Autumn Leaves

"Along this road 
Going with no one 
Autumn evening"
Matsuo Basho

As Autumn gets into full swing, the leaves are starting to change color and drop. This year the dwarf Japanese Maple that is the centerpiece of the garden looks spectacular. Although I know that this too will pass, I can't help but look out upon the tree with a feeling of joy. 

I know that the scene will change, but in the meantime, I'm going to sit back and take in the view.

I also wanted to a show how the dwarf maple along the Dragon's Spine is doing. It turns a very bright red and is a nice contrast with the Maple in the Zen garden. 

This will be the last year to see this tree without a fence as a backdrop. Next spring I plan to extend the Japanese style fence the full length of the back yard. I may have to trim the back of the tree a bit so that it doesn't grow into the fence.

Heaven and Earth Meet at the Moongate Garden

Last weekend I had an opportunity to accompany my wife Catherine on a visit to Washington, DC. She was attending a conference and I wanted to use the opportunity to surprise her with a renewed marriage proposal and engagement ring in honor of our 25th wedding anniversary. 

Given that we had met and fell in love in China, I wanted to perform the surprise proposal in a place that appropriately reflected the start of our relationship. Initially I thought I would pop-the-question at the United States Botanic Garden. After all, we love visiting gardens. However, it had occurred to me that there was a small secluded garden adjacent to the Freer and Sackler Galleries, one of our favorite Asian art museums (part of the Smithsonian). 

It had been some time since I last visited the museum and had, in fact, forgotten the significance of the garden. As I investigated the location as the possible proposal site, I quickly realized how the garden was the perfect location for my plans.

The garden is known as the Moongate Garden and it was designed by architect Jean Paul Carlhian. The design was inspired by the Temple of Heaven in Beijing, China.  

Catherine and I at the Temple of Heaven in Beijing, 2011

The geometrical axial layout is centered around the cardinal points of a compass. There is granite and water throughout the garden, reflecting two of the of the Five Elements. 

Pink granite blocks are placed in the corners of the garden. Two as standing gates, and two that lay down and act as benches. 

It truly is a place of quiet contemplation, and for my purpose, seclusion. 

I also recognized the symbolic significance of this location for my plans - the circular spot at the center is similar to the Yuan Qiu (Circular Alter) located at the Temple of Heaven complex in Beijing. Yuan Qiu is essentially a square (representing Earth) with a three-tiered circular platform in which the Heaven's Heart Stone is located at the center. It literally marks the place where Heaven and Earth intersect. 

Catherine and I standing upon Heaven's Heart Stone in Beijing, 2011

The Moongate Garden reflects these same features in its design.

What better place, then, to express my continued devotion to our love than the place where Heaven and Earth meet? 

After much secretive planning, Catherine and I headed off to visit the Freer and Sackler Galleries, or so she thought. It was a beautiful day, the sky clearer and bluer than I can ever remember. It was, no doubt, a blessing from Heaven. We arrived early and no one was nearby, except a lone security guard. Although he initially rejected my request to take a photograph ("Its against policy..."), he very quickly changed his mind ("...but today I am going to ignore that policy"). Another blessing from Heaven. I handed him the phone/camera and joined Catherine who was standing upon the center stone.

Finding the words to convey the moment is beyond my abilities. I therefore offer the picture below as as a testament of my devotion to the women who has made me the happiest man in the world. 

Our love knows no bounds and transcends both Heaven and Earth, and I can think of no greater place in which to demonstrate that love than the Moongate Garden.

Comfort: Traditional Over Modern

I went to visit The Clark museum over the weekend to see an exhibit of Shang Dynasty bronzes from the Shanghai Museum. The exhibit was great, but while exploring the museum, I came across some modern style Adirondack chairs outside along the new Clark Center patio area (designed by Japanese architect Tadao Ando). 

