Garden description: My garden is very personal. It began when I bought my home in 1993 and had everything to learn. The garden has grown and changed over the years as I learned what I really wanted both to look at and to spend time in, and as I become more confident. The Front Garden is largely perennials in green and burgundy to complement the color of my home, frame my porch and set a quiet tone for a quiet neighborhood. That part of my garden changes little from year to year, with the exception of addition of some white annuals to lighten the mass of darker color (this year: white begonias with bronze leaves behind the heuchera). The Rear Garden is a carpet of largely green perennials that serve as backdrop for color through hydrangeas and annuals. Here is where I usually go a bit crazy, most years choosing a combination of three colors of annuals that begin at my front door and add life and energy to the Rear Garden, and, of course, work with the bright pink of my hydrangeas.
Who are the gardeners: I have two roles in my garden: First is the dreamer: “Hmm, I wonder if this would work?” Second, I am the putterer, handling daily care (deadheading, watering, raking, etc.) and moving and resizing plants as they grow. For advice and “heavy lifting” beyond what I do myself, I rely on John Simon and his great crew at Simon Lawn & Landscape, Wilmington.
Why do you garden: For the joy of bending and stretching and getting dirty and then having something wonderful happen. For the joy of seeing the fruit of my effort as I look at my garden from inside my house. For the feeling of having done something for others when neighbors tell me how much they enjoy my garden. For knowing I get to do it all over again next year.
How has gardening impacted you during this time: Every year I have lived here, I have put a riot of annual color at my front door and in the Rear Garden. This year that did not feel right. I used all white annuals because of the serenity that color provides and because white shows well at dusk, extending how long each day I can enjoy my garden.
What do you have in your garden? Front Garden: Perennials are heuchera, lariope, red-twigged dogwood, hydrangea, nandina, dwarf Japanese maple, magnolia, rhododendron, azalea, Japanese Hanoki false cypress, red-twigged dogwood, baby’s tears. Annuals are white begonia with bronze leaf. Rear Garden: Perennials are lariope, heuchera, Japanese maple, nandina, hydrangea, climbing hydrangea, clematis (from DCH!) and baby’s tears, plus pencil hollies to provide a screen from the street. Annuals are all white this year – begonias with bronze and green leaves, dipladenia and lantana, offset by lime green from coleus and creeping jenny. I am also growing cherry tomatoes (8 feet tall at this point and giving new fruit everyday) and basil that just won’t quit. The Rear Garden also has many (too many?) garden decorations from my heron sitting in a “marsh” of lariope to the metal iris sculpture made by a UD student to my big blue “Mr. Fish” (seen at the edge of the photo with the line of pink hyrdrangeas.) There are also small metal sculptures honoring past, well-loved pets.
Do you have any problems with disease or pests? If so, how are you dealing with this problem? Mosquitos are an issue in July – September. Mosquito Joe keeps things under control. They are very sensitive to protecting my small vegetable/herb patch.
