                                  

                                                                                                             

                                                                                           

                                                                              

Some of these Camellias  are heirlooms, rare in the trade. While they may be a challenge to locate,  don’t give up, they are out there.

                                                                                               

                                                               

One of my personal favorites is Camellia japonica ‘Ava Maria’ (above). When I first saw it in Margret’s garden the hunt to acquire one was on! Her very generous daughter Jane located it for me. It is a  gift I treasure, as is Margaret’s friendship.

Note: plant names are visible if cursor is on photo. To read more on Margaret & her garden visit GARDEN PHOTO OF THE DAY. She is often featured.

by

WONDERFUL BRICK PATTERN

I have been saving these photos of a brick walkway for years.

                                                                                

Although it is a walk, there are benches on both sides so one can really appreciate the pattern.

                                                                                                                              

Details like this keep a garden interesting in all seasons. 

I want it here!

                                                            

Ahh …. the difference between the imagination and the reality.

by

FINALLY!… WELL,SORT OF..

It has taken a few years but I finally have a purple Clematis blooming with the yellow berries of the Viburnum Michael Dodge…..sort of.. She is Elsa Spath and she is usually all  purple.

                                                                                              

I have no idea  why she presented this way but….. a gardener’s hope springs eternal… maybe next year…

by

FALL TOUR

 The area of the garden I’m sharing now on this Fall Tour is little seen because it’s incomplete. Not that any garden is ever ‘done’ or completed, however this part is has only ‘bones’ and is waiting for me to flesh out the details.  Till now it did not seem too pressing because all the important plants were tiny (1 gal.) but over the years they have matured. So its time has come. 

This green space above, divides the grapes and berries on the right from the vegetables on the left. (My husband’s Vegetable Garden is MY POTAGER)

                                                                                 

This feature, four upright exclamation points, is one I repeat in different garden rooms (with different plants)  throughout the garden. Here,  Eastern Arborvitae  (Thuja occidentalis)  ‘Degroot’s Spire’  marks the intersection of several foot paths; to the right ( West) is the Rose Walk terminated by the Schiaparelli Bench….. (below)

 to the left (east) lies the North Border which runs parallel to the Potager ….

                                                                          

and straight ahead, (south) the Viburnum / Clematis Court.

                                                                                           

Looking back, (north) the uprights  frame the putti that resides at the end of the Cutting garden…

                                                                                               

Going forward (south) through the Viburnum Court, around the bend, Oakleaf  Hydrangeas frame the path to the Main Walk and the  back of the house. (note the Camellia sasanqua blooming on the right.)

                                                                                         

This winter some garden construction is on the agenda.

by

FABULOUS FALL FRAGRANCE

It’s blooming….  As soon as I walked out the door I caught the fragrance. Osmanthus fragrans, known in the south as ‘ ‘Tea Olive’.

                                                                                    

Tiny but abundant cream coloured blossoms emit the most remarkable and penetrating fragrance. 

This is a beautiful, pest free, evergreen shrub that matures at 10 to 15  feet, and blooms TWICE a year; fall & spring.

To quote Dirr* “to not try the plant is to cheat one’s garden.” I so agree, and cannot recall a garden design where this plant was not included. It also makes a remarkable evergreen hedge.

This spring, at the suggestion of my friend Marsha, I acquired a new selection (Osmanthus aurantiacus) that blooms only once in the autumn, and the flowers are ‘pale orange’.                                                                                          

 It’s hard to say how fragrant it is because I have Osmanthus fragrans  planted much like Margaret Moseley* advised with gardenias, every 25-30 feet or so ,where an evergreen was required and the conditions are favorable, so the entire garden is permeated with the fragrance. I have followed her advice on this with almost every fragrant shrub in the garden. Something you might want to try if there is a fragrance you are particularly fond of.

I don’t take lightly any advice given by a 95-year-old gardener. Clearly she has much more experience than I.

*Dirr, Michael, Renowned woody plant expert. Author of the textbook A MANUAL OF WOODY LANDSCAPE PLANTS.

*Margaret Moseley, famous Atlanta Gardener.

by

A GARDENER’S DIARY

                                                                             

If you, like me,watched every episode of A GARDENER’S DIARY on HGTV  (taped and TiVo them for future viewing) and  lament the fact that  it is no longer; you will be pleased to know that the blog GARDEN PHOTO OF THE DAY is written by Martha Tate, the creator /producer of the series.

