The front and side gardens – Part One

There is little to do on this rainy mid-August afternoon except to take advantage of a break between storms to get out for a brief stroll. The Tiger mosquitoes took full advantage of my walkaround, but in the few moments of bright cloudiness I was able to capture the saturated floppiness of the garden.

I’d prefer a few drier, not so warm and humid days between storms, but I’ve vented considerable frustration cursing the lack of rain in recent summers, so now I shouldn’t complain. In any case, the garden is as happy as possible as summer nears its end. Perhaps too happy, with waterlogged stems that arch to obstruct the paths.

Tours with visitors always begin in the front garden, a logical choice as we meet on the short driveway, steps away from the front walk. Besides its proximity, I save the much larger, and I think superior rear garden for last.

The front garden continues to creep closer to the street, and perhaps the small lawn will disappear one day though how can I substantiate the overly expensive battery powered mower? Novice gardeners are surprised as we pass beneath two large ‘Seriyu’ Japanese maples that arch over the front walkway. They think of Japanese maples as dwarf or at least slow growing, but the two ‘Seriyu’, a weeping green leafed, and ‘Bloodgood’ maples are all thirty years or older. From the street, only a fraction of the house can be seen when the trees are in leaf.

The side garden on the southwest, forested border has changed considerably since the Bigleaf magnolia fell in a storm a year ago. I opted for the easiest possible cleanup of the fallen tree, leaving the stump and a section of the trunk for a stumpery planting (above). Many new plants have begun to fill the void created by the fallen tree.

With the magnolia’s wide, leafy canopy missing, there are now a few midday hours of sunlight that have allowed for more than hostas, hellebores, epimedium and ferns. A Ghost dogwood (Cornus wilsoniana) has rocketed past six feet in height and after a difficult start, the Flame Thrower redbud (Cercis canadensis ‘Flame Thrower’) is adding colorful foliage to a very green part of the garden.

Next, the rear garden.