My garden ....
.... this is not.
This is a garden from Colonial Williamsburg which is in this inspirational book.
This is my garden.
Well, I am impressed that the daffodils survived the mole city that the John Deere tractor made out of the yard.
You need to know that we moved two summers ago. This will be the third summer in our very own new home. Though, it is an incredibly beautiful home on many acres of land, the way that we were able to afford it was to roll up our sleeves and give it the loving care that it desperately needs ourselves. It is definitely a make do and mend kind of adventure. (You see, my husband really is the pastor of a small country church - not a banker.)
The first summer was when we actually moved. The agenda was to scrub, clean and paint what we could and to pack and then unpack.
Last summer, as my husband put it, was the year of the dirt!
My husband was the general contractor for building my Mother in law's house just up the hill from us. Also, he had to figure out how to divert the virtual flood that was funneling right down through our dooryard. He dug trenches and added electricity to the barns and we got a new septic system put in just before the snow flew in November.
Where there were once vast tracts of green and luscious grass, there is, now, DIRT!
This year, it's
On to the gardens!
These huge stones were dug up out of a wall that was in the way of the septic lines.
They are going to turn into ....
.... a small version of this.
Do not you love a pathway that is so beautiful that it builds your anticipation? Where does it lead? I love a good mystery. Is this a stairway to some sort of hidden heaven?
This picture is from another extremely inspirational book.
Here is another piece of my garden. Tom built the wall and corrected the too steep slant of the lawn, last year.
I have lots of ideas for this space. I think that a sea of blue salvia annuals will be a temporary measure for this year.
Possibly, the split rail fence will go back on the upper level and I can train some old fashioned roses along it and put a line of blue delphinium behind it.
Like this!
That's the general gist anyway.
Also, there is a pretty and shaded bank that is visible outside of my kitchen window.
The land has a very lovely shape to it that I have found impossible to photograph. If you could only see, I bet that you would start visualizing plants there too.
It's shady and somewhat secluded. I want it to be naturalized with violets and forget-me-nots, the blue hyndrangeas that appreciate the shade. Rhododendrons, ferns, bleeding hearts and spiderwort. They all will have plenty of space to take over and do their thing.
I want it to be restful and contemplative and I think that we will hide a bench back there.
Now, I bet that a couple of you recognize this beautiful garden. I've seen it featured in several books and magazines but I first fell in love with it because of this book. (The photograph of the row of delphiniums is from this book too.)
This is my all time favorite gardening book. It is so well rounded and insightful in the ideals of the garden!
I cannot express to you how strange it is to be in the third spring without a garden to pay attention to.
It almost doesn't feel quite like spring in some ways. I usually am out in the garden every day, seeing what is coming up and how things are progressing. I still have some plants at the parsonage that I will be moving. They have been carrying on without me for the past two years but we will be reunited soon.
In the meantime, I have been enjoying much more space for indoor gardening.
I cannot wait till these flower. One is a very pretty hibiscus (left) and the other (right) is a cana lily. Both are so stunning and exotic.
Goodness! I just brutally trimmed and repotted this "blonde Creeping Charlie" at Christmas. It's a monster!
All of my plants are so happy that the sun is coming back again.
Recently, I saw an article from Martha Stewart on how to add patina to your clay pots. I thought, "ummm .... just water your flowers and wait a bit?" Why go through all of the hassle?
The orchid forest.
I bought them for different places all over the house but they just love it right here! The orchid in the clay pot, I bought last March. It bloomed all the way until the end of January. Now it has buds coming again. For fifteen dollars, that was the longest lasting bouquet that I've ever bought!!!
Well, last March, I started to feel desperate to garden in some way. With a lovely touch of serendipity, Tovah Martin, creative gardener extraordinaire, had a provocative new book published.
Tovah Martin is a woman who's name I vaguely recognized several years back. Now, however, I realize what a huge impact she's had on my life. She contributed a lot to Victoria magazine and I think that I just constantly ingested her style and ideas until it became a part of me. She is the master of the botanical touch.
When I bought this book, it was "off to the races" for me.
How inspiring!
She's really helped me rethink through what I have as resources to use.
Not only are terrariums fun because they're little tiny worlds of their own (Complete with their own ecosystem and all), but, they thrive in places that other plants simply will not. In other words, they're pretty easy.
Well, I just thought that I should be straight forward with you about where my garden stands. I have decided that I will be honest about the whole thing - weeds and all!
Love,
Katy Noelle
