October 7, 2010 by Sandra Jonas

THE MEADOW

The Meadow is located where the walk from the Circle of Friends terminates on the south side. When I first saw this area I knew this would be where I could try “The English Thing’ with naturalized bulbs.

Since the foliage of the bulbs must be allowed to mature and the wildflowers must be allowed to ripen their seed, no mowing is allowed. Voila… a MEADOW!

Totally delightful, easily sustainable, pollinator friendly …. a gift for living away from the city. I wish you could smell it after it gets it annual haircut.

Daffodils (Narcissus) in early spring followed by Woodland Phlox (Phlox divaricata) and Trilliums (Trillium cuneatum), and NOW Spider lilies (lycoris radiata)!!

September 14, 2010 by Sandra Jonas

HYDRANGEAS & GARDEN UPDATE

Hydrangea paniculata looking particularly lovely…

taking on its autumn hue

So is Hydrangea macrophylla below.

AND I am loosing the groundcover war @ the Mourning Bench.

Some critter is digging up all my transplants and I have to fix them every morning. I have resorted to laying chicken wire over the lot & hope it deters whatever. My guess is a racoon digging for the worms in the compost I spread.

Perennials need so much maintenance.I think I remember why I thought the vinca could take over!! I cannot spend every day replanting & trying to save what has been dug up with so many other tasks to attend to. AND, I am directed to economise and unfortunately gardening help is very low on the list of priorities. Good thing is, I am getting into shape.

Moving on…

The Perilla I allowed to stay…

MUST be out of here before it sets seed. So far I have loaded the ‘dump truck’ and I am not done yet.

It served its purpose ; which was to shade to roots of the clematis planted around the perimeter of this garden room.; and, with no effort from me , will return again next year so will the cleome. My garden philosophy is to let the self seeders do their thing. I can look after the shrubs & clematis. When this part of the garden, The Viburnum Court, is between bloom & berries, the clematis, perilla & cleome really liven it up; then the perilla & cleome take over & keep it ‘furnished’ till the berries show.

What I did Labour Day Weekend… below

I really like it , It just recedes into the background without calling any attention to itself.

The To Do list gets another check mark.

And finally… more plants I will be rushing to banish before they set their seed. But oh, the butterflies & Hummingbirds.

not to mention I love the colours!!

September 10, 2010 by Sandra Jonas

IT’S THE BERRIES!

A sure sign that summer is drawing to a close…

above, Viburnum dilatatum ‘Erie’. Below, V. ‘Michael Dodge’

Today I caught the scent of the Tea Olive (Osmanthus fragrans.) Amazing how a fragrance can stir a memory. More amazing, the HUGE fragrance from such a tiny flower.

Last week at the Atlanta Botanical garden…

A cornucopia covered with dried flowers…

and a lecture by Fergus Garrett; head gardener at Great Dixter. UK

Exciting lecture, GREAT GLASSES!

September 6, 2010 by Sandra Jonas

MY DREAM ARBOR

HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A WONDERFUL LABOUR DAY!

September 2, 2010 by Sandra Jonas

DESIGN SOLUTIONS

Pointing to the car port at our first meeting, Ms. H. said…

“We will get rid of that eyesore.” (below)

After surveying the property, I saw that this side door (very close to the kitchen) was the only access to the garden. There was no back door.

“Wait” I said “I think we can use this”

So I designed an outdoor space for dining, with privacy from the street and access to the garden.

A brick semi circular patio completes the space.

Even Mr. H loved it.

August 29, 2010 by Sandra Jonas

PROJECT MOURNING BENCH

For this area, the Vinca has too much movement & energy; the glossy leaves reflect so much light one can hardly make out the ‘star plants’…

So out it went (to a friend’s garden).

The golden club Moss,(Selaginella kraussiana ‘Aurea’) on the other hand, has a matt texture & absorbs the light. It makes a much calmer background which allows the ‘stars’ to shine..

This is so much better. I first added a wheelbarrow of rabbit manure & raked it over the ground. No digging is done here because there are Trillium rhizomes underground. Then I dug up the Selaginella from the path on the other side…

And transplanted it. While I tried for whole ‘sheets ‘ of the moss, it falls apart, so little pieces with roots are pushed into the ground. They will shortly spread to form the carpet needed for this area. All the while…

Cleome supervised.

This type of gardening is really painting beautiful pictures with plants…but the one element the other arts do not have to deal with is TIME. If I was using paints or pencils…it would already be coloured in.

The Star plants are:-

Black Mondo Grass (Ophiopogon planiscapus ‘Nigrescens’)

East Indian Holly Fern (Polystichum acrostichoides) and…

Amorphophallus rivieri, a type of voodoo Lilly.. all improved by changing their background.

A good days work all in all, and part of another project started.

“Success depends on simplicity, one plant supplying the quiet background, while the other stands out clearly against it.” – Sylvia Crowe*

*Sylvia Crowe, distinguished British Landscape architect.

August 26, 2010 by Sandra Jonas

WHAT WAS I THINKING?

Never one to work on just one project, I am now looking into another area of the garden I may not have discussed before; that would be the Mourning Bench.

Located down the walk from the Circle of friends, just past the intersecting path that leads to the Potager and compost, sits the Mourning Bench. Flanked by two variegated Boxwood (Buxus sempervirens ‘variegata’), it is recessed into the border and one can pass it without noticing.

