Sunday, August 21, 2011

Liberation Ecology

The formerly posh and landscaped estate across the byway sits unused for the most part. The gardens have long since gone bad. The preferred maintenance of late is all mowing and bush hogging, a valiant attempt to keep the forest from completely reclaiming a property it actually holds dominion over. I would imagine the intent has changed from garden to forest preserve. The maintenance routine changed with it.

A few weeks ago the bush hogs rammed through a formerly well landscaped bed at the front entry taking out the entire center section where most everything had already succumbed to the weeds, leaving the large shrub border that surrounded it.

Well if they are going to start mowing it, there are several really nice ferns still there that I can certainly transplant to new homes. I am fairly certain these are Royal ferns, Osmunda regalis. They were mowed down of course. I dug up the mounded crowns surrounded by the wiry black root fibers and brought them back to the garden to be. They were planted in the natural drainage fold where hopefully they will get a little extra water now and again. I do have boggier ground they might like better. I just can't get to it through the Lush right now.



I keep adding and subtracting in tiny increments when plants present themselves, which happens more often than most people, even other gardeners might imagine. Things fall out of the ground around me all the time. A good many of them follow me home. An amazing number of plants find me through the wanton generosity of fellow gardeners.



Slowly but surely, small garden worthy vignettes appear. One day they will all coalesce into a real garden.

7 comments:

Lisa at Greenbow said...

Are those hardy begonias? I have seen them in gardens 60 miles south of here. I have been tempted to try them. Global warming and all. :) It is a good thing that you are rescuing all these unwanted plants. Your garden is like an orphanage. The unwanted children of others are well cared for here.

Anonymous said...

I am a firm believe in plant rescue. There were some daffodil sweeties growing beside an old wooden bridge. We dug a few up. We went back the next year and all that area had been redone and the bridge had been replaced by a huge one. If we had not rescued the daffodils, they would have been gone forever.
Sallysmom

Christopher C. NC said...

Yes Lisa those are the hardy begonias. I did two plantings of it in the same location. The first planting survived the winter and returned. I've seen plenty of it down in Asheville so I thought I'd give it a try even though it is only listed to zone 6.

Sallysmom most of my rescues are culls from client's gardens that have to go to maintain order. I get a lot of seedling plants that way, including an amazing number of trees and shrubs.

Lola said...

Bush hog, sad. Glad you were able to get some. I like to rescue plants too. Got a couple I've done that to. The garden to be will look lovely in no time.

Anonymous said...

I firmly believe that's the best, and most fun, way to build a garden. Not to mention cheap. That's mostly the way mine built up, and I have few regrets. One just has to have their shovel ready to transplant.

bev

Anonymous said...

Did you feel the tremor?
Sallysmom

Siria said...

I call those "Angel Wing" begonias because that's what the foliage looks like to me. :)