Shade Gardening

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AN INDISPENSABLE PERENNIAL

I am not a huge proponent of perennials. I find they require too much maintenance for a very short show and then, even the foliage disappears for the winter. There are of course exceptions. Peonies for example are worth whatever effort is required for even one day of bloom but of course they do last 10 days to 2 weeks in the garden and are stunning in a vase (see Reggie Darling on the pronunciation). The foliage too is quite handsome for most of the summer and useful in arrangements with other flowers as well.

The perennials I consider indispensable are those that have evergreen foliage. Perhaps the best of these are the Hellebores (Helleborus species).

                                                                                                  

They exhibit handsome leathery foliage, appreciate shade, and furnish the garden with much-needed greenery when it is most welcome .

I particularly like them planted at the feet of deciduous shrubs…

                                                                                             

 and at the base of large trees where not much else will grow.

                                                                                                

  Planted in masses, they make an effective ground cover.

Even in northern climates where there is snow cover for most of the winter, their flowers popping up through the melting snow is a sight to behold.

I do hope you include some in your landscape.

© All photos & text 2011

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THE WINTER GARDEN

With all the holiday activities over I finally got into the garden. What a relief! It is so quiet and peaceful, in stark contrast to the last weeks. It truly is my sanctuary… just as I planned it.

                                                                                           

Gardening in Georgia, one can have a winter garden that BLOOMS.  From time to time a hard freeze will turn my magnificent camellia flowers to brown mush….

                                                                                             

 but in a day or two when it warms, the new buds open and the show begins again.

                                                                                           

 Even if they did not bloom, their evergreen presence create the ‘bones’.  I always start with the winter structure when I design landscapes. Without structure,  a collection of plants scattered about without any rhyme or reason, is just….. well, a collection of plants just scattered about!  Below,’ BEFORE’ at a client’s.

                                                                                             

While I love the warm spells, my hydrangeas (the macrophylla types) are all too anxious to welcome spring and start to break bud. Not a good thing!!

                                                                                          

The next frost will damage the flower buds that are already exposed. I’m going to try covering with ‘Remay’ a protective covering , or ‘floating row cover’ used in the nursery trade. Hopefully they will be spared. I’m keeping my fingers crossed!

© All photos & text 2011

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DRUNK with CAMELLIAS!!

Vita Sackville West wrote of her garden… “I am drunk with roses!”

I, am drunk with Camellias!

blooming on the right …

                                                                       

              Camellia japonica ‘Debutante’                                                       

The Camellia Walk snakes through the shade garden in the form of an inverted ‘S’

Below, it is the Camellia Walk which forms the background for the Mourning Bench.

                                                                    

                                                                   

In the Potager, below, a salad Garden, some collards & cabbages.

                                                                   

In the Cutting Garden, the seeds of the Lilies (Lilium formosanum)are ripe. Please e-mail me if you would like seeds. There were some request  after I posted the flowers, HERE.

                                                                 

AND… The Continuing Saga of yet another project….

                                                                    

An improvement since the last time I posted this spot.

I will be away from the computer for a week. Will fill you in when I return.

 © All photos & text 2010

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THE GARDEN UNFOLDS

An overcast and rainy day. Great for the garden, good for photography. In the last post the photo of the entrance to both the Camellia Walk & Circle of Friends was not clear so here are some taken today.

                                                                  

This is where the Camellia Walk begins. a few yards over to the right  lies… (keep your eye on the pink flowering camellia)

                                                                     

the walkway that leads to the Circle of Friends. Note that the pink flowering camellia plays a role in both garden rooms.

                                                                  

 

The east side of  The Circle of Friends, punctuated by variegated boxwoods (Buxus sempervirens ‘variegata’). This space is actually oval in shape.  All the plants in this little garden were gifted to me or were cuttings from the gardens of friends, hence the name. It is encircled by camellias (as background structure) and hydrangeas.

                                                                     

On the west side, the structure of camellias is the back side of the Camellia Walk. Like most areas in the garden it is unfinished however, what I plan can be found here.

