The rear garden is roughly divided into thirds, with three small ponds in the top third and thick, jungle-like planting so that one pond cannot be seen from another that is less than ten feet away. Stone paths meander through and two small patios provide vantage points to rest and enjoy the water features. The…
Category: Rock and stone work
Rain, rain, go away
This is getting a little ridiculous! I can hardly walk in the lower end of the back garden. The lawn is saturated, the planting beds are a swamp. and those are the areas that are usually dry. The depression that runs along the lower southern border stays damp through the year from the constant trickle…
Shelter from the storm
I’m happy to report that I live an uneventful life, perhaps boring by most standards. I’m not a hermit, but I don’t care to travel, and I visit friends and relations too infrequently. I’m quite content to spend my days planting, keeping up with pruning and weeding, or lounging about enjoying the buds and blooms,…
Not so wonderful
Readers occasionally inquire about visiting my garden, and I suppose no harm could come of it, but I fear that many would be disappointed that the garden is not so grand as they imagined. As gardens go, mine is larger than most. The property totals just under an acre and a quarter, and besides the…
Spring garden show
I have been occupied this week constructing Meadows Farms’ display garden for the Capital Home and Garden Show in Chantilly, Virginia. Apparently there is an art to building show gardens, and after many years I almost know what I’m doing. We finished building a day early, and while the other gardens are still works in…
No more plants!
On a dreary January morning a thick fog has settled over this low lying garden nestled between foothills at the western edge of Virginia’s Piedmont. Today, temperatures will be slightly above the seasonal average, with the slight cover of snow and ice melting quickly in the relative warmth. My rambles through the garden are more…
Plants that seed themselves about
My annual budget for plants is not extravagant, though certainly my wife will disagree. Our property is somewhat over an acre, and much is covered in garden, but I am determined that there is ample space to continue planting for as long as I’m able. With a somewhat limited budget, and marginal enthusiasm on my…
Walk through the Landscape nursery
There is much more to the landscape business than the design and installation process. The exciting part is planting and building the patios, decks, and gazebos. The background work is not nearly so interesting, but necessary to get the work done. I wouldn’t dare bore anyone with a look over my shoulder on an average day in the…
Confessions of a Rockhead
I love rocks. Mostly big ones, but little ones too. I’m frequently compared to them, not necessarily as hardheaded (although certainly that is occasionally true), but as in “that boy is dumb as a box of …..”. Mostly by my wife when I’m talking about adding more rocks to the garden. I have rock walls…
Garden show setup
“The garden looks like it’s been here forever.” But it’s inside a huge warehouse-type building. And the garden is “planted” on a concrete floor, so that’s impossible. How does the setup for a garden show garden work? And, how long does it take? The garden begins long before the setup in the show hall begins….
From quarry to backyard
I’m going to take off my gardening hat today and address a landscape topic. Rock walls, stepping stones, stone steps, boulders, and decorative gravels are an integral part of our business, and when I first followed the supply chain from the companies that Meadows Farms purchases stone from I was fascinated. I doubt that many people understand the path…
Ramblin' through Dave's Garden 