Moving Day

Hello to all readers, new and faithful followers alike. We have made the plunge, jumping in with both feet, like before, into the world of the pressed word.

The title of the blog is now Fairegarden, one word. That will help me tell the difference which one is which, in case a return to blogger is decided upon. The new url is http://fairegarden.wordpress.com/

The new feed url is http://fairegarden.wordpress.com/feed/

There will be new posts in the wordpress blog only from now on. The older posts, comments, awards and links will remain at the blogger site. Who knows, I may want to return here someday. But for now, WE HAVE MOVED!

(Sorry for shouting, but we had to get the message out!)

Thanks for reading and hope to see you over at

Fairegarden .

Frances

GBDW The Many Incarnations of The Pond

The time has come for the Garden Blogger's Design Workshop story sponsored by the kids over at Gardening Gone Wild , the story of the Faire Garden Pond. This is a tale of trial and error, heavy on the error. For the first few years there was a different pond construction with each change of the calender. It may have been mentioned before that we garden on a steep slope at the back of the house. The very first money spent when we moved here from Texas in 2000 was the terracing of said slope with a backhoe. Created were three levels of level, the top, middle and lower areas, with the lowest level supported by a four foot tall block wall. On this first level to the right of the back door, directly out from the patio doors in the master bedroom for maximum viewing while sitting in the love seat facing the garden in our bedroom is the site of the pond. The slope is a natural location for a water feature, as streams run down fissures in the mountains near us. We had a water feature at our first Tennessee house, bought with the property that was a source of happiness for the entire family. The sight and sound of water moving draws us like a moth to fire. There should be a pond here. Pond number one was a salvaged fiberglass bathtub sunk into the clay a few inches deep with a vinyl liner draped inside and rocks stacked to cover the outside. I did all of the digging and fighting with the tub, the liner and the rock. A small pump bubbled the water to supply oxygen for the two twenty cent goldfish from Walmart. It was an amatuerish attempt at a water garden and never was satisfactory. The end of that pond was the same as the end of all the ponds, the nemesis of all ponds everywhere, a leak.
The pond as it looks today, with the pump set to bubble for the winter rather than going through tubing to the waterfall and frog. The first shot is of Casey, the large white koi captured by offspring Gardoctor from the pond of a friend of his named Case, hence the name. The little sliver of orange is Fido, his story will be told later in this post.
Going back in time to January of 2003, we see another error in the trial and error method. After the bathtub liner leaked, it was replaced with a small rigid liner, again dug in by me with stacked rock on the outside to hide the black plastic. Again a leak brought an end to that pond, right after Christmas. There was a little warm spell, the decorations and tree were taken down and put away and the need for a garden project all worked together to spell a trip to Lowe's, a new rigid liner, bigger this time, with a round container with a lip to allow water to spill down into the large bottom area. The liner was set on a ring of cinder blocks to support the edges that were more shallow to set plants on. The center was the mandatory two feet deep to allow the fish to winter over in the muddy bottom without freezing. In our zone 7 we can let the fish stay in the pond during the colder months with the pump running to keep the water from freezing all across the top. That sealing ceiling of ice is bad for the fish due to a gas that is released from the decomposing leaves that must be allowed to escape through open water. As you can see in the photo above, we had decided that the water running from the top spout into the bottom would cause enough friction to keep the water from freezing. Error.
This photo was taken the same day as above, January 2003. The wall had been planted in ivy and lavender. The reconfiguring of the pond had spread the red clay all over the mulched ground in that area. The big mamma hellebore is the only green plant on the hill. The Japanese maples on each side of the pond look like sticks. The rock stacking looks pretty good though. Another instance of practice improving the skill.
Later that same year was the wedding of offspring Semi. We wanted to use the ivy to decorate the church and it was awash in ivy for that event. After the wedding the ivy was dug out, never to return. We were lucky with that as it is a very invasive and hard to get rid of ground cover. Most of the lavenders died. By April of 2004, the creeping jenny was filling in, the maples were growing, the azaleas were blooming as was the dianthus. Daffodil foliage is ripening along the wall and the big Hosta 'Blue Angel' is heavenly.
June 2005 shows the pond in good health with too many plants hanging out in there. Later that season the pickeral rush had grown over the top part of the pond and covered half of the bottom, obscuring the rocks. Out with the plants except for the water lily which is still growing there. Shade is beginning to encroach in the area.

Early March of 2007 shows the daffodils blooming and the acorus grass vivid gold. The rocks have been stacked and restacked several times as offspring of offspring climb and clambor in efforts of fish catching. And then once again, one morning we wake up and the pond is nearly empty. We fill it up and the next day it is empty again. Rats. This is not an easy fix. The whole thing, every rock has to be removed.

In front of the swing you can see the old pond liner. It has a hole in it. Time for a major revamp. Bring in the muscles. Bring in the turbo digger, The Financier. If you want a hole dug to the center of the earth, he is your man. He is a digging machine. We had spoken often of improving the waterfall feature of the pond. He had big plans. I tend to think small. He thinks gargatuan. It is late March 2007. The hellebores are blooming. There are blocks and rocks everywhere, including on top of many desirable plants. The digging continues.

