A New Woodland Path

This past spring I noticed some trilliums growing in an area of the woodland garden that was undeveloped:Trillium cuneatum, photo taken March, 2010There was a bit of a trail there, created by dogs and kids who sometimes cut through the woods. I cleared a few vines from the area but didn't do much else until last week. A cool breeze hit me as I stood in the forest, and in the hot, sticky air of August the momentary refreshment brought inspiration.

I would make a new woodland path!

I went to work pulling weeds and more vines till the foot trail was wider and better defined. The new path comes off the moss path in the woodland garden and makes a wide loop before it rejoins the main path in the upper woodlands. Straw falls from pine trees beside the new path and provides a nice carpet underfoot. I planted a few hostas, heuchera, ferns and a climbing hydrangea, but I think I will leave the area essentially wild. As in most of my garden, low maintenance will be important. Nandina and mahonia already grow here, and there is vinca, liriope, and the trilliums, which are dormant this time of year. I must plant some daffodils, of course, and this will be a great place for some Snowflake hydrangeas and some native azaleas and...we will see! 

I was dripping sweat and dirty as an oil rig worker when I finished, but I was pleased with the results. I still need to cut some brush and wild hedges, but further work will wait till cooler weather! Meanwhile, here is what I have so far:
View of wild muscadine vines, to the left of the new path as it comes off the main woodland trailNandina on the left and mahonia on the right at the head of the new woodland path

View of nandina near the beginning of the new path

An enormous poison ivy vine grows on this pine tree. I decided not to touch it.I planted a few hosta and heuchera along this part of the path.1st row: hosta 'Groundmaster', foliage and flower. 2nd row Mahonia; Native climbing hydrangea, Decumaria barbara. 3rd row:Liriope; Nandina domestica. 4th row: Heuchera 'Autumn Bride"; Hosta 'June'.The woodland floor is covered with vica major here beside the new path. I plan to plant daffodils in this area.Here the new trail starts to turn back toward the main woodland path.This is the view to the left, near the end of the new woodland path.The new path rejoins the main trail at the blue bridge.View from blue bridge, back toward new path

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Sounds I Hear in the Lady Garden

Have you ever concentrated on the sounds you can hear in your garden? Sometimes I sit in the swing in the lady garden, close my eyes, then identify all the sounds I hear. Without visual cues, sounds become more prominent and interesting. 

So here I am, in the lady garden, eyes shut. It is late afternoon, not quite sunset. Earlier there was some rain, and the temperature is refreshing. The damp air brushes against my face. The rushing sound it makes sounds like a far away waterfall.

I hear the  music of wind chimes. I have four different wind chimes in this one area, and they all make different melodies, from the perfectly tuned chimes of the blue Corinthian bells to the loud clang of a heavy copper and brass bell behind me. I have been enchanted with wind chimes since childhood, and four is not enough.Overlooking the arbor and lady garden: All the plants in this new garden are still small. On one side there is a row of tea olives, and on another there are boxwoods. Someday this will be an enclosed garden room.wind chimes in the lady garden

Cars. A reminder the highway is just over yonder.

A branch snapping in a tree. A clatter along a limb. I take a peek. It is a couple of squirrels, chasing each other.

Children playing. I think there are two of them. They are hollering at each other, but not in a bad way. They are playing a game of some sort. Tag?

Music from a radio. Down the road a neighbor is playing country music in his workshop.

The prolonged whistle of a train, sounding like horns harmonizing in a symphony, the beat of wheels on the tracks like drums. You can't get in or out of Helena without crossing railroad tracks. The community that became Helena was first established by the L&N railroad. Before we moved here I wondered if I would dislike the trains. Not at all, except for the rare occasion I get stopped by a slow moving train when I'm already running late for work! But I like the sounds of the trains; and I like to watch them go by, when I'm not in a hurry.Set of train tracks near Buck Creek in Old Town, Helena. This photo was taken last fall.

Birds. Lots and lots of birds. Chickadees. Cardinals. Bluebirds. I am sitting close to the bluebird house. That must be daddy bird, warning me to keep away.  

There were eight baby bluebirds in this house!

The piercing cry of a hawk. We have had a nesting hawk family for several years now. Recently I was startled by a hawk who swooped to the ground not far from me and grabbed an unfortunate chipmunk. The little ground squirrel made one cheep and that was it. The hawk carried his meal to a tree above me, and I was slightly horrified to see him pulling intestines out with his beak. I remembered my oldest son saying, long ago as he fed a grasshopper to a lizard, "It's the food chain, Mom." Our particular hawk is a Red-shouldered hawk.

Crows. The harsh call of a crow is answered by another. Now more crows join in. They are making a racket. Hawks and crows are natural enemies.

Whoo-whoo! Who-hoo-hoo-whoo! The deep, otherworldly call of a barred owl. The owls live in the woods near our vegetable garden. We have a lot of predatory birds. We once were overrun by chipmunks, but not any more.

whoo-whoo! who-hoo-hoo-whoo! My eyes pop open and search the woods. This was a high pitched, juvenile version of the other one. A baby owl! But I can't find him in the trees. I think it is the strangest, cutest sound I have ever heard. I make myself close my eyes again.

Somewhere, a siren. An ambulance or a police car. Someone is having a bad day.

A door slams. Kids going inside for supper?

Bugs in the trees. The sound rises and falls with a regular rhythm. Soon summer will be here, and the sound will be deafening, if one stops to pay attention to it.

Ouch! That was a mosquito bite.  I hop out of the swing and take a quick tour of  the lady garden. I need to sweep the stone path and pull weeds!  I yank a handful of weeds, but I will save the rest of the work for another day. The hostas and ground covers are growing nicely, and although the lady garden is in its infancy, the lushness of the surrounding woods gives it a tranquil feeling.Hostas in lady garden clockwise from top left: Sum and Substance; Blue Angel; Francis Williams; Royal StandardRecent images from the lady garden

I inhale the cool air and head for the house.This is the hillside beside the steps leading from the lady garden to the patio.

Happy gardening, and I hope your garden is filled with sounds that please you.