The garden has been open for viewing since late spring, but has hardly been in a condition I would condone! Between the near-total absence of spring, some surgery, some family illness and death, much in-the-garden work time has been lost. However, with help from some friends and a lot of grunting and sweat over the past couple of weeks, it has become presentable. This was fortunate because on June 26 we hosted well over a hundred members of the Garden Clubs of Ohio who were attending their state convention at Deer Creek State Park. It is a special joy to share the garden with these folks because they all UNDERSTAND what’s involved and how the stray (and sometimes multitudinous) weeds manage to show up regardless of the effort involved against them!
One of the frequent questions asked was “When can we see it again?” and the answer to that remains the same: ANY Sunday afternoon, from 12 – 5, the garden is open to the public. Other times simply require a phone call or email in advance; I am in the garden much more than in past years, so accommodating such requests will be easier than it used to be.The Bellbrook Garden Club came the next day and that was also a special treat as a couple of these folks had seen the garden years ago when it was just a few dozen trees and shrubs. Much has changed in the 16 years we have been planting here.
The two things that are obvious from the picture above, taken three years ago, is that nearly everything you see was simply not there sixteen years ago; it was all grass AND the row of 18 large ash trees on the left side of the photo, parallel to the roadway (which WERE here 16 years ago) are now gone. And the make-up of the plant citizenry changes yearly: many new conifers have been added in front of the house (it is the primary view from the window over the kitchen sink, therefore needs to look interesting the year around); the long border on the left side of the triangle in the bottom right corner of the picture has been deepened and all 140′ of it planted with summer blooming, hot color perennials – the first step of a three-sided collection of summer and fall bloomers of both hot and cool colors. Real gardens, like nature, are continually changing because real plants, like people, are not totally predictable. While this can cause sadness and disappointment on occasion, it also provides opportunity for learning and growth, and we feel fortunate to get to be an active part of that process.
Come give us a visit; we hope you will agree.