Bloggers Fling: Ku'ulei 'Aina and Bonnie Brae

BY SKEETER

Noontime on  Day 3 of the Garden Bloggers Spring Fling took us way, way, way up into the mountains.  Bloggers gathered at the home of our very own Fling Organizer, Christopher of "Outside Clyde". Here you see him surrounded by listeners as he told of how he and his father built his home together. I failed to snap pictures of his home but Click HERE and go to Christopher's Blog and see several postings of this charming home nestled on the mountain side.

 Christopher's house is new therefore, his gardens are pretty much a Clean Slate for a Garden Artist to paint with colors, textures, stone work, etc. The Artist is coming out in this small area where bottles form a small garden area. This Garden is Ku'ulei 'Aina, the Garden that will be, in the months and years to come. After strolling around and taking in the views a bit, we had an awesome buffet lunch.

Christopher sent us next door through this Wild Meadow. It looks a bit difficult to walk in this photo but I assure you it is not at all.

See, nice paths that his mother, better known as "Bulbarella" pretty much walks daily!

 This Meadow was alive with beauties even though we missed the Hundreds of Spring Bulbs planted by Bulbarella. I bet it is a sight to see during the Spring Showing!

 There was still plenty to see along this lovely walk.

 At the end of the Meadow, we arrived at Bonnie Brae, Home of Bulbarella.

 The view from her porch is just stunning!

 On an upper level, I could see St Francis calling me in for a look.

 We took the Garden Gate and headed into the woodland gardens.

What a treat to be able to stroll through this beautiful woodland haven.

Pathways led us past such beauties as this Iris.

 This white iris.

 And my favorite deep purple almost black Iris.

Pathways wound all around the woods that were filled with shade favorites such as hosta. Must not be any deer at Bonnie Brae...

One had no idea what would be around the next path, such as this neat work of art.

 Or this fallen log that has been turned into a natural looking planter. What a great idea! making note to self..

 A sun filled peony.

 A cute little birdhouse sitting upon a stump.

 The last of the azaleas.

 Christopher had planned the Fling for the Peak Season of the Azaleas but Mother Nature did not play nice for us as she came really early this year. We saw the remains of few Azaleas but still beauty all around us.

We could have spent hours upon hours wandering those beautiful woods but time was not on our side.

As we stroll back through the Wild Meadow, I spotted this old chimney. All that remains of a place once called home for someone. When I see such structures, I cannot help but wonder the story of such a place. A large tree now grows in what was once maybe the living room.

Back to Christopher's Driveway where Bloggers had gathered for a Plant Development Forum. This is where The Saint and I had to say goodbye. Sigh, but time for this dream to end and for us to get back to our real world.

I hope to make it back up that mountain some day to see the progress made at Ku'ulei 'Aina and to stroll about Bonnie Brae and maybe see those bulbs in bloom.

I tell ya, Asheville is full of beautiful gardens, art and people. Wonderful places to visit and such a charming downtown area filled with fun shops. Biltmore was on my Bucket List but I never thought of Asheville. If you ever get a chance to visit Biltmore, be sure to check out Asheville as well. You are in for a wonderful treat. Click HERE to find out more through Explore Asheville. And tell "Del" that Skeeter Sent ya!

The Shady Naturalistic Tennessee Garden

As my gardens here in Tennessee mature they gain more and more of the naturalistic type of look. You know that look, the one that reminds a person of a woodland where all plants are carefully planted and tended, weeded, and pruned, and tenderly loved. Perhaps it is a woodland garden where Snow White played with the birds, or perhaps it is a woodland garden where there are no people around but you nonetheless know a gardener tends the plants. That gardener is me of course and the gardens I talk about are mine. I recently returned from a trip and when I left the trees were not leafed out and the garden was still in the sun. Upon my return the garden is now in complete shade and there is that secretiveness that comes with wooded gardens that somehow seem enchanted. Walks in the shade in a garden are the best. Let's walk through my shaded gardens so you too can see and perhaps even feel natural forces at work that help to make the naturally shaded woodland garden a special place.


The above blossom is from one of two tree peonies. While you may not consider peonies to be shade plants they actually do quite well here in Tiger gardens with only about three to four hours of sun per day. Right behind the garden that holds the above peony we'll find azaleas beginning to bloom.

These pink azaleas are a real treat. They don't bloom well but when they do bloom they are splendid. Azaleas for sure fit into shady woodland gardens. Can't you just imagine a sprite jumping through the woods with an azalea bloom tucked behind her ear? The yellow tractor implement is actually in another border alongside the road. Gardens are arranged here so that when you look at them you can only see gardens and the plants in them and not the grass pathways.

Japanese roof irises (Iris tectorum) are a must for all shady gardens. These irises do fabulous in the shade and stay fairly evergreen all winter long. I have yet to find a weak spot in the Japanese roof irises.