While waiting for the final digging of the pond I decide to restack the walls around the dogwoods planted near the edge of this terrace. We have lots of extra rocks due to the over ordering of stone for the front facade of the addition. You can read that spellbinding story here . There is nothing that improves the ease of stacking rock like having mucho material to work with. There is much less searching for the perfect fit, size or shape, the eye can scan over many candidates quickly when they are uniformly perfect.

One month later the pond is completed. First a wall of mortared cinder block was built to hold back the slope.There was a nice layer of sand added to the bottom to help prevent punctures from sharp rocks or sticks. Next was a thick felt pad made especially for ponds. Then the heaviest mil liner was lovingly laid on top. The folds were smoothed, water was added to press them down and the rock was stacked to line the entire surface. No black vinyl is showing, the pump is running successfully through the waterfall and frog's mouth. The area is mulched and the plants have been detailed. Here is a friendly tip, wash the egg rock and gravel before dumping it in the water. Oops.

From the other side you can see the little bench that I built from extra decking boards to fit this little spot. I wanted to sit close to the water for quiet contemplation but not block the stepping stones. You might notice the color of the leaves on the Japanese maples, straw colored, not the red they should be. This is the result of a late freeze that hit the first weekend in April and lasted several days with below freezing, make that temps in the teens. We are fortunate that these two maples are still alive to tell the tale of that cold snap.

The water is clear in another week and the fish that were held in the round container with a pump during the rebuilding of the pond are swimming happily. There were eleven fish put into the container, nine made it back to the pond and three more were added to make it an even dozen. The glass balls are fishing floats purchased at a shell shop in Charleston, South Carolina. Some have broken by hitting a rock or each other, mostly my fault. I love the ambience they give to the water and the fish like to hide under them.

We move through time and space to March 2008. The pond is filled with algae and there are no signs of the fish. To get to the bottom of this we must do some detective work. We set the pump to empty out the tubing over the wall. Great gobs of algae were put into the blue tub at the left. The potted water plants that were added last year were discarded. There were mushy pellets of water plant fertilizer in them that were suspect and the smell was foul. There were many leaves in the bottom that were fished out. The algae and leaves would be good additions to the compost pile, the nasty smelling potted plants would go into the garbage. But we expected to find some dead fish. There were none. Did something eat them? Did they eat each other? What happened?

Wait, from the depths in the deepest part of the pond where the pump could not reach with the length of cord attached to the motor, was a little orange survivor, listing to the left slightly but swimming! Out of twelve fish, one is left. I will name him Fido, for he is tough like a bulldog.

The first of April 2008 sees the pond running smoothly. Fido and Casey are buddies and we are keeping a close eye on the health of the water. The pump is cleaned every other month, it should be done more frequently but ...there is no excuse. I will clean it one more time before putting the netting over to keep out the leaves this year. We are hoping that will prevent having to empty the pond next spring with few decaying leaves to muck it up.

If after reading this saga you feel that a pond is too much work for you, it is certainly understandable. But if you think of it like gardening, where the work is constant and never finished, you may decide to try a water feature. It is a peaceful spot and gives us great joy and delight. The Financier sneaks out each night and feeds the fish a treat. I have told him not to do that, the pond is an ecosystem that works best when the fish are not fed. They produce less waste matter that dirties the water and they eat the algae to keep the water clear. They are not starving, they themselves produce the right amount of algae for the two of them. He knows that I know he does this, and only gives a couple of nuggets, so I benignly look the other way as he goes out the door after dinner. That is part of our ecosystem.

Why what have we here? In the last photo, this blue sponge painted pot was empty, now it is filled with coleus. Yes, this is the broken pot that was waiting for a special plant. Near the bench that casts its gaze over the pond seemed like a perfect place for this focal point. The coleus will give color until the first frost, hopefully after Thanksgiving when the Faire Garden clan comes for the big fiesta.

This coleus was chosen for its coloration suggests fall. The changing of the seasons progresses and the chores of the pond will be accomplished with a smile. It is felt that the pond gives way more than it takes in the way of maintenance. So Nan, are you convinced, or did this scare you away from installing that pond?

Frances

Reposting of New Design-Part One-Why?

The garden, my garden is an extension of my inner being. It is personal, not just a hobby. It exists not just geographically but metaphysically. The Faire Garden is not a location that stays put. It is the garden I create wherever I happen to be. At the moment it is in Southeast Tennessee, but it could be anyplace. The act of gardening is in the striving to achieve a vision that has been formed by every garden that has been visited, every book that has been read, every magazine article that has been studied and even every blog post that has been poured over and absorbed. The vision is a great cloud of words and pictures swirling inside the hippocampus. It is at this time of year, as the summer lushness winds down, that critical inspection of the garden as a whole and the individual parts can be objectively executed. We want it to be better. It can be better, but how? Why does the hypertufa planter shown above please us so? What is it about that miniature landscape that works so well to give us delight and please the eye? There is color, texture, form, contrast and healthy plants all working together in harmony. Not to mention here, that will be another subject in this series of posts, the ease of care. This planter gets watered and occasional pruning. It looks good all year, even mid winter. This is the vision I have for the entire garden. It is our goal to translate these ideas into job lists that when accomplished will transform this garden into the pleasure producing spot of my dreams and strivings. I invite you to come along on this journey and feel free to offer your opinions. Shall we proceed?

