On A Rainy Day From Above

At the annual unveiling I always lament the stresses the conifers and evergreens endure during their time in a summer meadow in a less than full sun life. They grow and endure in their skylights. They have grown big enough to become a visible winter garden. I have dwarf conifers growing in natural bonsai conditions on numerous levels. It took a while to get here.

A failure has emerged. It looks like the three 'Koster's' Chamaecyparis obtusa I planted this spring to replace the underperforming 'Emerald Spreader' Yew have dried up and died. Cause unknown. I take that to mean I should have been patient and waited to find the Picea abies 'Pusch' I really wanted. This spring I get the 'Pusch'.

The plan view is the primary view from which to design a garden. It is not so common to experience a garden in plan view, when the primary view is the view from above. That experience changes things. I see the bulk of my garden from above on rainy days 

These pictures start in the highly contrived bottom bowl of Creation and look out over the long sweep of the garden up to the driveway. In the open space of winter, the full plan comes into view. The designer in me keeps drawing on the plan. The garden wants to grow more complex.

The fog rolls into many things in many ways. The plan goes in and out of view.

There is empty space in the top right corner of the plan view like the drawing was never finished. It is the shadiest part of the garden and the hardest to successfully plant. Wish me luck. I plan to fill it in and complete the canvas in a shady, fading into the distance kind of brush stroke.