Next Door Gardens

Two gardens grow nearly side by side, separated by an acre of sunny utility meadow and a stream valley of the deep forest. They have much in common yet are defiantly independent. The sunny utility meadow acts very much like a buffer zone between them.

Both have dogwood trees off the front porch. My Kousa Dogwood blooms a month later.

Both have bearded iris.

I am a little more selective, not needing one of every kind. The Black Iris is worth having.

When blooms fail, the foliage can be used to great textural effect by choosing a less fancy kind iris.

Bearded iris don't do this. A good bloom year which we are having this year is a bonus to great texture.

Strong repetition of color and form helps bring some design coherence to the underlying wildness.

The color palette also leans heavily in one direction. Green is a color you know.

Seeds of the False Solomon's Seal, Maianthemum racemosum, that were flung years ago are big blooming clumps today.

One fern won't do. Four have a much bigger visual impact.

From the start, attention was paid to the overall design of my new garden. The results are becoming quite evident.

Then there is the garden next door.

That's where The Lady lives.

One stem is now three, but for the last two years some damn bug has eaten one of the flowers. I sure wish the number of stems would increase again.

It's also where the Phacelia purshii runs wild.

This single dominant blue element gives a great deal of cohesion to the underlying wildness of this garden.

Mow a path through it and all is well with the world.

This garden has its own kind of magic.

One of each seems to work.

There is a Black Iris there too. That is where it was first discovered. I took some next door and made more.