Along the wall at the back of the house is a forty foot bed that gets lots of attention. It is planted with a variety of daffodils, grape hyacinths and small fritillarias that make early spring sing with joy. After that, it is disappointing by comparison. We have used many annuals for color, believing that color was the missing link. There was once a row of lavenders to provide heavenly scent, they all died but two, for the ground is thick red clay under the layers of mulch. What has worked here is Japanese blood grass, Imperata cylindrica, one of the highlights of the hypertufa container that works so well. It has movement, color,and is not too tall to block the view up the hill. It disappears during winter though. There is diversity of leaf form and color with the golden creeping jenny and the Euphobia dulcis 'Chameleon'. What is lacking is flower color and a larger leaf. Is that asking too much?

Above is the bed at the side of the garage deck. It is a success with the use of the blood grass, creeping thymes giving form contrast and four large plants for substance and dimension, common pussywillow, coppiced, Aronia melanocarpa 'Viking' for its black berries and fall leaf color, Rosa 'About Face' for peach flower color and a self sown snakeroot, Ageratina altissima for fall presence and insect attraction. Rosemary at the right gives evergreen interest.



A view from under the garage deck just to the right of the previous shot shows the standard trained Pee Gee Hydrangea as focal point but the surrounding plants, while pretty are too similar in leaf form. The volunteer purple perillas keep this from being a sea of green spikes. This bed is the white/yellow garden. That may have not been a good idea as there is not enough contrast. Some of you may think there is nothing wrong here and you are right. But it can be better. What can be added or subtracted to improve this design? That is the driving force behind the desire for change. Knowing that it can be improved.

Another view of the same area shows more of the reasons for dissatisfaction. It is a jumble without design, an accumulation of a variety of plants that are not being used to the best effect. This is a true long shot of the garden behind the garage that includes the orange berries of the giant pyracantha hedge, easily fifteen feet tall and fifty feet long. The neighbor's mature maple is a borrowed view. You can see the immensity of it knowing the height of the pyracantha. The fall colors of the leaves of this magnificent tree are always stupendous. We are glad to not have to deal with those leaves after they fall however wonderful is the compost they make.

The planting under the Pee Gee shows the failure of delight even better. Again without the weedy perilla it would be even worse. Barely showing up is the budded dwarf goldenrod that will help out with some golden yellow to brighten this spot. The edges are lined with the plentiful grape hyacinths for spring interest and there is a row of small blue Veronica 'Royal Candles ' mixed in there as well. The idea of a yellow/white bed is going to need some tweaking in the plant choices. Last year several echinaceas were added, at no small expense. They have all but disappeared. Some died, and none have grown larger. More study is needed here.

A pleasure at the moment is the fergully area, notice the edge of the compost bin at the far right of this shot. Tall perennials Joe Pye weed and what we call the tall sunflower, rudbeckia lanciniata are joined by a single volunteer Datura metal. The large leaves of the datura are what is missing in the yellow/white bed, don't you agree? Another lesson to be gleaned here is the height of the plants. The back yard is big, three city lots actually and spread out in a way that the entire space cannot be viewed from any one spot. A whole bunch of little plants with little leaves, no matter how beautiful in those macro shots just are not up to the task of meeting expectations. We need more plants with larger leaves. And a mass planting of fewer plants that have multi seasonal interest.

Beautiful and tough Salvia greggii is a fine example of the little leaf syndrome. Add to that little flowers and you may begin to see the problem. The red is great, it draws the eye just as expected, but there is no contrast of texture and form, and let's not forget size. But there is hope in the upper right corner of this photo, let's check it out.

The bed in front of the side of the shed was given the redo treatment last fall. There is a small boxwood hedge that needs to do some more growing that will offer evergreen color and geometry in addition to holding up floppy plants heavy with flower heads and trying to keep their footing on this very steep slope. The blackberry lilies have been spread from collected and sown seeds and are now numerous enough for some impact. Their iris shaped leaves are a good foil to the now brown eryngiums located here. The grass Stipa tenuissima has been spread here for movement and diversity with its winter leaf color against the boxwood. The hypericum at the right has finally grown to a size that calls attention to the yellow spring flowers, purplish leaf color and dark berries. The color added by the Heleniums is turning this bed into one of the successes. We just need more of these plants to fill in the blank spaces.

Just to show you why this is named blackberry lily. These are ready to be sown in the ground now, and some already have been planted. We need a mass of these plants, for they are very floppy and need to be in a group to hold each other up.

At the end of the long wall behind the main house is the pond. Again this is not adequate to the vision. The red Japanese maples have begun to recover from the direct hit of the Easter freeze of 2007. We lost four out of eight of this type of tree and consider it a blessing that these two were spared. But that disaster did set back the vision for this spot. The pond was redone that same year a month earlier and the hopes were high. The villain for the last two years has been the drought, all but knocking out the hostas that surround the top of the pond. Hostas were used extensively in this shady area of the hill and looked good in the first few years. The lack of water has killed several outright and damaged severely what is still alive. We need that large leaf with the blue and yellow coloring of the cultivars planted here. Is there a substitution that can be made? Something xeric?

