Soroptimist Garden Tour

I had a chance to participate in the 2013 Annual Soroptimist Garden Tour yesterday. The Soroptimist International of Schenectady (an organization focused on supporting women) holds this garden tour of Schenectady county annually. I wasn't able to visit all the gardens open to the public, but I was able to check out two local ones that were close by my home.

The first was the garden of Faith & John Weldon in Glenville.

 

 

They did a fantastic job of converting a soggy drainage area into a vast backyard garden area with different areas of plantings and a wonderful Koi pond.

I was very interested in visiting one garden in particular, that of Stan Hobbs in Glenville. I read about his garden in the local newspaper. Its a woodland stroll garden with many Japanese features. I was surprised to discover that someone else in my town shared an interest in Japanese gardens and had created one on his property.

"Flower, Mist Dwelling Place"

The garden turned out to be even better than the newspaper had described. Stan has put a lot of work into his garden and its Japanese esthetic is truly authentic. Walking through the garden I was inspired to consider some new types of plantings and incorporate some elements of what Stan has done into some of my future plans.

I'm hoping to have Stan over to my garden this summer so we can exchange ideas - perhaps Stan is a Bodhisattva who can help direct me to a more enlightened path of gardening.

Ancient Guardians

"When one door closes, another one opens..."

I finished the doors for the main entrance to the garden, between the house and garage. 

It took some trial and error, but I eventually was able to hang them in a manner that allows them to close more evenly. To do so, I had to take them down and cut about 1/2  an inch of the width of each door, an easy task since I hadn't glued any of the parts. After hanging them I realized the gap was a bit wider than I had planned. I probably should have only removed 1/4 of an inch instead. Still, its not too bad and there is room for expansion and perhaps some sagging (I hope not too much).

I also finished the staining. I attempted to get the doors to match the Moon Window in the back. The end product looks nice. 

I also added a couple of Chinese Temple Lion Door Knockers to each door. 

I picked these up in Beijing, China in 2007 and had them in a box all this time, never sure what I was going to do with them. They are a bit big for these doors, but I still like them. 

These guardians are meant to protect one from being harmed by accidents, robbery and any other forms of bad luck. The lion head is also a powerful symbol that can provide protection against harmful people, nourishes chi that enters the garden, dissolves bad energy, and brings in happy blessings when fixed to the door of a gate. Lets hope they work.

On the inside, I added a simple latch, similar to an eye hook. I picked it up at Home Depot of all places. 

It looked nice because it has an old world rustic look to it. It doesn't keep the gate 100% stationary, but it looks much nicer than a contemporary, industrial looking latch. It was also relatively inexpensive compared to custom latches I could have special ordered online. Simple, utilitarian, and cheap.

I also attached very small brass eye hooks to the back of each door and the inner rails to help hold the doors in place when open. The view above also shows how I attached the dowels for the "critter catcher" at the bottom of each door.

Overall, I am pleased with the outcome. I only hope they don't sag too much over time.

The Open Door

"The Buddha can bring you to the door,
but you have to walk through it"

I started building two doors for the gate between the house and the garage. I spent most of the winter thinking about the design and how I would build it. I wanted to keep it within a reasonable budget, but more importantly, I wanted to keep it light. Too much weight could be a problem for the posts which are bolted down to cement footings rather than planted deep into the cement. So, I decided to use 1 x 4 cedar boards for the frame work and then 1 x 6 boards for the front face. 

I considered using the same sort of bamboo as the fence, but I wanted it to be solid so people passing by could not look in. 

 

They are looking pretty good so far - I measured and constructed them correctly (perhaps an inch too wide). They sit fine on the posts, but the post on the garage side is not aligned properly with the opposite post, so there is a bit of a disconnect between the doors.

I started staining them with the first coat today. I should be done with the second coat in a day or two. 

 

The non-green sections will go up later and then eventually the smaller details added.

Fifty Shades of Green

Over the weekend I added some new plants, moved others, and salvaged some remnants from last year. I've decided to stick to shade tolerant plants this year. I like that many of the perennials are coming along with little effort on my part. However, the result will be less color in the garden. Instead, I will seek out more variegated assortments of plants - Fifty Shades of Green. I did include some marigold plants that we started indoors from seed a couple of months back, but I am not confident that they will survive the eventual annual onslaught of slugs (although I have yet to see any so far this summer). 

New Plants

Hosta ('Orange Marmalade')

One can't go wrong with Hosta. This zone 3 plant will grow to about 18" and of course loves shade. I chose this plant because I loved the light orange-yellow color to it leaves. It will contrast with the existing green and white versions of Hosta that already populate the garden. 

