Link to Part I
The second half of the garden tour begins in Junaluska Meadows, a neighborhood of newer homes set on large acreage in former pasture lands. In this setting a garden must be built from scratch.
The promos I saw and read online said a master gardener would be at each location to answer questions. I expected one. Imagine my surprise when already at each garden there had been three or four master gardeners. They were there to answer questions, direct traffic and staff information tables that often included photos of the gardens in various stages of development.
I learned from one of the master gardeners here at the Hunziker garden that the Haywood County program was close to 100 volunteers strong.
The view from this garden looks out over the Haywood County Agricultural Fairgrounds.
Miscanthus sinensis 'Morning Light' I do believe. So this is what mine will look like when I stop chopping them up into smaller pieces and dividing them. Add a little Ironweed, Chicory, sedge and banana and were done.
All this needs is a soapy film and a small compressor blowing some air through the lips..
I was sidetracked by this Sumac growing wild, while walking to the Russell garden, next on the tour, from my car. I need me some of this to go on the slope behind my Miscanthus.
A slight commotion around the corner from the master gardener greeting folks turned out to be another box turtle. Turtle love must be in the air.
This garden was decorated with a collection of old tools and farm implements that were placed throughout the garden.
Lots of perennial flowers were blooming in the sunny beds.
Yikes! The yellow and red combo disaster. Or were Dahlias considered the lone exception? I must have some male pattern color blindness or something. I am not sure I find it so offensive.
A big rock put to use.
The front beds were filled with an assortment of well spaced and manicured flowering perennials.
I took the south to north route, so this final garden was closest to home for me. Our last stop is the M3 Ranch and the Matheison garden.
We were shuttled from the entrance parking area up to the barn were the Highland cattle were and main house.
Nice view. Looks like another development on the near horizon.
A very large and steep hillside above the house was the main garden feature.
An extensive well mulched shrubbery covered the hill.
In the center, the main attraction.
The sound of the crashing falls.
The fifth annual Haywood County Garden Tour now ends.
The master gardener I spoke with at the Hunziker garden had told me their main focus was gardening information for homeowners. Seeing the other prominently displayed sponsors and mention of landscape companies it was obvious this tour was geared to that market.
I'm spoiled. I need more than that. Living on this wild incredible mountain, I was hoping to see gardens that I could get lost in. I wanted some hints on how to co-exist with this wild exuberant abundance. I wanted to see the forest turned into living art, a space that beckons you in to stay. I saw mostly tidy manicured suburban, I've pulled all the weeds, tamed and subdued gardens. That is a feat for many and is not to be frowned upon. It just isn't for me or this mountain that will be my new garden.
So it will be my task to create that garden to get lost in. One day it may be able to inspire a kindred spoiled soul.
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7 comments:
Thanks, Christopher, for putting my worry to bed. I am so glad that you want them to be your people, it is the only way to coexist, and makes for a happy life, IMHO. Your garden will be so much more, with your expertise, creativity and raw material to work with. I can't wait for each project you come up with, and yes, your walls put those others to shame, well not shame but yours are so much more. And roofs! You must be so excited at the thought of the cabin getting nearer to being a refuge.
Christopher obviously this group of people need someone to give them inspiration. You will be just the man to do this. They have obviously not had the pleasure to be drawn into a world as you see it.
Christopher, I love your post and although these gardens look beautiful, I totally understand where you are coming from. I am totally fascinated with your cabin, your forest, your gardens! Thank you for sharing.
I can't wait to see the roofs up on your cabin structure. It is getting close.
Frances I hope you weren't too worried. You should know I still have much to learn about this place and all these plants to be thinking I know too much.
Lisa what can I say. It may be possible that my unfocused dreaming might somehow end up in concrete results others may find interesting.
You are welcome Siria. With your spot in the forest you may get that feeling too, that you can't try and make it be something it isn't without wrecking it. It is that blending of the wild with garden that I want to accomplish.
That creative tension between a forest and a garden is something i struggle with too, although my "forest" is about 30 trees on a 0.9 acre waterfront lot. I feel a sense of stewardship because so much forest has been lost, especially near the Chesapeake Bay. I try to selectively encourage oak and some Liriodendron seedlings for when these old guys fall. I try not to mind that they suck up all the water and make life tough for my "garden" plants beneath. The concept of "woodland garden" is so difficult to implement. I'll use you for inspiration!
bev
It's no surprise there's no place to get lost. From farm to suburbia, it's wide open space. And from your description, it sounds like the main purposes for those gardens was public display of status, not private retreat for the homeowners.
Did you see any trees there? That's what I'd look at for some evidence of the long view.
I can't imagine having that much space in which to garden. I need to examine every square foot here. I need to plant a tree to replace those that have to come out from the backyard, leaving me with a single cherry. The new tree has to be precisely planted to minimize risk of conflicts with neighbors, overhead lines, and buildings.
I agree with you, nice enough gardens but nothing that takes the wilds into consideration to blend them into something with "wow". That'll be your job, bringing the wow to "woodland suburbia"! I hope you keep blogging, because it will be amazing to watch...and learn from. I want the same for my place-woods, water, and some wow! :)
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