To begin the wrap up of this portion of the new design plan we give you a shot taken from the back of the house at the long wall. The space between the house and wall is nine feet and the whole area is covered in river bottom gravel from the Tennessee river. Nearly all of the container collection lives along the wall where the plantings can be watered easily and tended to lovingly. There has never been a year with the containers that we were satisfied with the way they looked. We have tried all perennials for year around interest, all coleus, bulbs with pansies, this year the theme was orange annuals. While nice, this year is like all the rest, with a grade of Cminus being generous.

For those of you who come to this blog to see macro shots of brightly colored flowers, here is your fix. This is the regular shot of a dark orange zinnia with some red Salvia coccinea to the far left, yellow melampodium just left and Verbena bonariensis behind.

And the same shot cropped.

~~~

This is the first installment of the new design series. It has yet to be determined if these will go in sequence or have some other type of posts interspersed between them. On a technical note, all of the photos were taken on the same day at the same time of day, early morning just as the sun was shining with a slant from the East. That is usually a good time for photographing the garden, but it still looks very different in person. Nothing can compare to experiencing a garden in whole with bird songs, insect and wind movement, smells and sensations. The garden is a beauty, there is no disputing that. But it is not static and in the changing there is much improvement that can and will be made, some sooner and some more long term. Plans and tastes can even change before the stage setting bears fruit. Fall leads to winter where gardening is done here in bundled garb and the biggest changes get carried out with moist soil and without the distraction of weeds or butterflies. We can make this place prettier and at the same time easier to tend. It can be done!

Frances

This Joint Was Hopping!

Recently we wrote about the acquisition of The Hop ice cream shop in Asheville, North Carolina. You can read that story here . Just two weeks later offspring Brokenbeat and his wife held a big party to celebrate the grand opening under new owners/management in addition to celebrating the 30th anniversary of making the best home made ice cream in Asheville. The Financier and I drove over there to help out in these festivities of our jointly owned business venture with them. Out front in the shopping plaza where the shop is located are three large metal planters filled with lantanas and coleus for summer color. The shopping center plants and maintains these and will put together a winter planting soon, probably with pansies and other interesting combinations. Isn't that gorgeous? Onward and inside to the ice cream. We arrived early on friday, the day of the big shindig to help out in the preparations. This was a post in the making so we began with a shot of the tubs of ice cream waiting to be dipped for customers. Yummy.
Fellow Tennessee blogger and good friend, (thanks to blogging!),
Gail of Clay and Limestone wanted a photo of her favorite flavor, Mint Chocolate Chip. Freshly made and as yet untouched by a scooper, it looks good enough to eat!
Still warm from the maker just to the right, waffle cones are ready to be served. This is how many are kept on hand, to always insure freshness and tastiness, they are made on demand. More expensive than the packaged sugar cones, these are still a very popular item. Delicioso!
We were lucky to be able to witness the making of a fresh batch of ice cream while there. Here is the cream, packaged in two and one half gallon bags and frozen.
Here is Mrs. Brokenbeat trying to spiffy up the place since there is a woman with a camera in there, not a normal part of the ice cream making routine. Don't fret Mrs. B, that's what mother in laws are for! We do love our Mrs. B. dearly, she is the greatest!
Only the best ingredients go into the making of this delightful confection. See, right on the label, made from the finest vanilla beans. The bag of crushed beans is next to the box, ready to be added to the cream.
This is the machine that makes the ice cream, a major piece of equipment and vital asset to the business. It holds the two and one half gallons of cream, plus the added ingredients and whips air into them while freezing them to make the ice cream light and fluffy. There is a big sharp churner inside rotating everything while freezing it. This is much like the smaller ice cream makers you can buy to make your own at home, only so much faster and better.
This batch was Mocha Oreo, she added the cookie bits as the cream came down the hopper. The two tubs together hold five gallons of ice cream and will go into the larger freezer to harden before being put into the counter out front for public consumption.

In addition to ice cream and pastries, an espresso machine fills the needs of caffeine afficionados. There is a demand for strong coffee with the cold ice cream, the yin to the yang. Lady in black top and camera is reflected in the shiny steel facade, along with the bright orange booths and the mural on the wall. Black is good at hiding spills and drips, just for your information.

And to top it all off, as if there were not enough reasons to visit this wonderful place, they offer wireless internet access. I set up shop with my laptop in the corner under Marily Monroe, trying not to be in the way of the decorating and general hub bub as preparations were made for the big party that began at 5 PM. I had to be able keep up with the picking madness going on at Blotanical in addition to replying to comments on the latest post and doing some reading. Did someone say addictive?

Before the evening festivities started, a trip to one of the big nurseries in Asheville was on the agenda. The last time we tried to go here, Mother's Day, it was closed. Today it was open and ready for a quick browsing. Although the last thing the Faire Garden needs is yet more plants, there is a new design plan being applied to the existing beds. More will be written about that in a seperate post, but it can be said that the guru we are following is Piet Oudolf. Let's see if there is anything here that we cannot live without.

