Movement

All gardens benefit from movement. The pond offers the movement of water as it spurts from the frog’s mouth into the rock lined vessel. The water ripples amid the oxygen supplying bubbles. There are two very shy fish, Fido and Casey, thanks Gardoctor for the gift of Casey, orange goldfish and white koi, who are residents of this small body of water. They are not to be seen in this photo, for they like to hide deep down in crevices between the large stones at the bottom. Especially when they see a camera.

Can you tell that the wind is blowing these maidenhair ferns in the trough planter? The blurry image is the result of breezes moving the thin, black wiry stems of this delicate looking but tough perennial fern. They are like miniature trees in a primeval forest.

At the corner of the deck is a planting of stipa tenuissima, Mexican feather grass. Underplanting the grass is sedum acre and houttunyia, both aggressive ground covers. The poor little heucheras also living here are being swallowed alive by the sedum. Japanese maple ‘Crimson Queen’ holds the slope in place and gives a good color contrast. Behind the tree are the daylilies, lilies and various other plants that will give color to this mid summer garden. All of the plants sway in the wind, but the stipa is the true weather man here, billowing with its frothy seed heads just now, as the wind picks up.

A Mother’s Day present from the Financier, this is a large specimen of false red yucca, hesperaloe parviflora. Thanks, hon. It’s tall stalks move slightly in the breezes. The boxwood hedge of the knot garden and the ever present penstemon ‘Husker Red’ are in the background.

The wind has picked up even more and the sky is darkening. The view from the knot garden at the top of the hill shows us that a storm is likely. Better get inside, pdq!

Earlier in the day, as the sun was just peeking over the horizon, a gardener with a camera is drawn to the sweetest scent imaginable that is wafting through the atmosphere. Her shadowy figure is apparent as a shot of the white tree peony in front of the split rail fence is snapped. A row of osmanthus fragrans hides the chain link fence and behind that fence is the source of the perfumed air.

Japanese privet, the bane of the garden and Japanese honeysuckle, bane in waiting are in full bloom. These flowers fill the air in the entire neighborhood, as these two exotic invasives have taken over any unused piece of earth here. It is a constant struggle to keep them both out of this garden. Other homeowners don’t even bother, and the empty lots that dot this area are overrun with them. But the smell is heavenly. We will admire that aspect as we continue to do battle.

In the vegetable garden, the sugar snap peas have grown way higher than the fence and are being photographed while I stand under their towering presence. I have given up trying to pick the pea pods before they reach three inches, as recommended by Chuck B. of
My Back 40(feet). We will harvest the peas for shelling when the plants are pulled later in the season. There is movement here too, as the wind blows the pea plants over on top of the tomato cages and bean teepees. The reaching tendrils of the peas are now climbing the arborvitae hedge.

More swaying plants, this time penstemon ‘Rondo’, with the blue and white flowers, blue fescue in flower, some sweet williams scattered about, nepeta mussinii, daylily foliage, and the whole scene backed by a wall of feather reed grass, calamagrostis ‘Karl Foerster’. Every one of these plants offers wonderful action when the breezes blow, in addition to the structure they add to the landscape.

When we did the post on the front garden, there were so many plantings surrounding this weeping Blue Atlas Cedar, that it was forgotten, it was not even mentioned. Since then, the front garden has been ruthlessly edited, weeded and mulched. We are feeling much better now about how it looks, and thank all of you readers who left nice comments about the front, the inspiration to get to work. It just needed some tender, loving care, and some mulch. When the winds are strong this rebar staked tree lets its hanging limbs ride the air currents.

We will end as we began, with water in the garden. This copper bowl with a nice rock for bird perching shows a clear reflection of the unknown wildflower behind it. No wind, morning light, blue fescue and gaillardia ‘Goblin’ complete the scene. The garden is alive in more ways than just the growing plants. The movement of the grasses, taller flower stalks and sweet dreamy scent add other dimensions to the pleasure our little piece of earth offers to us everyday.

~~~

“You don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows”

Bob Dylan, Subterranean Homesick Blues
~~~
Frances

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