                                                                                     

Martha features an incredible photo of a  plant or garden with a delightful narrative.

The above photos are from her blog, so tune in, you will not be disappointed.

by

A GARDENER’S DILEMMA

Some areas of my garden are incomplete. The bones are all there, but the planting is far from ‘done’. For example, the lilies I have recently featured …

                                                                            

are a perfect companion to Hydrangea paniculata …

                                                                                    

however, they are planted on either side of the bench in my cutting garden and not together.

                                                                                         

 So here is this gardener’s dilemma…do I dig up the lilies and plant them with the hydrangea or transplant the hydrangea? That’s a young gardener’s thought process.

 At my age I am thinking the easiest way to achieve what I would like, would be to strike cuttings of the hydrangea and plant them with the lilies. MUCH EASIER, the caveat being  TIME. It will take a few years to get the effect I am looking for.

Why isn’t life simpler? The young have both the time and energy…. need I say more?

by

A GRACIOUS GARDEN

Last week I mentioned my client the gracious Ms. C  and her luxurious  flower arrangements.  Now lets take a look at her garden.

Like so many homes here in the piedmont, the house was set into a slope which began immediately past the brick patio.

                                                                                  

High on one side… ( note patio in left corner)

                                                                                      

drop off on the other.

While several talented designers had created plans for the landscape, it was not till Ms. C  bought an antique fountain in England that serious consideration was given to getting the landscape ‘done’.  Enter me.

Entertaining  & a cutting garden were high on the list of priorities .

So, here is what we did.

We cut into the slope to bring it to grade with the patio, and we built decorative retaining walls ( stucco, same as the house). This would create a larger space for entertaining.

                                                                                      

The soil that we excavated was then reused  to create another  garden room where the grade dropped off.

                                                                                            

                                                                                 

We then terraced the slope on the opposite side …                                                                                   

      to create an herb & cutting garden on the uppermost level.

                                                                                  

                                                                                         

Here there is just enough room  to indulge her passion for gardening ,without it becoming overwhelming.

Below, a few more views…

                                                                                                   

                                                                                       

I appreciate it when my clients maintain their gardens, this one was meticulous!

A gracious garden for a gracious lady. Thank you Ms. C.

by

MAKING AN ENTRANCE

What are the elements that make this entrance so welcoming?

                                                                               

The stone walls & arch certainly give it gravitas, the lush planting softens the hard surfaces…

                                                                                      

There is no gate, clearly we can enter…                                                                                

The pot, as focal point, arrests the eye, then the curved path pulls you in…don’t you want to see what lies beyond?

                                                                                        

 The entrance above begs the question…”Do you have an invitation?”

Both have their place.

by

LESSONS FROM CHARLESTON S.C.

 No cameras in the gardens! The only photography allowed  was from the public sidewalk. Still there are many lessons to be learned.

                                                                                    

All the gardens are small, tiny in fact, some no larger than a postage stamp.

                                                                                    

In small gardens, design  is more important than it is in  larger landscapes; for here, there is a concentrated use of space. Also, because the space is limited and seen all at once, the details & planting must be faultless.

                                                                              

Consider the ground plane, it is significant in all seasons. Below, variety in materials & texture. This is a driveway.

                                                                                 

 With a little imagination —- garden by day, parking at night.

                                                                                

 There should always be a focal point to lead the eye.

                                                                                     

                                                                                            

Reinforce the design of beds with edging.

  

Keep the planting simple,

                                                                                    

       And finally.. co-ordinate…

                                                                               

by

THE MEADOW…YET AGAIN

                                                                                      The meadow is once more looksing like an impressionist painting. Swaths of blue native phlox (Phlox divericata) make their way between the daffodil foliage and the ‘Wake Robin’  ( Trillium cuneatum) .

                                                                                       

                                                          

                                                                   

The trees are now playing an important role, so the focus changes.

                                                                                                   

                                                                                                                                                                              

This is The Meadow viewed from the driveway on west side of the house looking east. (Above) 

                                                                                   

Soon the weeds & wild grasses will cover this all and it will look wild & wonderful. Then the hum of beneficial insects, bees and butterflies will fill the air. After the plants set their seed it will get the annual cut. This meadow gives me 12 months of joy!!

© all photos 2011

Note: WordPress noted that I published a draft & not the updated version of this post AFTER it was posted…why not BEFORE???