Thankful for the Garden

I am thankful for this garden. I am thankful for the gardening community, for the camaraderie we share, and I am thankful for friends and family, for my wonderful husband Facilities Manager and for our piece of paradise. Today, I wish to share images of a sunny day in the garden now in its third year. It brings me such peace, I hope a little of that comes through on this day of thanks. Sit back and enjoy a tour of the garden on Thanksgiving week.

View of the house from the edge of the labyrinth garden.

 Carex comans in the foreground, Miscanthus 'Cabaret' on the right, Muhlenbergia rigens in the middle footed by Festuca rubra 'Patrick's Point'. These grasses are massed in an area close to the house to give visual relief from the business of the rest of the labyrinth and gravel gardens, just on the other side of the small Japanese maple.

 In the shade garden, Rhododendron pachysanthum glows with Oxalis oregana at its feet.

 Zigzag texture of the leaf margins on Melianthus major, honey bush.

 I am especially thankful for the veggie garden this year; it provided and continues to provide so much. I am thrilled that this year's Thanksgiving feast will include Winter Luxury pie pumpkins, Brussels sprouts, green beans and onions . . . all from our garden. 

 Unexpected beauty in asparagus fronds and seeds. I think I'll use these in the Thanksgiving table bouquet.

 I am thankful for the abundant crop of beans. These seeds, harvested this week, will become next year's crop.

I am thankful this part of the garden, the Himalayas, is filling in and looking just as I imagined. Filled with Festuca 'Beyond Blue', Ceanothus gloriosus (foreground left), a few different Arctostaphylos, salvias, cistus, lavenders and other super-tough, sun-loving plants.

FM notes he returned four years ago this week from the actual Himalayas. Read about his adventure here.

 A path through the labyrinth with a variety of textures and colors from primarily foliage and seed heads.

 Another path through the labyrinth garden. This whole part of the garden was very low-maintenance this year, I am pleased to report. Shrubs are filling in, the gravel is deep enough to impede weeds and there is not much leaf litter from surrounding trees in this part of the garden. None of these plants receive fertilizer nor need extra compost. They are all drought tolerant, sun-loving plants in what is the sunniest, driest part of our property.

Bouteloua gracilis 'Blonde Ambition', blue grama grass (the eyebrow grass), and Phlomis russeliana.

 Bouteloua gracilis 'Blonde Ambition' - I love this photo because the grass feels alive.

 The whole scene again from a few feet away. Textures. I am thankful for textures and back-lighting.

 On the right is Salix elaeagnos var. angustifolia or rosemary salix turning fall colors. Yes, this is in the dry part of the garden, which seems counter-intuitive for a willow, but this one insists on growing here (it told me so). In fact, it is the very centerpiece of the labyrinth, planted exactly where the center stone of the labyrinth was found when we bought the property. I sometimes give it an extra bit of water, but for the most part, it gets very little.

 Salix elaeagnos var. angustifolia foliage.

 Sedum matrona seed heads, a few hebes, few salvias, and Echinacea purpurea seed heads.

Moving around to the other edge of the labyrinth and gravel gardens, this is where the new path connects. I decided to make this the "entrance" to the garden because there really wasn't one. Our property and home are oddly placed and there is no obvious garden entrance. The connection to the driveway is effective, as you see this as you drive up to our house and see a way in. Although dormant now, I have two Amsonia hubrichtii flanking either side and the small Japanese maple and large rocks on either side complete the very informal entrance. I thought about adding an arbor or arch of some kind, but it would feel out of place with the spirit of this part of the garden.

Just through the entrance, low-growing thyme, heathers, Armeria maritima 'Victor Reiter' and Erigeron karvinskianus 'Profusion' tumble down the hill towards the wilder part of the garden.

 The dwarf pomegranate, left, has been so abused. I purchased it half price years ago and it didn't like the old garden, but hung on. After moving it several times, it was literally a stick with a sort of root attached, but it looked dead. I almost composted it but just stuck it in the soil instead out of laziness. It leafed out the next spring and now, in its final spot, it is in full sun and good drainage and is finally happy. I'm thankful it's put up with so many imperfect locations before this one. The geranium on the right is G. harveyi.

 I am thankful that Facilities Manager continues to bring me rocks from near his brother's home in eastern Oregon. Anybody heard of Wallula Gap? Aren't these handsome additions?

 The "entrance" from the other direction. 

 I am thankful I have a shade garden.

 I am thankful for the paths that will soon (hopefully) be covered in moss. I am thankful Facilities Manager helped me with them.

 This one has some moss already, we'll encourage it and spread starts to other areas.

  I am thankful that this long, difficult task is done. I edged the berm garden completely last weekend. It took three days; its about 200' long and looks so much better.

While I can't afford edging for 200', I can dig a small trench and add gravel to the berm garden side of things. It's a Tamara solution, i.e. free (except for the gravel).

 As it comes around to the east end, it's open so the sedums can tumble down and look like they are spilling out.

 I am thankful for the crunch of gravel paths. The large open areas are a foil, a pause for busy areas crammed with plants.

The large grasses are nearly sculptural elements.

 More gravel and grasses, two themes that unite my garden.

More gravel paths.

 I am thankful for Fuchsia speciosa and its orange, tube-shaped flowers. I am thankful for the many trees on our property and for Facilities Manager's ability to keep them trimmed.

 One of my favorite grasses, Muhlenbergia rigens, deer grass, a West Coast native. I adore it because it does this and it's evergreen.

Salvia o. 'Berggarten' and Nassella tenuissima or Mexican feather grass.

 Calluna v. 'Velvet Fascination' foreground left, grasses, penstemons, hebes and others beyond.

The edge of the labyrinth, Santolina virens and S. 'Lemon Queen' with Ozothamnus 'Sussex Silver', the large silver shrub behind. 

 The new path viewed from the north.

Finally, I am thankful for nearly 13 years with my Lucy. It's still very raw, but she's in the garden with me every day. This is her grave. The hardest thing I've done in recent memory is to say goodbye to her. I am very much trying to just be thankful for the time we had together on this planet. She enriched my world in so many ways, as pets have the ability to do. I am thankful her brother, Hobbes, is still with us and we are one tight family, the three of us. I should also say I am grateful for the hens and for Sweet Pea the turkey for they fill our lives with humor and eggs, two very useful things to have on a farm. Mostly I am thankful for Facilities Manager. He is my perfect partner in life, on the farm, in the garden, and in my heart. Together, we do this thing called Chickadee Gardens.

Thank you, dear readers, for being a part of this gardening world. We need to stick together and continue our good works. Every little bit helps.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone, and happy gardening, mostly.