The glory of gardening: hands in the dirt, head in the sun, heart with nature.
To nurture a garden is to feed not just on the body, but the soul. Share the
botanical bliss of gardeners through the ages, who have cultivated philosophies
to apply to their own - and our own - lives:
Show me your garden and I shall tell you what you are.
- Alfred Austin, 1835-1913
I'd like to show you my garden - the back garden, that is. I'll save the front for another time. Come in through the gate.
Take a seat on the bench for a view of what started as a cutting garden and has since become the birdbath garden. Against the house is an herb bed.
Walk past the bench and down the steps to the adirondack chairs.
Looking to the left as you relax, you should use your imagination. What can I do with this shady area under the willow and chestnut oaks. It's currently being overrun by vinca and ivy. I've moved my Hosta to border the front of this area and plan to remove much of the ivy and vinca. What would thrive under this oak tree? The little house you see in the back corner houses a tank for a well. When we bought our property, that little house was so covered in vines that we didn't know it was there. We hope to find out if the well is still usable and to restore power and install a pump. We've been told that once upon a time, before our house was built, this property was home to a very large well-tended garden - the reason for the well! The well house is surrounded by large azaleas and rhododendron, with ivy and vinca as ground cover.
The view of the house from the adirondack chairs -
Those azaleas under the dogwood in the foreground have been pretty sickly. We cut them back and have been nursing them with compost and the soaker hose.
Now look back at the gate we entered through. To the left of the gate are two very large Professor Sargeant camellias. The trees to the right are sassafras. A young maple is on the other side of the gate.
To our right, on the fence, is my newest birdhouse.
To leave the garden, we'll walk past the bunnies, playing in the flowers under the dogwood,
toward the gate on the other side of the deck. If it were evening, we might turn on the party lights that line the deck rail.
I hope you enjoyed the tour. Next time, we'll start on the other side of the gate and see the front.
