Create a Garden With Patina

I have walked in a garden, pristine and pure, perfectly manicured and ordered, and though beautiful, it lacked soul. I could not feel the echos of nature or see the footprints of others before me. It had no history or wear or wrinkles. It was a garden for display, like clothes on a mannequin at a department store. 

A garden needs patina. Age or use will soften the edges, and surfaces will grow beautiful as colors and textures richen. I like a garden with spirit, that reaches and drapes and stretches and pushes boundaries. It's a living organism with multitudes of sounds and smells. Wildlife and insects are abundant. It may be a bit messy, but not necessarily so. I am not talking about neglect. I am talking about giving a garden a personality. A garden should say something, whether it is formal or romantic or playful or quite hedonistic in tone. When we see the garden, we see a reflection that tells us something about its creator.

Old gardens will naturally acquire patina, but new gardens can be personalized for similar effect. Swings, benches and arbors invite the visitor to stay a while. Garden art may be inspirational, playful, or elegant. Ornaments may give a touch of whimsy. Beautiful pots can add color, and wind-chimes can add music. Some of these things may be aged and imperfect or may have great sentimental value. All of these things infuse the garden with energy. They say, Someone has been here. Someone cares about this place. You are welcome, too. Come, enjoy what I have to offer.

As you wander through a garden, there should be a sense of mystery. There should be stories to tell. I have old things in my garden that belonged to my parents and my grandparents. I have things that remind me of my children. There are things that bind me to Lou, that represent our marriage. It is a garden for me, but I hope others will take pleasure in it, too. Here are a few of the things that make my garden special to me.

Mature shrubs, like this very old camellia, just now coming into bloom:

Moss and lichens:

Rusty ornaments:

Pots with great colors and shapes:

Old wood, made into birdhouses and a picket fence:

And someone who enjoys the garden, too. Our dog Lily, who is part collie and part woolly mammoth:

May all of you be blessed, who have taken time to walk a while in Deb's Garden. 

Rain!

For several hours last night we had what we call a "gully washer." Around eighty thousand gallons of rain has fallen on our property during the past twenty-four hours. That's about three inches over our three and a half acres. This afternoon I was able to get out in the mist to take a few photos. 

Here is an interesting sight in the Lady Garden: 

It is tree branches reflected in the bird bath!

Wet brown leaves still cling to some oak trees. Winter does not want to go peacefully. The air is very cold.
And the sky is dreariest gray, but if you look carefully fresh buds are swelling along the branches of these trees. The rain helps these little buds grow.

The earth is sodden and foliage dripping everywhere I look.top: foliage of climbing rose Zephirine Drouhin; clockwise from above: loropetalum; columbine; nandina 'firepower'; autumn fern

Some parts of our state to the north of us had snow today. I am glad ours was only rain. It's time to go back inside the house, where Lou has built a nice fire in the fireplace. 

Eighteen days till spring!