I planted it along the back of the garage in an area that receives a lot of light, but once the bamboo recovers from its thinning it will be a more shady area.


Ostrich Fern (Matteuccias struthiopteris)

This zone 3-8 fern should grow between 3-5'. As a Rhizomatous spreader it will send off new  growth without being invasive (I should be able to move new growth). 

 

I liked the light green color compared to the more gray versions of Japanese Painted Fern (Athyrium nipponicum ‘Metallicum’) elsewhere in the garden. Two were planted along the southern, shady edge along the garden fence.

Brunnera (macrophylla 'Emerald Mist')

This zone 3 perennial will grow to about 12 - 15 " and spout small blue flowers in spring. It likes shade to partial shade. I  planted it along the northern edge of the garden where it will get a bit more morning sunlight.

 

Rock Cress ('Snowfix')

I have had some success and some failures with Rock Cress in the past. One last try this summer. I moved one existing plant and added three new ones.

  nb

It will be a question of how much sunlight they get.


Scotch Moss (Sagina subulata 'Aurea')

The moss I planted last year survived and is making a comeback along the granite steps. 

However, I added three new plants to the area to ensure it fills in completely.

White Nancy Lamium (Lamium maculatum)

I placed a small planting of this zone 3-9 plant near the two Hosta along the south side of the garden near Buddha. It should grow to about 6-8 inches and produce a white bloom (sorry, no picture).


Goldilocks Rocks (Biden ferulifolia)

This annual will grow to about 14" and produce yellow flowers. It will need full sun, so I planted near the garage door, a spot that get alot of sun in the garden.

Moved Plants

I moved a variety of plants in the garden that had been planted in the past. Some were moved to be in more shady area, and others moved to where they could get more light:

White-Variegrated Japanese Forest Grass 

'Lemon Lime' Hosta (small leaf)

Mophead Sedge Grass

Hosta

Irish Diamond Hosta Hosta x 'Allen P. McConnell'.

Ajuga 'Dixie Chip' (Ajuga hybrid)

Stepping Stones

Worked on the garden all day today - the first day without cold wind and rain in many days. I decided to  include new plantings and move some others. In the process, I found myself reworking some of the stones around the plantings, especially near the west end of the garden near Buddha and the circle of hostas. Going in and out between the rock pile next to the garage and the locations within the garden was difficult because there was no formal entry or steps to make it easy. The one set of steps in the center is not always convenient to enter and exit. I therefore decided to create a second set of entry steps near the west end. I had several large rocks I was saving for a different project in the garden, but decided to use them because they were large enough for steps and had nice flat surfaces on one side. 

It wasn't easy moving them into place, but with some effort and caution, I was able to do so without too much of a struggle. They are very stable and make entry and exit much easier than before, when I often slipped and stumbled into this area. They also look nice - more natural than the granite steps in the middle.

Spring - Better Late Than Never

"Its Sping: 
to my heart's content
I gaze at the treetops
shrouded in haze 
and budding."

Its been a long transition to Spring. April was cold and very unspring like. This weekend was the first chance I had to do any cleanup. My big problem this year is what appears to be the death of most of my clumping bamboo (Fargesia rufa). Lots of winter burn on the four plants that border the backyard entrance.

At first I thought it might have to do with the fact that I moved these plants last summer. However, three other plants elsewhere in the garden also suffered a similar fate. 

These three still have some green leaves and I might be able to save them still. Unfortunately, there has been no sign of new shoots - these should have appeared by now. This is not a good sign. Overall, this is a disaster. These plants were a major part of the garden's appearance and being bamboo provided some sense of authenticity. I'm not sure how I will handle the change - more bamboo or perhaps another alternative. Its too bad, these plants were supposed to be ideally suited for the winter environment and the shady nature of my garden.

On a happier note, I purchased a new plant to put where one of my False Cyprus Cumulus (Chamaecyparis pisifera 'Cumulus') once resided near the Yukimi lantern. It is a Gem Boxbood (Buxus hybrid 'Franklins Gem'). 

This plant can do well with only 3 to 6 hours of sunlight, so it might make it in the south side, shady portion of the garden. It is also a compact variety of evergreen that should only grow to about 18" x 18", easily manageable. Its also deer resistant. If it does well, I might consider at least one more for elsewhere in the garden.

In the mean time, I still have to plan for the area behind Buddha - not sure what I will do with that space this summer.