Revisiting a Special Garden

How lucky I am to call so many fantastic gardeners good friends. Although this is a busy time of the year, an invitation to spend time in my friends Maurice and George's garden will always be answered. With a couple of friends (Danger Garden and my new boss at Cistus Nursery Bridget), we met at my former boss' private 10-acre garden on a cold March morning. Although the weather has been unseasonably frigid and emerging perennials and deciduous woody plants are late in their emergence, this is a four-season garden, a treasure any time of the year. We were treated to many bones of the garden: the mature, gnarled trees, clipped hedges, mossy stones and evergreen ferns. This garden is especially blessed with borrowed views into the neighboring wild areas, extending the sensation of space. For me, it is a feeling of calm and joy. 

Let me take you on a visual postcard journey of this special garden that I have blogged about before, you can read more about it here. This post, with images in no particular order, is a pleasure post, a walk in nature. Light on text and heavy on green. 

The heart of the garden, a terraced area surrounded by rock walls, moss and shaded in summer by many mature trees, including a Quercus hypoleucoides, silver oak.

As seen from the other side.

Mature hedges just off the terraced area include a number of interesting plant choices such as Lonicera nitida as a clipped hedge and ilex pruned into spheres. The columnar shrubs are a variety of Ilex 'Sky Pencil', Cupressus sempervirens and Taxus baccata 'Fastigiata'.

The 60-some-year-old flowering cherry in full bloom; it usually blooms in January.

Edgeworthia chrysantha in bloom just off of the terrace.

Araucaria araucana, monkey puzzle tree foliage.

Saxifraga primuloides nestling into the cracks of a decomposing stump.

Cherry tree as seen from the driveway with many hellebores scattered beneath. The spireas are beginning to put forth new leaves adding to the spring scene.

Chamaecyparis lawsoniana 'Wissel's Saguaro' backed by pink blossoms.

These wonderful characters make me happy.

The larger sweeps of garden are visually connected with the outlying natural areas, drawing you to explore outward.

Very happy yucca.

Some of the wetlands beyond.

In Bridget's words, this combination is yummy. I couldn't agree more.

Some of the views beyond the garden.

Bistoria tenuicaulis (syn. Persicaria tenuicaulis)

Choysia is also used as a clipped hedge. They are experimenting with alternative plant material for such applications.

Agave parryi 

Arctostaphylos 'Howard McMinn'

Our native silk tassel bush, Garrya elliptica at its best.

The deer help with the pruning.

Broad sweeps with daffodils beginning to bloom.

A very special plant that Maurice pointed out to us, Anemonella thalictroides 'Shiozaki', a treasure from Edelweiss Perennials.

A true joy of visiting an established garden is the sense of time, that of a long life lived among mossy woods. Many plants have certainly come and gone, been moved and multiplied as is the way with gardens. On the other hand, mature trees and shrubs that have grown in place for decades envelop and protect the whole scene guiding the garden into what it wants to become. In a way, they define it. Then, if you're lucky enough to be in such a garden it tells you its stories and you are for a moment a part of that tale. It's magic. It's nature.

Thank you to our fabulous hosts for a joyful visit in a very special place. Thank you for the tea and treats, the whole experience with friends and the garden are as good as it gets for me. I feel very blessed.

That's a wrap for this week at Chickadee Gardens. Thank you so much for reading and commenting, we love hearing from you and what garden adventures you are experiencing. Happy gardening and hopefully happy spring.