Here on the cart being pushed by the ever helpful Financier are the selections made this trip. From the left in the blue pot is Liatris spicata 'Floristan White', half price, three pots of Salvia nemorosa 'Blauhugel (Blue Hill)', half price, Helenium 'Coppelia', full price and Aster frikartii 'Monch', full price for a total of just over forty dollars with tax. Not bad. There is a place for each of these back home, honest.

Back at The Hop last minute preparations are under way by Brokenbeat, seen here putting up a poster and wife sitting to his left in the pink top writing on a dry erase board the many activities planned for the night. In the background is the band warming up, led by good friend and former neighbor of Brokenbeat's, Ryan.

There was a balloon master, see him in the far left of the photo wearing a balloon hat, that was very popular with the kiddies, along with a face painter. Vendors had displays set up and those that donated prizes for a free raffle were acknowledged. The early crowds were heavy on the younger set. Ice Cream shops in general are youth oriented and this one had many smaller customers. All ages were represented though and the night was a big hit.

The band played, the ice cream was enjoyed, the night was perfect in every way. The owners and staff were exhausted but happy. They are young, still in their twenties and have the energy and creativity to make this business a big success. We are proud of their efforts and will add our wisdom gained with age to make this endeavor profitable in every way. This was an excellent beginning.

Frances

Skipping Through Life

Why am I not a butterfly? I flutter by and sip from flowers in the garden just like the big boys. My flight pattern is faster and erratic, it makes me harder to catch than those slow poke butterflies. But many consider me a type of butterfly anyway, just those nitpicking taxonomists say it isn't so.

There are more than 3,500 species of us worldwide, 250 live in North America. One third of North American butterflies belong to my clan. We have the numbers working in our favor, if not the brilliant colors. We are considered drab by some who prefer gaudiness to our subtle beauty.

When supping in the flora, we don't detract from the beauty of the blossoms, we work without fanfare.

Diligence is our motto.

Our stout bodies and moth like appearance make us the worker bees of the garden, so to speak.

Our antennae are farther apart than the butterflies and end in pointed curved clubs. We find that a very attractive feature in our appearance.

We can hold our wings in various partially closed positions. Some compare our silhouette to a fighter jet, we like that.

It is well known in the insect world that we have strong wing muscles. Chicks dig that.

We are sneaky with our features, being so similar that even experts cannot distinguish between us in the field. We certainly don't expect a simple home gardener with a camera to be able to tell us one from the other.

Some are attracted to our large eyes without hairs, but rather tufts of curving bristles overhanging each. Bushy eyebrows are always a feature sought after among true connoisseurs of hesperiidae.

We are a social bunch, enjoying the company of our own kind as well as bees, wasps and any other flying creature. We do watch out for spiders and mantids though, they are bad news.

Almost a moth, not quite a butterfly, why should we worry about the classification problems of humans? They can only tell for sure our differences by DISSECTION! Shudder and shake. Let's not think about that but rather enjoy our flower hopping and live for the moment.

We subscribe to the philosophy of Epicurus. Life is to be free of pain or fear, filled with the happiness of self sufficiency surrounded by friends and family.

A solitary life is the goal of some beings.

The company of a few close friends and a bee is desirable to more.

But the ultimate joy is obtained when living life to its fullest in great crowds of like minded individuals.

The Skippers

(translated and transcribed by Frances)

August Clues

The rains have finally returned, however briefly to the Faire Garden and we are supremely thankful. Over two inches and counting! The now tropical storm Fay is helping to quench the thirst of the trees, shrubs, perennials, and annuals as it travels up the eastern half of the US. For a couple of days before the sky opened its giant watering can, the air was thick and the clouds hung low. There was no sun shining and a cooling breeze began to blow. The camera and I went outside to see what we could capture. It was thrilling to see a, as in one, monarch butterfly. We are not on the flight path of these migratory insects and rarely see huge numbers of them, unlike Benjamin in this post, but we grow several varieties of milkweed in hopes of luring them here.

When an orange blur fluttered by, we had to make sure it was not another of the Gulf Fritallarys that feast on the passionvine that grows with abandon. The larger size and white polka dots seemed to identify our visitor as the beloved monarch. Click click click. He was filling his belly from the giant flower heads of the Joe Pye weed, Eupatorium purpureum 'Gateway' and staying relatively still for portrait taking. He refused to spread his wings for me, but that is okay.

Such a work of art he is.

I followed on to the orange cosmos before running inside to load the photos onto the computer to see if any came out reasonably clear. My vision is so poor that the little box on the back of the camera is just a blur. I need to see a full screen blow up on the laptop to make an analysis of keep or delete. Luck was with us this time. Hooray!

Now we will go back outside to check out the status of the garden since we have some good monarch shots in the can. Temps below eighty degrees F are a welcome change. And a clue.

Turning right from the back door of the main house we follow the gravel path along the wall and turn right to the fenced corner of the back yard. Look what is happening over by the hot tub, which is not working of course. The row of river birch trees that line the wooden fence are dropping their leaves, some are even turning yellow instead of just browning from the drought. Another clue. I have already filled two trash cans full of these chopped up by the blower/vacumn. They will be spread where needed on the flower beds. This is a fall chore, the fun with leaves, and it is easy to lap up these smallish treasures before the large multi trunk maple drops its abundance of leaves later. That is a more physically taxing job that takes several days to complete.