I had considered these chairs a couple years back when planning for new furniture for my own garden. However, at that time, the $550-650 cost per chair seemed an extravagant expense. In addition, I would have had to purchase them online without any opportunity of trying them out. I'm glad I opted for the more traditional Adironack chairs I purchased this spring. These modern chairs look great, and definitely exhibit a Japanese esthetic that makes them fit in well at that Clark (and probably in my Zen garden), but they were absolutely uncomfortable. 

Too bad, I really liked them. On the other hand, I now have the most comfortable chairs I have ever owned in my garden. 

I'll take traditional any day over modern, especially when it comes to comfort.

Oriental Pompon

After considering a dwarf Japanese Maple and a dwarf Japanese Pine, I finally settled on a Boulevard Cypress Oriental Pompon (Chamaecyparis pisifera "Cyano-virdis' for the unplanted area near the end of the East Gate stroll area.

My decision was made as a result of not being able to acquire the dwarf pine I had my eye on for the last two weeks. I was being cheap and waiting for it to go on sale. Unfortunately, I was not the only person thinking about it, someone else beat me to it. While looking for an alternative, I came across the Oriental Pompon in the unwanted sale area of the nursery. It looked as if it had been left all summer without any care. The pompons had been allowed to grow into each other and the plant was almost back to a conical shape. As a result, it was 75% off from its normal price. It was too good a deal to pass on, so I bought it.

Although centered with the curved edging, I still have some space to add a low growing, flowering plant just to the left of the plant (or in front, if viewing the image directly above). 

Once planted, I decided to trim the plant back into shape.

before and after trimming

I didn't want to take off too much growth, but there was a lot of dead brown growth underneath the top pom. Unfortunately, I accidentally snipped a large branch from the top front. However, I'm confident it will eventually fill in. When viewed from the sides, the trimming looks pretty good.

side views

Overall, I am happy with the plant. It should grow to about 8 feet, but as a slow grower, it will take many years to get there. In effect it will be like having a large Bonsai, and to be honest, I really enjoy the time and effort it takes to trim and maintain.

Mums in the House

I picked up two large Mums as part of my fall planting season. I looked all over for just the right colors. These yellow-red variegated flowers caught my attention immediately. 

They look great in the red pots and will add a huge burst of clot to the garden as we enter fall.

Summer's End

I made some last minute changes today. Starting with the ornamental Switch Grass (Panicum Virgatum 'Ruby Ribbons') I planted last year near the side entrance to the garage. 

I had been optimistic that this grass would do well in in this spot. Unfortunately, it didn't grow back as expected, an what did re-emerge took a long time to grow.

As a result I decided to move it to make way for a Spirea. 

Its small now, but in time will grow to fill in the space. I am hoping to hide the electrical line. Additionally, the Spirea on the other side of the door will held to frame the door with similar plantings.

As for the switch grass, I moved it to the semi-circular area within the East gate area.

I had created this shape in the hoes of placing a grass plant in the peastone to differentiate the large open area outside the mulch bed. I will have to wait and see how it does next year, but given the amount of light this area receives during the summer, I am hopeful that the plant will do better in this location.

I also removed a Hosta from the mulched portion of the bed and replaced it with a Rheingold Arborvitea (Thuja occidentalis ‘Rheingold’) that had been planted in the font bed of the house. The plant had become crowded-out by other larger shrubs, so it was time for a move. I also planned on rearranging some of the Hosta in that front bed, so the switch worked well.

In time this shrub should grow to a good size to fill in this bulge I created in the mulch bed layout. Given the amount of sunlight this area gets, this shrub should do much better here and now has room to grow.

Overall, I am happy with these changes - they were always part of my plan, but I was going to do it next year. Given the last few days I had of summer, it seemed more reasonable to get them done now.

Dragon Spine - Snip

I worked on two unrelated projects that were the result of finishing up the East Gate area. Technically speaking, they are not part of the Zen garden. Nevertheless, they relate to to the overall yard plan.

The first was a small bed of Tiger-Lillies near the shrubs in front of the East Gate area. These lilies were planted around an electric pole for a couple of years, but were never mulched. I enlarged the edging around them and added some mulch, both of which were left over from the East Gate project.

