Early Morning

Formal doesn't have to be stuffy!

Along the creek in the wooded garden 

A parasol of hellebores! 

The Stumpery

For two years I’ve been waffling about what to do with the last corner of my own garden that hasn’t been attended to. Like the plumber with leaky pipes and the cobbler whose children have no shoes, I spend my days making good decisions about the gardens of others, but simply cannot commit to a plan for this particular wasteland that I own.

The area in question is tiny, perhaps 75 feet long and about 25 feet wide. It is a gully that runs under a cluster of pines and sweetgums, and was filled until a few months ago with ivy and wild raspberries. During the process of cleaning out the scrub, I’ve had a few different ideas, one of which was simply filling the gully and planting a few understory trees. It has become a really convenient spot to throw the miscellaneous pieces of a couple of trees we’ve cut down, big branches that have been pruned, etc. Since we’ve lived here there has never been a sign of this being an active water route or anything like that…..until the rains of this past season! Now I’m clear that I can’t fill this gully in any serious way that’s going to affect the passage of water across my property and into the creek down the street. The obvious solution? A “STUMPERY!”

I first read about the Stumpery at Highgrove (Prince Charles’ estate in Cornwall) in 2007, and it seemed appropriately eccentric for my tastes. I allowed myself to be talked out of the idea and into the plan to fill the space. When I recently read that Prince Phillip (Charles’ father) asked, “When are you going to take a match to this pile?” I realized that the stumpery was just perfect for me…..that is exactly what Frank asks with some regularity when I start a new project!

In any case, I have officially committed to this area being my new stumpery, a collection based upon tree stumps that provide shelter for birds, chipmunks, snakes, and whatever else may choose to utilize the space (It’s far enough away from the house that I’m ok with that idea). It will also provide haven for shade loving ferns, perhaps a few hostas, trilliums, hellebores, and the like.
I’ll keep you posted about progress, but for the time being, I’m delighted to have finally made the decision to move forward!

This, incidentally, is a great book! I purchased it two years ago fully expecting it to be just a great coffee table decoration, but it is filled with very practical information. I think it was well worth the somewhat expensive price tag!

A Couple of Great Ideas to Borrow

The March issue of Garden Design magazine arrived in my mailbox today, which means the latter half of the afternoon was a complete "wash." Sadie the Dog agreed that this was the perfect afternoon for a long walk, after which she could sleep on the sofa while I read the new magazine.

There were a couple of new ideas that jumped out at me. First, on page 18, there is a profile of Jasper Van der Zon, the young head designer for the Keukenhof bulb display garden in Holland. He is encouraging a break with traditional bulb planting in favor of a "mixed border" look, which I think is really cool! When I was in the garden early this morning, I was particularly impressed with how beautiful one of the naturalized areas looks, with its mix of hellebores, narcissus, crocus, scilla, and snowdrops. Van der Zon shows a mixture of Fritillaria, Allium, and other summer blooming bulbs, many of which I've added to the garden this year. If my display looks anything like his, I'll be delighted!

In the same magazine, page 56, there is an article about using grasses and sedges in container arrangements. First, it was photographed at Cheekwood, a really beautiful old estate in Nashville (the Maxwell House Coffee family home); if you haven't been there, it's worth the drive. Throughout the article, there are a number of really great arrangements, suitable for a number of different light exposures. I loved the way in which the designers have mixed very contemporary containers and an aging garden, and the way in which the containers replicate plants that are in beds around them. (Notice on page 56, the lambs' ears in the container, as well as in the border.)

If you don't subscribe to Garden Design, you should. But in the meantime, run out and buy the March issue!

The Second Incarnation of the Box

Here's the second version of the box, which I tweaked based upon the comments of the first round of judges. If you click on it and blow up the photo, there is an awesome new hellebore called "Pine Knot Select" that came from Ashe-Simpson Nursery, as well as that euphorbia called "Glacier Blue," which is great because it stays that color year round.

I also added in fake diamonds, and gave more explanation to the dragonfly in the "statement of purpose." The Duke of Windsor always believed that dragonflies embody the souls of the dead.
Am I creeping you out yet?

If you're in Atlanta and haven't been to the Show yet, you need to go! It's got some great displays this year!

Christmas Roses (Helleborus niger)

They're a couple of weeks late if one wants to be a stickler about a name, but what a beautiful sight the Hellebores were this morning! Walking through the shade garden we could feel the beginnings of the cold air that's coming, but the hellebores are open all over the place! What's even more reassuring is knowing that they'll be just fine through this cold snap, and will still look great this weekend when it's back in the 50's!