The orchids and bromeliads are being readied to come inside to spend the winter months in the greenhouse/sunroom. More clues. First any dead foliage is removed, including stray birch leaves and a close inspection is done for problems of any kind. This tray of earth stars, cryptanthus, looks healthy. Everything will get a two stage dose of insecticide before coming in. This is where the no chemical rules gets overruled.

As we climb the steps that lead to the knot garden at the top of the hill, we stop to admire the ironweed, Vernonia altissima opening its buds to show that dark purple hue. Yet another clue. The cutting of the tall stem earlier in the summer has given us many more branches and more flowers. Make a note to self to do that each year. If we could only get the seeds to germinate that have been saved, this whole portion of the hill could be covered in ironweed. But look at the far left edge of this photo, uh oh.

The row of Osmanthus fragrans that was planted late last winter is not looking good. Click here to read that story. Even though they are drought tolerant, there is a limit to the drought that can be tolerated. We let the hose drip for several hours at the top of this line of shrubs and now we are getting good soaking rain. There does appear to be some live new growth at the bottom. Let us think positive growing thoughts and send them into the soil to help these guys along. Everybody ready? THINK!

After the steep climb up the steps we immediately come to the center quatrefoil of the knot garden. There are four Calluna vulgaris 'Sunset' planted in each semicircle underplanted with Doone Valley lemon thyme. The mini elfin thyme was planted here this spring as a test. It has survived the drought without extra water and seems to be spreading. Should we move the larger lemon thyme out and try to have the little one fill in? Hmmm, something to think about. The four quadrant beds that surround the center are being planted with a tapestry of creeping thymes, those are the only plants that have survived up here. The Doone Valley could fill in the bare spots nicely. This sounds like a good fall project, the moving of the thymes. A flagrant clue.

At the corner of each of the quadrants is Calluna vulgaris 'Firefly'. (Note: where the heathers have died, gray santolina has been planted). These have yellow foliage in the summer and turn bright red in the winter. The colors have begun to change already. Could be a clue. The thyme shown trying to eat the heather is more of the Doone Valley.

On each side of the wooden bench that is opposite the steps are two metal obelisks with Rosa 'Magic Dragon' planted on each. The miniature climbing roses seemed like the perfect plant for this spot, but have been very poor looking with no extra water these last two years. A solitary bloom is a spot of hope amid the bronze fennel flower heads that are going to seed. Clue alert! Behind the bench is a planting of the fennel along with echinaceas, including the virused ones which have been removed, bagged and trashed for pickup by the utility.

Going left is the shed, which appears to be in dire need of a paint job. Garlic chives line each side of the doorway and will have to be deadheaded before they set seed or we will have nothing but garlic chives growing in this area. I know because that mistake has already been made. The babies are still being pulled from many spots. The flowers are pretty and white blends well with the purples and yellows of late summer. No clue here, or yes?

A tripod of rebar on each side of the shed gives support for roses and clematis. This is C. Elsa Spath, a large purple blue. Notice how the foliage is completely dead looking but there is new green growth at the tips and a bonus flower bud. A definite clue. This is where the Semi school of gardening pays off, do nothing, for things can and will regrow. If that brown ugliness had been trimmed, we would not be about to enjoy this bit of loveliness.

Hard to discern, this is the spot where the baby Dierama 'Galpinii' seedlings have spent their first year. The iris looking foliage is belamcanda, the more narrow grassy looking things are the Dierama. There are six living plants here, since I accidentally pulled three before realizing that they were not weeds. Sigh.

This end of the veggie bed is ready for fall planting. Black Kow composted manure from a bag has been spread on top and can be worked into the soil now that we have had some rain. Garlic is ordered and will be planted September 15. Arugula, lettuce, spinach seeds are on hand to go in as well. Knock you on top of the head clue.

Following the path to the right we enter the back yard of the house next door that was torn down to build the garage. The slope is not as steep on this part of the property. This Calluna vulgaris 'Dark Star' is blooming for the first time. More subtle clue. I had wondered why it was called by that name, but if you look closely there is another Calluna blooming behind it with lighter pink flowers. The Sedum 'Vera Jameson' lines the edge of this heath and heather bed. The blooms are nice and dark, like Dark Star.

Onward to the east, we come upon this group of late blooming Star Gazer lilies. Why are they so much later than the others that were planted at the same time, May, of this year? Deeper, shadier? Who can tell, but it is fun to see and smell them now. The fragrance is strong, and best enjoyed with a little distance between yourself and the flower, but pleasing just the same. A trick non clue.

The black garden is opposite where the lilies were blooming that were shown above. We are collecting crocosmias at the moment and decided to plant them all in this bed. This newest one, C. 'Solfaterre', was purchased in Nashville at a nursery there while visiting with Gail. In addition to the C. 'Lucifer' which has performed so well that it was divided into several more plants, clue! are some from Christopher C. that were blooming red with a yellow center, and three ordered from Plant Delights Nursery, C. 'Eastern Star', 'Bright Eyes' and 'Little Redhead'. Also promised from offspring Brokenbeat is C. 'Emily McKenzie'. We will find room for all crocosmias.