I spent a lot of time here, both having morning coffee and finding shelter from the sun when working in the Potager. Opposite the bench were planted perennials, a tapestry. Quite lovely for several years, then…

the Vinca appeared. Above, it is pushing the Golden Club Moss (Selaginella krausiana ‘Aurea’) into the path. Earlier in the season I thought I would let the Vinca take over….but It looks terrible!

WHAT WAS I THINKING?

So, while I recruit an extra pair of hands to help with the landscape fabric, then locate the right colour pea gravel for the Circle of Friends… this is what I will be working on.

August 24, 2010 by Sandra Jonas

IN THE GARDEN…AT LAST

The heat has finally broken (low 90’s) and the humidity has dropped. Early this morning I chose a project from my ever-growing list of things to do in the garden and out I went!

The project is the ‘Circle of Friends’ What is needed here are a few finishing touches.

Today I pulled string and arranged the brick to line the path that leads to and from the Circle of friends. Next will be the landscape fabric, crushed stone & pea gravel, and finally painting the furniture.

This area is so peaceful, it is one of my favorite spaces in the garden. Arranged in the shape of an oval… punctuated by four variegated Boxwoods, it suggests finality and invites repose.

It sits under a wonderful canopy that allows dappled light and provides perfect conditions for both camellias & hydrangeas to flourish. In this case the plants both create the space and embellish it.

While I had hoped for a carpet of moss, That idea has been abandoned as impractical. The seating is not all I wished for but it is comfortable and affordable and when painted BLACK it will recede nicely. Then all that is needed is a groundcover.

I just might put a check mark next to one project this summer.

August 13, 2010 by Sandra Jonas

GOOD BONES

Last week I was in the vicinity of a garden I had designed 8 years ago. I had recently heard that the property was for sale and had been sitting empty since my client had moved out-of-state to caretake elderly parents. Driven by curiosity I stopped by. Much to my surprise this little garden has held up!

Retaining walls were built to hold the bank after we excavated for the patio. Originally the slope started just 10 feet from the back door. Not usable, nor a great view from both living room and eating area off the kitchen.

A shade structure allows for comfortable dinning out-of-doors. ( I noticed the climbing plants are no longer on the wall.)

Single slab Crab Orchard stone steps lead to the upper level, alongside which there is supposed to be a waterfall terminating in a small pond…

where presently there are the remains of a temporary Rose Garden .

Utilitarian steps to the compost, pea gravel & lumber are fine for this area.

And finally for ease of maintenance, stepping-stones set into dwarf mondo. Never needs mowing.

Because of the height of the hill, two short walls were erected. One would have looked too much like a fortress.

Without any care at all in this very long, hot, Georgia summer the Annabelle hydrangeas are holding up. They are underplanted with evergreen ferns & Lenten Roses (Helleborus orientalis) for winter interest.

The stone was selected to blend with the colours of the interior. Rich browns & muted terra-cotta, with pops of orange and yellow.

I hope someone buys this soon, and I hope the rest of my design gets installed or repurposed for another.

© All photos & text 2010

July 28, 2010 by Sandra Jonas

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

Have we cooled off yet?

July 20, 2010 by Sandra Jonas

HAVE A SEAT

One essential element needed in a garden is a place to rest, both the eye and the body.

Above, Luytens’ bench ‘Breaking Wave’ as focal point at the end of this axis. The strong rectilinear design draws the eye immediately to the bench.

Notice that the hedge has been clipped to mimic the shape of the back, thus reinforcing the design and creating unity. Superb!

This rectangular bench fits perfectly into this space. See the straight hedge behind ( needs some pruning) and the upright plants on either side . Notice too, that the beds between which it sits, are also rectilinear.

Another example of a bench perfectly suited to its enviornment. The repetition of shapes in several elements creates harmony. Circles in bench, pond & surrounding pots. The upright shrubs are also pruned into circular shapes.

A perfect fit! The niche is pruned in the shape of the bench.

So HARMONY is just as important as CONTRAST in landscape design.

(Benches are mostly used by visitors. Gardeners are much too busy.)

July 19, 2010 by Sandra Jonas

What I wanted… what I got.

I envisioned a soft carpet of moss beneath my feet as I walked through the garden…

and then the weeds came.

So now not only do the beds require weeding, so do the paths! YIKES!

I have been resisting the pea gravel alternative. When I am alone in the garden the crunch of the gravel is delightful but when accompanied, it is so distracting it is difficult to have a conversation.

July 16, 2010 by Sandra Jonas

WHERE THERE IS A WILL…

When a climber is wanted to soften a large expanse of wall…

a gardener/designer will always find a way.

July 14, 2010 by Sandra Jonas

FAUX GARDEN

Delightful little courtyard garden? No. Just all the ‘driveway plants.’ Every plantaholic has these. The plants that are unloaded from the car waiting in the drive to be planted.

This vignette was put together by our British host just before we arrived for a tour.

July 12, 2010 by Sandra Jonas

Challenge

Some sites are not conducive to gardenmaking. It takes great skill and determination to build a garden under such challenging circumstances…… such is the case with the garden that a friend created.

In front, she created a wonderful perennial border with enough evergreen shrubs & small trees to give structure and interest in winter.

The huge challenge was the back. Like so many homes in the Piedmont, it was built on a slope. A very steep slope.

Here is what she did.

A gracious, inviting entrance abuts a seating area …

Supported by terraced stone walls…

the lowest of which houses a small pond. (below)

Below, looking DOWN into the garden.

To compound the problem, her house was downhill from her neighbour. Drainage was a nightmare. So…she incorporated a dry steam into her design to channel the water.