Accumulating Objets d'

A large flat package arrived. Lucky me. I was expecting this. As the Planner Man for Asheville Fling 2012 I will go to any length to make the garden blogger's annual gathering a memorable event. So I agreed to accept a free gift that was mine to keep and could be used as a demo model for the others that will be given away as door prizes.

I will be testing out the Ogee Trellis from H. Potter Marketplace, one of the sponsors of the Asheville Fling. I picked this one from the 30 choices available at their website. It took some deciding to finally settle on just one choice. It made sense that a door prize like this be shipped directly to the winners address. It is not something that would be easy to take home by plane or even a car on a long drive without some careful consideration. That is where I come in, with a garden setting demo for all the bloggers to see such a fine looking trellis.

It is definitely sturdy. Has some weight to it. I really like the charcoal brown powder coated finish. You have to look close to see it is sort of a distressed/camouflage finish. It will blend nicely with the bark of forest trees.

When I was first asked about his I thought where I am going to put a trellis that won't get lost or just look odd in my vast and highly wild surroundings. I will never have a formal garden. How could a trellis fit in? So I wandered outside to think it over.

I didn't get far before the absolute perfect place for a screening trellis presented itself. I had let my wood burning neighbor take the two half dead Black Locust trees on the back corner of the cozy cabin, leaving 10 feet of trunk for a future gateway project into the gardens below. Then I cleared out more of the misshapen and poorly placed smaller trees. This left a gaping hole. I was now staring into the abyss and in the winter all the way to the scenic byway beyond when I pulled in to park at the service entrance. You can see those two tree trunks on either side of the stair railing.

A screening trellis would be perfect here. The view into the garden would be obscured and some mystery added to where the stairs would lead. It would add a visual stop to the parking space. Large shrubberies with big roots were out in this narrow bed because the sewer line is directly below. The trellis would add instant height were it would be hard to come by with plantings year round.

I attached the twelve inch spikes with the bolts provided and readied to pound the thing in the ground. Instead, with the weight of the trellis, it simply sank into the soil. A slight push down and it was settled. Frankly with the high winds I get up here another six inches on those spikes would make me more comfortable, particularly once a vine gets going and adds more wind traction. We shall see.

The new addition meant that the accumulating Objets d' had to be rearranged for maximum appeal. I finally thought of something to do with the big glazed saucer that followed me home one day, other than it being a mosquito pond and cat's water dish.

Out in the wild cultivated gardens there is nothing that could be described as formal structure. The forest and the Lush set the stage. Hyacinthoides hispanica have turned wild.

Plenty Objets d' can be found out there - not my style mind you - but there is no trellis. I have found a place where one can go near the Blue Pot art project. It will require untangling a red honeysuckle vine away from the cheap tacky lattice it resides on now. That vine and the tacky lattice had concealed the decades old plastic pot collection. I sorted the collection and sent them all to a good local nursery for reuse. They are all gone now. It is nice to have a place to stash things though. A nice trellis for the vine might encourage more regular cleaning behind it. That can be a project for another day.

The first wave of iris now blooms. As I type the temperature is dropping. It is currently 33.6. The wind howls and solid rain pelts the roof and the fresh green growth of the notion of spring.

The estimated lowest low for round two of this rudeness is 29ish for Tuesday morning. At 8:21 pm with a current 33.4 I imagine we are in for two nights of freezing temps.

What will this do to the rhododendrons that have decided to bloom. What will happen to the remnant bloom on the azaleas not zapped by round one? Can the hosta and astilbe take another round of this? Oh woe in the gardens, we are having another freeze after way too many 80 degrees.

Well if it all turns to mush at least I will have the accumulating Objets d' to look at. I already like my Ogee Trellis from H.Potter. I plan to grow Moon flower and blue morning glories on it this year. The seeds are out there in the cold germinating now.

This trellis can be a set and actually has two 10 inch shorter side pieces that form a much wider screen. I may have to consider those. It would add even more structure, screening and interest in the winter garden.

It is snowing now. I may not have to wait long to see what the new trellis will look like in winter. And with this raging wind I'll get to see how well the spikes work holding it steady.