Going down the hill now where the path is strewn with pine straw since the pine trees constantly drop their needles here anyway is a planting of rosemary and lavender. This is part of what was the gravel parking area of the house that was torn down and is a difficult site to say the least. Compost and mulch has been spread here by the truckloads but the underlayer of soil is still gravel and hard packed clay. These two plants don't seem to mind that at all and have put on fresh new growth recently. Bragging clue. The lavenders were completely covered by the rosemary this spring, they were thought to be dead in fact, but they were noticed in time to prune away the larger branches of the green to allow the silver to grow on. It requires constant pruning, something I don't normally do unless it is for the butterfly bush and pee gee hydrangea standards, but this can be an exception to the low maintenance rule also. Lavenders can grow here but more die than live. I want these to survive since they are the source of the cuttings for the ones in the knot garden, L. 'Hidcote'.

Now we are in the street in front of the house and garage. Good old Rosa 'Grootendorst Supreme', also known as Thorny is blooming happily. Could be considered a clue.

Here you can see Thorny in front of three Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Well's Special'. Arrrgh, I see another redbud seedling at the base of the rose. That will have to be pulled. The redbuds are trying to take over the world around here and do not pull out easily but must be cut below ground several times to stop their plan of dominance. What that means is that when I am walking around without pruners in hand, nothing can be done when these seedlings are spotted. As soon as I walk to another part of the garden the pest is forgotten. Eventually they will be cut.

Returning to the back we are standing at the path of the garage side. Growing in the gravel is the best patch of Verbena Bonariensis anywhere on the property. Some ox eye daisies were allowed to live here too, most get pulled. Coral Wave petunias on the left of this entrance are visible from the window over the sink in the kitchen for a dishwasher's enjoyment. Notice the color of the grass. It has been mown less than five times this summer, a great savings of electricity and effort. The rains may jump start the growth of the Kentucky Blue Grass that is mixed in with the tall fescue planted there. Clue possibility. There will be more mowing in our future.

The purple perilla would completely block all the gravel paths if not pulled. What has been left is getting ready to flower, that means seed formation. What do you think, clue? We will leave a couple of plants but pull the rest. A few plants will ensure some of the purple accents that are appreciated for the dark foliage contrast to the green leaves of summer.

Ways of showing the Phlox paniculata 'Orange Perfection' are getting tougher to come up with. This plant along with the white P. 'David' and the mauve passalong are the stalwarts in the garden right now along with the sedums. Yes, a clue. This color is brighter and will add some pizzazz to the mauve on the daylily hill visible from the computer room when it has grown enough to be divided and spread there.

Speaking of color providing, the goldfinches are feasting on the echinacea seeds like mad. Big clue. The photos are a little blurry for they are shy creatures and will not allow ladies with cameras any closer, unlike the butterflies.

It is hoped that some of the seeds will be dropped and allowed to germinate for new plants by the voracious eaters. The vision is for a sea of coneflowers to carry on after the daylilies are finished.

These are the clues of a changing season here. Falling leaves, evergreen color changing, veggie beds empty and waiting for the next crop planting, renewed blooming after the siesta brought about by high tempertures, and most importantly, plans being formulated for upcoming tasks that can only be accomplished with the wetness of winter. The thoughts of what the garden can become next year only occur to us as this summer draws to a close. Looking forward while gleaning lessons learned from the past is what makes gardening a process that can never be completed. We wouldn't want it any other way.

Frances

Cement Reflections

During these sorts of days of late summer, the ones where no new planting should be done because it's too hot and dry, no moving of plants should be done for the same reasons and we are just tired of pulling violets, nut grass, clover and purple perilla but we still want to be outside doing something constructive, we like to do a couple of projects. There is a great place to fool around making things under the deck, it is shady, there are places to sit, there is an old plastic table set up with tools, paints, odd branches and other likely art to be. It is a place that fosters imagination and creativity.
The most recent project is a mirror with a frame made of the leaf casting mix. We have the book "A Garden Gallery The Plants, Art, and Hardscape of Little and Lewis", a pictoral tour of the gardens of artists George Little and David Lewis. The book was purchased after seeing a segment on the old Martha Stewart Living show, which I much prefer to the newer style shows, where the two men showed Martha how to make a leaf casting. They also made the mirror frame, but I missed that segment but printed the instructions from her website that day. In those days you could download some of the projects but only on the day that show aired. Okay I am getting way off topic here, sorry. Back to our project. I have made several of the leaf castings. They are relatively simple and the internet abounds with instructions and helpful tips about how to do it. For several years I have wanted to make this mirror frame since I had an old mirror, actually the bathroom mirror from the original house that had been purchased at the big box store since there was no mirror in the bathroom when we bought the house. Unbelievable, I know, but true. I had studied the directions, studied the photos in the book and never could put the two together. Until this month. The Financier was out of town and I was free to devote the entire time to figuring out how to assemble the form for the frame. I cannot tell you how it was done. Honest. But it did involve sheets of styrofoam that came in some electronic purchases that had been saved for several years and packing tape. And modeling clay.

