Carex oshimensis 'Everillo': A Golden Light in the Garden

This is my first year with Carex oshimensis 'Everillo', and I have only good things to say about it. It is in in a purple pot beside the stone steps leading down to my woodland garden, where it arches gracefully amidst other woodland plants. The foliage is striking, starting out chartreuse and then shading to golden yellow through the summer. This gorgeous ornamental grass does have flowers, but they are insignificant. It will grow in full sun to part shade. Morning sun will bring out the golden lights in the foliage, while the plant will maintain its chartreuse color in shadier spots.

Everillo looks great with other woodland plants such as ferns, hostas and heucheras. Its brilliant gold foliage also contrasts beautifully with many flowering plants. My own Everillo cascades over orange Impatiens. Next year I plan to add the dramatically colored Persian Shield to the summer color scheme. When the summer annuals are gone, evergreen Everillo continues to brighten the landscape and will provide a welcome warm glow in the depth of winter.

Everillo is a type of sedge. Pat Fitzgerald, of Fitzgerald Nurseries, Ltd. in Ireland, discovered this mutation of C. 'Evergold' in 2006. It is easy to grow and is low maintenance. It is not bothered by insects or disease and is deer proof. It will grow in U.S. hardiness zones 5-11. It grows well in containers, and it also may be used as a ground cover or an edging plant.

A well-behaved plant, Everillo has a slow to moderate growth rate, growing  in clumps up to about 2 feet wide. It will grow in clay, but it likes well-drained garden soil best. It has average water needs, though it can survive both wet and dry conditions. I water my potted specimen regularly. For those who live near the sea, Everillo is moderately salt tolerant. 

If necessary, cut back Everillo by up to half from April to July. Do not cut back in autumn or winter. The clumps can be divided in early spring. Also, neaten clumps in spring by raking or combing out any damaged or dead leaves. Fertilize in spring and mulch around the plant. 

Now that I have discovered Everillo, I am exploring other types of sedges and a whole new part of the gardening world... just when I thought my garden was almost complete. I should have known better!

Hills and Dales Estate

Hills and Dales Estate in LaGrange, Georgia is a unique property whose history goes all the way back to 1832, when Nancy Ferrell planted a small formal garden. Her daughter Sarah began her own garden in 1841. From then until her death in 1903, she developed "Ferrell Gardens." It became one of the most famous gardens in the nation. Her husband, Judge Blount Ferrell, died in 1908, and three years later Fuller Calloway Sr. and his wife Ida Cason bought the estate. They built a magnificent Italian style villa on the site of the old Fuller home in 1916; and as they worked to restore the gardens, they diligently preserved Sarah Fuller's original garden plans. The leaflet I received describes Hills and Dales Estate as a "Southern treasure with 35 acres of rolling hills and shady dales." It is a good description!Today the estate remains in the Calloway family, though no one has lived in the house since 1998. The estate is now a house and garden museum, open to the public.

I recently visited with other garden lovers from the Birmingham area. No photos are allowed inside the home, but I can say the home is a wonderful complement to the fabulous gardens. One thing that truly impressed me, in a house full of impressive features, was the airy servant's room on the third floor, beautifully decorated and complete with a bathroom with all the finest features of the other bathrooms in the home. The room also featured a round window with the most magnificent view in the home, looking out over the loveliest part of the gardens. Lucky servant!

I will begin a very abbreviated photo tour of the gardens with a look at the exterior of the original garage, where southern magnolias are espaliered. The beautiful tree trunk in the foreground belongs to a crepe myrtle.

Not far from the garage is where, in 1950, Alice Calloway converted part of a large vegetable garden into the Ray Garden:

Next are three scenes within the herb garden:

Next to the herb garden is the greenhouse, where orchids, begonias, blooming tropicals, ferns, and succulents grow.

The tour guide shooed us out of the greenhouse long before I was finished looking at all the features inside. There was too much to see! Scenes inside the greenhouse:

I like this wreath made with succulents.

Near the herb garden is this ancient China fir, part of the original planting by Sarah Ferrell:

Sarah Ferrell also planted this venerable Ginkgo:

Sarah Ferrell was a devout Christian. Inspired by the the Genesis verse, "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth," she planted the word GOD into boxwood at the original entrance to her garden. This may have saved the house during the Civil War when Sherman's troops came through the area, burning and pillaging. Legend reports that the officer in charge of the troops that approached Sarah's home was a religious man, and he spared the property when he saw GOD. My only criticism is that, while GOD remains, there is no elevated view from which visitors can take a photo!

Here are more views of the garden, including Sarah's famous boxwood parterres. You may identify GOD in the smaller shot on the upper left, taken from a side angle:

I have visited several great gardens this month, soaking up inspiration. Deep summer is here now, and with the sticky heat, there are few changes being made in my own garden; but I am just waiting for fall!