Glittering Trees and Other Joys

When I came outside the other day, long sun rays were slanting across the garden, and Japanese maples, dogwoods and other trees were glittering in the light. Burgundy, rose, orange, lime green and gold sparkles shot through the leaves and shone around their edges. My camera could not truly portray the beauty of the light coming through the trees.As I watched, nearly a dozen different types of birds were calling and playing about the trees, and a fresh breeze brought aromas of damp earth, fresh pine straw and some delicious flower. Was it jasmine or rose or dianthus?

I breathed in and absorbed the moment, and then I had a thought. I was the only person in the whole wide world who was experiencing this particular scene. From my perspective, at that time, looking across my front garden. Oh, there were many special events going on around the earth, and lots of them were far more spectacular and significant to those who were experiencing them. But this particular moment in time and place was mine alone, a gift just for me.

Once again I was reminded that to experience life at its fullest one must take it in little bits, savoring the small joys that each day offers, whether it be the beauty of a plant or the smile of a child, the satisfaction of a job well done or the lift of the heart that doing a kind deed brings. 

Here are more recent scenes around the garden that made me smile:In the top photo, day lily foliage grows in front of a birdhouse. The perspective is deceiving. Between the rose and the day lilies there is a stairway that goes down to the arbor garden. The rose is Coral Drift. The hanging basket on the lower right contains Calibrachoa 'Dreamsicle'.

Clockwise from above top: 'Whitewater' weeping redbud foliage is spectacular as it matures. The leaves start out golden green, then gradually acquire more variegation; Persian Shield; Rue; Variegated Solomon's Seal; Dusty Miller.

Clockwise from top left:Rosa rugosa 'Alba'; Unknown passalong iris; Another passalong iris - all of my irises came from friends; Spirea 'Anthony Waterer'; Flowers above potato foliage; Romantica rose 'Orchid Romance'.True rosarians often turn their noses up at Knock Outs. Not me! (But then, I don't claim to be a rosarian!) Knock Outs are fantastic, easy-care landscape roses, and who could not love the 'Pink' Knock Out roses below?

Last week I put together a small succulent garden in a hypertufa container:

Finally, here is a dramatic look into the woodland garden as late afternoon light comes pouring through:

May your week be filled with glittering trees and other joys!    Deb

Gardening with Texture and Color

I plant the plants; God gives the light.

Late afternoon, when sunbeams wash over the foliage, is the best time in my garden. Sometimes I can capture the ethereal atmosphere on camera. I took the following photos just as I stepped out of my kitchen door. Individual plants aren't recognized so much as the impressionistic colors.

Colorful foliage is an important part of my landscape, especially now as summer arrives and spring blooms recede. Yes, I know, according to the calendar it is still officially spring, but when the temps climb into the nineties as they have done this week, I call it summer! Here in Alabama, green predominates through the hot months. Even the interior of my house has a green tint, from the verdant hues reflected through the windows. But green doesn't have to be boring! I know we want to ignore the garden and hunker inside our air conditioned buildings, but with some planning the exterior can be refreshingly beautiful enough to tempt us outdoors.

A shady woodland garden is a pleasant retreat from the hot sun. There are multiple layers to this garden. I am blessed with mature oaks, hickory trees, and pines. Beneath these tall trees is an understory of dogwoods, redbuds, and Japanese maples. Closer to the ground are many shrubs with various textures and colors. Then there are ground covers, perennials, and lush moss paths to cover the forest floor. The entrance into the Woodland GardenA view of the main planting bed in the Woodland GardenA view through the upper Woodland Garden

I am a tactile person. I like to touch stuff. In my garden are many textures, from pitted stone, hard concrete, rough wood, to soft moss, slick leaves and fuzzy foliage. I have added a few accents, such as the snail pot, for additional interest. The pot is made from a heavy, frost proof clay. I love the heft and smooth feel of it.

1st row: The fern in front of the bench is Autumn fern. Afternoon light has turn the fronds gold; The snail pot contains juncus, a twisty rush. 2nd row: Ground cover indigofera; wild violet and pitted rock. 3rd row: Painted Japanese fern with fuchsia in background; a mossy rock with wild violet foliage.Foliage combinations create character and encourage curiosity in the garden. Leaves have various shapes and colors. Some evergreens are not really green but are yellow or blue.Top: Japanese maple, weeping deodar cedar 'FeelinBlue', and mondo grass. 2nd row: Juniper 'Saybrook Gold'; Weeping Deodar cedar 'Feelin Blue'. 3rd row: Japanese maple 'Waterfall'; Groundcover indigofera in front of iris foliage.Other plants are variegated. They may have spots or stripes. Leaves can be purple, red, white, silver, or a mixture of all the above. Green itself comes in a wide range of hues.

Gardening is three dimensional painting, and the canvas is the earth. Colors and textures can contrast or complement. They should repeat in different degrees throughout the garden to provide unity. Don't be afraid to try something different. The colorful pink, white, and blue-green plant in the second row below is in a pot buried in the ground. I sited it to amplify the rosy stems of the adjacent hydrangea 'Lady in Red' and also to repeat the silvery blue color of nearby artemesia. It is a tropical plant that won't survive the winter, so I will move it indoors when the weather turns cold. 
1st row: An unnamed hosta seedling, possibly a cross between 'Elegans' and 'Francis Williams'. It has huge leaves; Blue stems of hosta 'Elegans'. 2nd row: Deodar cedar 'Feelin Blue'; Stromanthe sanguine 'Tristar. 3rd row: Variegated Jacobs Ladder; Calla lily. 4th row: Heuchera; Epimedium and pulmonaria. 5th row: Heuchra and artemesia; View of woodland planting bed. 6th row: Heuchera blooms.All of this together creates visual appeal. Despite the summer heat and my emphasis on foliage, I do have flowers! I have many flowering shrubs and trees which bloom at different times of the year. This is definitely the easiest way to have flowers throughout the seasons. 

Top: A little critter appreciates the bloom of a Rosa palustris, which is located in a sunnier part of the woodland garden. 2nd row: Rosa palustris; Hydrangea 'Lady in Red'. 3rd row: Goldmound spirea; Hydrangea 'Snowflake'.Soon gardenias will fill the woodlands with their glorious fragrance. And when the deepest, darkest, greenest part of the summer arrives, I will sit pots of annuals here and there. I also am not above cheating. I confess, RARELY, I have stuck artificial flowers in pots and put them in the garden!

There is just no excuse for having a boring garden.

Follow-up: Thanks goes to Rosie of Leaves N Bloom, who identified my tropical plant as Stromanthe sanguinea 'Tristar'.