There were premade leaves from heuchera and cotinus to line the edges. The project was carefully removed from the frame. That is always the crucial time when working with this mix, which is mortar mix and concrete bonding agent. I also use the three parts sand to one part portland cement recipe, but the premixed mortar mix is the same thing and you don't have to measure it and mix the dry ingredients before adding the liquid. Some recipes call for a mix of water and bonding agent since it is somewhat expensive but I use straight bonding agent, adding it until the mixture holds together but is not runny. It has to be wet enough to activate the chemical reaction that turns the sand and rock dust into a hard product. This not too wet not too dry is something that is learned with practice.

Always wear gloves when working with concrete or cement. It is very drying to the hands.

Last year we started with leaf castings. They were fun with lots of learning about the painting techniques. Hint: start with the lighter colors first.

The project has to set for a couple of weeks in order to harden and cure before we can clean it up and paint it. While we wait let's look around a bit. Over by the hot tub is the black plastic shelving unit where the orchids spend the summer under the row of birch trees along the wooden fence. These two paphs, shown in the last bloom day post are too tall for the shelf height and are bent over. It is nearly time to bring them inside, but I like to wait as long as possible because the outside air and humidity are healthier for them than the indoor air. Also I am lazy and don't want to fool with them just yet.


Some of the tougher heucheras that are living, not thriving but alive, with the extreme drought we are experiencing are these H. 'Silver Scrolls'. The leaves should be much larger and the whole plant bigger, but they look okay. It is all we are asking of the plants at this point until we get some rain.


Wandering over to the stand of Joe Pye, Eupatorium purpureum 'Gateway' there is something unusual going on here. I tried to nudge the little skipper butterfly, wondering if it was alive, and realized it was in the clasp of a spider that is exactly the same color as the blossom. The camouflage is perfect except for the bright chartreuse green of the spider's body. My imperfect vision could not see it at all, but could feel that something had hold of the butterfly. Only upon studying the photo did I see the spider clearer. I feel bad for the butterfly and thought about trying to free him, but knew that is not nature's way and it was probably too late anyway. Sigh.

Let's not dwell on the violence of the garden and look at this nice broken pot instead. It had been cracked for years, the result of many moves, being packed and unpacked once too many times. This last packing for
the refinishing of the wood floor was the final blow and it came apart. It has been decided that it would look good out in the garden with a special plant growing out of it. Are there any suggestions of what type of plant or bulb would look good? The diameter is about ten inches at the mouth so it needs to be something that would not exceed that width. I would bury it allowing maybe five inches out of the ground. What do you think?

The zinnias are just now starting to get going, I planted the seeds too early in the spring in haste and the ground was too cool for germination. More seeds were bought and planted and the lack of water slowed the growth. There has been extra water to get them to this point, but worth it since the insects love them so. Besides the skipper, do you see the tiny pink spider on the bottom petal? I wonder if he is a relative of the big one on the Joe Pye?

Thank goodness for the
orange cosmos to brighten up the garden. Annuals do have an important place to give that color jolt before the mums and leaf show begin in another month.

Back to the mirror, we have applied the many layers of paint, we use craft paint in the little plastic bottles, and it has a couple of coats of clear water based polyurethene to help protect against the elements. The paint is dry and it is time to remove the blue painter's tape on the mirror, clean it up and figure out the best spot in the garden for it to add some mystery. In case you don't know, it is also VERY heavy.

This is the chosen spot. Large nails driven into the wood fence can hold the weight, criteria number one met. The reflection of the peeling cinnamon bark of the river birches adds to the feeling of hidden surprises. This space is at the end of the gravel path along the wall that leads to the steps that go up to the pond, the mirror will be seen while also slightly hidden. Perfect.

But all day while inside the sound of tapping and pecking was heard. What was going on with that woodpecker? But when we went outside to see what the racket was, look who was responsible! This little tufted titmouse had a problem with the bird he saw in the mirror. Literally all day the bird was pecking at his reflection. Those little titmice live around our garden in great numbers. They are friendly and will sit close by as we are working in the beds. One time right after we finished the first renovation project there was a noise inside of the electrical meter box. I called the utility to come out to unlock the box, thinking it was a mouse. When the men cut the tag that reads DO NOT CUT, out flew a slightly charred feathered titmouse. He sat on the dogwood nearby for a minute, chattered at us, and flew away, alive to tell the tale to his chums. These are some tough birds.

I couldn't figure out how he was holding on to the glass of the mirror, but this photo show that he is grasping the cement frame, my work of art! Shoo, shoo, go away silly ninny! You are messing up my clean mirror.

There is a happy ending to this saga. The bird has come to terms with the existence of another in his tree area although he does hang on the mirror frame occasionally and stare at himself. Has he finally figured out that it is his own handsome face staring back? Maybe not, but he has decided that the constant pecking will not make that interloper disappear. And windex has removed the feathers from the mirror for a clearer image of the pond's reflection to show up. It's all good. For now.

Frances