Nearby coral bells cavort with aucubas (the spotted shrub behind and to the right of the coralbells). Aucubas are my go to evergreen shrub for dry shade. Oftentimes you'll find nothing but dry shade in woodlands and my gardens are no exception. Pieris grows to the left of the aucuba. The pieris is sometimes called the lily of the valley bush. It is an acid loving evergreen shrub that is a slow grower. Be sure to give it good drainage and a nice mulch. I killed another pieris most likely due to drainage so I like caution readers on that experience.

Hostas, Asiatic lilies, wood sorrel, and catmint spread their wings in the part shade conditions of this garden. Wood sorrel is a must in my garden. I believe it can get a bit weedy further south but here in northern Middle Tennessee my wood sorrel has not been a problem at all. I like that it is evergreen and never fails to bloom for me. Contrasting foliage is a big deal in a shady gardens and you'll see lots of types of foliage to use in this post.

Just to the left of the front garden candytuft, more catmint, spirea, 'Shamrock' hollies, and leftover daffodil foliage carry on the show. Candytuft blooms for more than two months here and is one of the best plants I have found for raised beds where it can get at least an hour of sun.

Moving to the backyard we find a bed surrounding a large oak tree that is edged with 'Caramel' heucheras and tall bearded irises. Irises, surprisingly, can do quite well in only a few hours of sun. I bet these irises don't get two hours of sun per day. Not all bearded irises will do well in shade though. I have found the older more common varieties tend to do the best in my woodland conditions. Be sure not to mulch the rhizomes or you will have problems with rot and borers when growing irises in the shade no matter what type they are.

Looking up toward the house on the south side of the Rear Center bed we find a stunning contrast of a gold smoketree (Golden Spirit) and a red smoketree (Royal Purple). I theorized that if one smoketree did well in this area then two would do as well. Smoketrees are very drought tolerant and have an extensive root system that not only maintains them in the dry shaded garden, but actually inspires them to grow more and to reach for the sun. I keep mine pruned in this bed because the smoketrees are actually a divider between the sunny side and the shady side of this large center bed. At the feet of the smoketrees many plants grow with the few hours of sun they get here. Sedums, irises, asters, peonies, irises, alliums, daylilies, and many more perennials grow in this area. As the smoketrees fade away the other plants quickly grab your attention.

Plants like Tartarian asters and chrysanthemums quickly fill up every available bit of soil in the shady garden. It is actually a job to keep these thugs bullies down a bit. The good thing is that they bloom and they bloom well and they keep the weeds at bay. Mums are a great filler in my shady garden and even when they are not blooming I always take the time to note their promise of future joy. As a bonus mums usually have fragrant foliage and deer don't seem to prefer them as much as other shade plants.

Japanese roof irises, ferns, Solomon's seal, bleeding hearts, hostas and bearded irises continue the floor tapestry in the shaded garden.

Sweetshrubs are a mainstay here. Mine would prefer more sun (they get none at the present time) but still, they manage to bloom a bit. The above 'Athens' is looking good for a bloom or two this year. The other, 'Raulstonii', has yet to bloom even though it is planted near 'Athens'.

I have been nursing this small area of Iris cristata for a few years now. Imagine my surprise when it bloomed in white-as in 'Tennessee White'! I knew I had the 'Tennessee white' native iris but for some reason thought this bed was blue. These little irises grow wild in the woods around here and are a native plant. The flowers are a mere 4-6" above the ground. Plant these beauties where you can enjoy them up close.The brown stringy flower thing on the irises is of course the flower of the many oak trees growing here in Tiger Gardens. I hate oak flower season here but it is a necessary evil if I wish for acorns to fall; which, just between you and I, I could do without acorns as they tend to sprout like crazy and I wind up pulling baby oak trees. Sigh. You can't have a shady natural garden without the trees so I think I'll keep the oaks.

Looking to the front yard again on the north side of Tiger Gardens we can see meandering lines of the beds, dogwoods, azaleas and tons of perennials. It is my goal to make my walk as enjoyable as I possibly can so we again see lots of shade trees. Some of the trees were in place when we purchased our home more than ten years ago, but many small trees, the understory trees, were added by me over the years. The crabapple above the azaleas and a few new dogwoods were added by me.I have made the bed lines in natural curving lines so as to make it easy for me to mow the grass paths. The effect did not happen all at once as like all gardens, my gardens are a work in progress but the natural lines of the beds help us to feel like we are in the wild yet in a cultivated area not too far from civilization. I call this type of garden and also my home a 'not quite in a subdivision and not quite in the country' type of garden and home.

'Admiral Semmes' has been growing in Tiger Gardens for several years. It has withstood serious droughts with no help from me. This year sees it starting to put on some real growth. It is a fragrant azalea and sure draws the eye in the woodland.

Spanish hyacinths miraculously began blooming all at once. These are a true woodland plant and are beginning to spread themselves all around the woodland.

Ginger and Solomon's Seal love the shade. Note you need no blooms for these sweet spreaders.