The second was a new path way to the area behind the garden shed. In order to make this new pathway I would have to alter what I have referred to as the Dragon's Spine. 

Dragon's Spine, 2010

This area had first been landscaped back in 2010. I likened it to a dragon's spine - the tail end was connected to the patio area, which in turn was connected to the Zen garden. It has changed dramatically over the years as plants have grown. However, the end furthest from the Zen garden was always the place by which we entered the wood-lot behind our property. As a result, it was important to keep that space free of plants. This last December we cut the small pine tree seen in the image above (right) for use as an Xmass tree. 

Dragon's Spine, 2014

After finishing the East Gate area, I had an abundance of peastone that had been removed and needed a place to go. I also wanted to remove the grass which made up the walkway to the back of the shed. Doing so would allow me to curve the edge in a way that would be more lawn mower friendly.

So, the grass was removed, edging installed (leftover from the East Gate project), weed fabric laid, and peastone installed.

I also included an additional path out towards the wood-lot. Doing so meant that I had to snip the Dragon's Spine so that it was no longer a continuous set of curves. However, it was worth the change in order to make mowing easier and to make the entryway into the wood-lot look more like part of the overall plan, rather than a place with mulch but no plantings.

When seen from above, and within the context of the garden and rest of the yard, its an improvement.

There is also the possibility that I may finally fence off this part of the property next summer - I will think heavily about it during the winter. If I do so, this pathway into the wood-lot will be where I place a gate.

The East Gate Stroll

I completed the layout of the East Gate area today. The last of the mulch was placed along the area near the driveway as well as the Black Eyed Susan bed.

I still need to make some decisions about plants. First, the corner between the fence line and front shrubs will need to be planted.

This area gets lots of light, so I will look for something with colorful flowers.

I also have to make a decision about the large bed along the fence line.

I would like a large shrub or maybe a dwarf Japanese maple. However, I have to be careful about this spot because in the winter it is where all the snow that is moved from the driveway by the snow blower ends up. Shooting lots of snow in this direction could damage a small shrub or tree.

Overall, this area along the driveway came out nice. I will wait a year to see if I want to keep the Hosta here. I might also consider planting a tall grass plant in the center of the peastone circle at this far end (see picture below)

The East gate area, with the gate at the far end, looks really nice. In time, the Cyprus shrub and the Spirea will grow to frame it like an entrance way. The Mexican Black Stone, which almost looks blue, also adds a nice linear element.

The view from within the garden is also much nicer since I cleaned up the old "dumping ground/camper parking lot." I'm already thinking that I might add some irregular stepping stones along the pathway along the right (near the garage wall).

Interestingly, none of this was on my list of "things-to-do" for this summer. In the end, I've just about doubled the size of the garden. It looks like its been a summer well spent.

Screened In

I fixed the lantern (meter box) screen today by adding more horizontal and vertical pieces. Originally there were two of each, but I didn't think it  covered enough of the glass and the visible meter below. 

2013, simple screen

The new additions make it look more-screen-like. 

2014, complex screen

It was tough to put together. I'm hoping the glue holds.

Black Stones

I installed the Mexican Black Stone this morning. I was concerned about how much stone I would need to fill in the 20 ft. long section of edging timbers. The cost of these stones is expensive at $25/3 gal. bucket, so four buckets would cost $107 (after tax). That seemed like a lot for so few stones. So, I looked around for an alternative, but nothing seemed to fit my vision for what I was trying to achieve. I therefore decided to make the purchase. After seeing them installed, I'm glad I did. 

Although not as dramatic as the Ryōan-ji temple Zen garden temple in Japan, it does add another element to the East Gate area. 

Ryōan-ji

Now that the rest of the area is curved up, this linear element helps to make the garden more diverse while helping to accentuate the bed of Black Eyed Susans along the fence line.

I still have to add mulch, but once I do, I will definitely be finished with this portion of the East Gate area.