 Leaving this area and following the path we intersect with the Camellia Walk . (it curves round)

                                                                      This is marked by the interesting texture of four upright Japanese Plum Yews (Cephalotaxus harringtonia ‘Fastigiata’) and underplanted with variegated Japanese Sedge (Carex morrowii);  the idea being to tie in the variegation and create an ‘Elizabethan Collar” around the yews.

A few yards past this intersection lies the Mourning Bench. As I have said before; one can pass it without noticing. It sits between the two variegated boxwoods on the right. Below…

                                                                 

 

If this path is followed further,one gets to the Potager. We have been walking north. Below, the view from the north looking south back through to the meadow.

                                                                 

The repetition of  the Variegated Box & the Carex create  rhythm and serve to tie the sequential spaces together into a coherent whole.

To be continued…

© All photos & text

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GLORIOUS DAYS

The weather has been beautiful this past week and there is no better place to spend these glorious days than in the garden.  Below, The Meadow gets its annual mowing.

                                                                      

                                                                       

It always looks so verdant after the cut. Next the Daffodils  will pierce the ground and spring will be back in a few short weeks! (always an optismist.)

The photography however, has not been very satisfying. Too much glare now that the canopy is thinning out. Guess I’ll have to try earlier or later in the day.

                                                                 

One of my favorite blogs is Edith Hope’s Garden Journal.  Her last comment made me realize that I need to show long shots of the property to give some context for the photos. So here are a few…

                                                                  

The front of the house, circa 1844. The meadow is to the right (east) below…

                                                                     

                                                                      

East side of the house from the meadow.

                                                                      

The east side of the house from the entrance to the ‘Camellia Walk’.

Backtracking just a few steps….

                                                                     The meadow terminates at the entrance to the Camellia Walk on the left and the walk to the Circle of Friends straight ahead.

Here you can see some ‘Garden Arithmetic’; the camellias form both one side of the Camellia Walk as well as the background for the hydrangeas on one side in The Circle of Friends.

The expression is divide to multiply your space!

I’ll continue the tour with better photos this week.

© All photos & text 2010

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PHOTO TOUR

                                                               

                                                                                                         

                                                                   

                                                                    

                                                                      

                                                                  

 And in the potager…

                                                                                                                                            

                                                                                                                                                                                                            

© All photos 2010

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CAMELLIAS! CAMELLIAS!

Blooming now

                                                                          

Camellia sasanqua ‘Maiden’s Blush’  above

                                                                   

Camellia sasanqua ‘Jean May’ above & below

                                                                       

                                                                   

Camellia sasanqua “Daydream’

                                                                   

Below, one of the Ackerman Hybrids,  C. ‘Winter’s Charm’

                                                                    

                                                                      

Does this look familiar? I posted on this area in spring when the Azaleas were blooming. This is the walk to the compost.

Dr. William Ackerman  of the National Arboretum crossed Camellia oleifera & Camellia hiemalis or C. sasanqua  to produce a plant hardy to 10F. If you live in colder climes…the Ackerman Hybrids are for you.

It has been said that the trinity of Southern Gardens are azaleas, hydrangeas & camellias. The latter two giving the longest show. These Camellias will bloom a full 6 weeks.  THAT, is a show!

                                                                

The above beauty never had a nametag. AND speaking of a long show…

                                                                      

Some hydrangeas are still stunning.

On a personal note, the last weeks have been very difficult.  I will try to post more often in the future.

© All photos & text 2010

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RANDOM THOUGHTS

                                                                     

 Evergreen ferns keep the garden looking lush in winter.

                                                                     

Here the Autumn Fern (Dryopteris erythrosora)  adds texture to the camellia walk, (above & below)

                                                                   

so does the Arborvitae or Moss Fern (Selaginella pallescens) (below)

                                                                    

 and the Tassel Fern. (Polystichum polyblepharum)

                                                 

Seating,  painted matt black, does not detract from the real interest..STRUCTURE & PLANTS!

