Garden description: My garden has a lovely, restful front courtyard. A grey flagstone walkway leads to the front entrance with a carved, stone koi bowl flanked by pots and shaded by a beautiful red leaf redbud. The other major feature is my water garden with a waterfall, fish and aquatic plants, all surrounded by a low, stone wall. It also features three Chihuly style red glass sculptures as a focal point.
Who are the gardeners:I am the gardener! For over 30 years I’ve been developing my garden(s) and am always outside planting, maintaining and moving things around. The work is never done and that’s what I love about it. As a student of Ikebana (Japanese Floral Design) I am always searching for that perfect flower or lovely curved branch. This hobby has brought me so much joy and pleasure throughout my life and especially now it means so much to me.
Why do you garden: I enjoy the creative process of designing a garden. With dual college degrees in horticulture and art, this hobby allows me to combine both passions using the same design principals of line, color, mass and form. And I love the ephemeral properties of plants, how they change and morph with each season.
How has gardening impacted you during this time: Thanks to this pandemic my garden has never looked better! Not only is my garden a source of great joy and satisfaction it has helped me to stay anchored and sane in what could have been a very lonely time. Plus, for the first time my neighbors of 20 years have noticed and complimented my garden.
What do you have in your garden? My shade garden includes ferns, hostas, hellebores, epimediums, Turk’s cap lilies, azaleas, and native rhododendrons with pops of color from Hakonechloa and impatiens. Instead of grass I am cultivating moss. Around my water garden are two lovely red cutleaf Japanese Maples and an Oakleaf Hydrangea, plus ferns, euphorbias, various Iris and sedums. In the water garden I have waterlilies, lotus and bullrushes.
Do you have any problems with disease or pests? If so, how are you dealing with this problem? There are always pests such as lace bugs on my Pieris and sawflies on my Mugho Pines. I try to use as few pesticides as possible or less toxic ones such as Neem Oil.