                                                                  

 This is after all, a garden. ( I am all for a touch of whimsy… just not here.)

The individual differences in seedlings will always amaze me. Below, Toad Lilies (Tricyrtis hirta) that seeded themselves.

 

Finally… why I do not want curtains.

                                                                      

                                                          ( Mom, this is for you)            

 

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STRUCTURE IN THE GARDEN

                                                                   

With their rich evergreen foliage camellias are used in my garden to create the ‘ architecture’. They form the ‘walls’ in my shade garden which give it structure.

                                                                   

My walls talk.

  © all photos & text 2010

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THE CAMELLIA WALK

When I was planning my southern garden, I knew I had to have a Camellia Walk.

                                                                    

 Many years ago, when I lived in Massachusetts, I would regularly  visit the Lyman Estates. It was there that I saw my first Camellias. A visit to Mr Lyman’s greenhouses in February was an incredible sight. There were greenhouses where  grapes were ripening during winter, fragrant Jasmines & Daphne. One greenhouse was devoted to Camellias and they formed a spectacular avenue.   It was a southern garden in a series of greenhouses.

I know that this was where the seed for our move south was sown. I wanted to garden & live where it was possible to have Camellias bloom in the winter. I am by the way Canadian, a native Montrealer, so I am no stranger to long, grey, dreary winters. Below, my antidote…

                                                                       

  the entrance to The Camellia Walk …AKA …The Winter Garden.

                                                                       

 Truly Southern with its  swept dirt, curved path; it leads from the back of the house to the compost & (former) chicken house.

Underplanted  primarily with evergreen ferns & Lenten Roses  (Helleborus orientalis), it never looks bare even in the dead of winter. In fact, that is when it comes to life!

                                                                  

Stay tuned for more!

© All photos & text 2010

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OOPS!

I might have been too hasty in suggesting the introduction of the The Camellia Walk . It’s really not ready for its close-up! Quick peek down below.

                                                                     

 And there is only’ Hana Jima’ blooming there now.

                                                                   

 Sparkling Burgundy,  below, (there are 3 of them in the garden) is located in the circle of friends, and the other two are not part of the camellia walk at all.

                                                                   

My friend Marsha has Camellia japonica ‘Daikagura’ blooming now! (thanks for the photo Marsha.)

                                                                    I have been out gardening from dawn to dusk. Weather is perfect and much needs to be done as one season ends and another begins.

                                                                    

The cutting garden along with the potager  has been seriously neglected this season due to health issues. So now its  time to pay the piper . I do this with the ‘weed dragon’

                                                                                                                                  

and no matter how careful…there is always some collateral damage.

                                                                  

 Still, I use this tool. For large neglected  areas … perfect.

                                                                   

 Eggplant & basil still producing in the potager. But  salad greens must be sown now & cabbage, kale, onions & garlic. I hope I am not too late on the winter veg.

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NEW GARDEN SEASON!

We finally got some rain…

                                                                     

a good, long, soaking, rain and temperatures have dropped to somewhere near ‘normal’ for this time of year. Hard to believe we are at the end of September begining of October!

                                                                        

One of the self sowing, perennials in my garden is the Toad Lily (Tricyrtis hirta). This plant has graceful arching foliage of matt, fuzzy, texture and flowers that look like orchids (below) which open along each axil of the leaf.

                                                                  

 Its bloom time coincides with the first camellias, marking a NEW GARDENING SEASON.

In my garden, the first Camellias to bloom are the Tea Plant, (Camellia sinensis)

                                                                    

Camellia sasanqua ‘Sparkling Burgundy’ 

                                                                    

 and Camellia sasanqua ‘Hana Jima’. (below)

                                                                      

 Typically the sasanqua camellias  bloom through the autumn followed by the japonica type that will continue all winter. More on the differences in the next post, when I welcome you to ‘The Camellia Walk.’… another part of  the garden.

© All photos & text 2010

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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.

© All photos & text 2010

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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.

© All photos & text 2010