More of the Woodland gardens shows us some white azaleas blooming near the 'Florida Flame' azaleas. I am partial to the bright hot colors in my garden but when it comes to azaleas I'll be happy to have all different types of colors blooming here. Azaleas have been a difficult plant for me to grow in Tiger Gardens. I think azaleas would prefer a sandier soil with more moisture than what is generally found in Middle Tennessee.

Deutzia 'Chardonnay Pearls' is a brilliant chartreuse. It is worth growing this lovely little shrub even without the blooms that look pearls. This fine foliaged plant is simple to grow and asks only for a few hours of sun. It will stay short (around about two feet) but will spread to 3-4' feet or more.

Bearded irises are just beginning to bloom in a big way. It won't be long now and Tennessee gardens will be ablaze in color from our state's flower.

Japanese maples, 'Vanhoutte' spirea and coralbells are looking very happy in the woodland under our numerous oaks. As much as I love my oaks they are growing phenomenally and I see the day fast approaching when I will not be able to grow any vegetables or any plants that need at least a few hours of sunlight. While that will be a sad day for me I simply could not imagine living in a place with no trees to shade my daily walk through the gardens....


in the garden....

Be sure to come back Monday as there'll be more pictures of Tiger Gardens. Also, Garden Tour season has started so I'll start posting some photos from other gardens as well.


Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden

Woodland Gardens

Pictures just don't do woodland gardens justice. At least not pictures of the whole garden. What is a woodland garden? Woodland gardens are generally designed with plants that grow in a woodland setting. Normally these plants need to be up and growing and blooming prior to the trees completely leafing out. Once the flowers have bloomed they begin a slow down in growth or even quickly decline into dormancy; which is good because the trees are usually leafed out by the time the woodland plants are finished blooming and the woodland plants then become light starved. The types of plants that grow quickly like this in a woodland setting are called ephemerals.

Let me kind of describe my woodland garden for you. I took most all of these pictures recently so they are primarily devoid of green. Where you do see green, it is most likely the camelias, cast iron plant, liriope, ferns, or perhaps evergreen azaleas.
The picture above shows a long view into the Woodland Garden in my yard. This area is located in the northeast corner of my fenced backyard. The Woodland Garden starts on the other side of the Heuchera Garden (this side of the round concrete stones) and extends to the privacy fence. Here reside four trees (three are pictured) which are: one silver maple (on the far left next to the privacy fence), one Eastern Red Cedar (directly in front of you), a willow oak (to the right of the arbor which is in the next picture), and possibly (I really must identify that tree soon!) a white oak (behind the red cedar). Needless to say, grass will not grow in this shady and secluded corner.
The very first thing I did (in 2003) was plant Liriope spicata, aka Creeping Lilyturf or Monkey Grass (NOT to be confused with Liriope muscari, aka Lilyturf or Monkey Grass) around the silver maple. The spicata quickly filled in the area. That ended all grass mowing in that area of the garden. Mowing under most maples is nigh on impossible due to the very large and invasive roots which tend to grow on top of the ground. Liriope is a great alternative and competes well with the roots. You might be able to see it on the left side of the picture under the maple (which is behind a limb of the cedar). I believe this is the same kind of monkey grass Skeeter grows as well.
In order to add a bit of privacy from the neighboring property (a very high concern of mine), I built an arbor in February 2004. I'll be the first to admit the arbor did not provide much privacy at all. Duh me, but you gotta admit it looks pretty good. There is a 'Limelight' hydrangea on the left side of the arbor, and a 'Pink Diamond' hydrangea on the right side. Both hydrangeas flank a paver path into the garden. The marker stone all the way at the top of this post is embedded into this path to remind me it is the Woodland Garden (no, I really don't need reminding but it is a personal touch that makes me happy:) I will always remember building this arbor because I broke no less than two jigsaws cutting out the arch. (Gee, I guess 2" max cutting depth MEANT 2"!) Additionally, the temperature was like 30 degrees during the build in February of 2004! But it was completed just in time for my husband to return from Iraq and I have been happy with it since so it was all worth it. This arbor is the entrance to the Woodland garden proper. Let's walk through it shall we?
If you look to the left once you walk through the arbor you can see the silver maple with its liriope skirt next to the fence. There is an informal flagstone path that takes you down to the back entrance and to the Greenhouse Garden. Everything is swamped with fallen leaves right now so details are kind of hard to see. This is a good thing for woodland gardens. Woodland plants by their very nature are adapted to push through all the leaves; which add great humus to the soil. Don't worry that the plants will smother, they'll be fine and will finally break through and find the sun-prior to new tree leaves bursting on to the scene.
Looking to the right of the arbor you will see the telephone pole and willow oak. I really love this willow oak tree (the trunk is to the right and behind the telephone pole). It keeps its leaves most of the winter and does well in this area. Unfortunately, Oak galls also like it and I have had to take action to try to counteract the infestation from the galls by adding a systemic pesticide. I hope the tree shows results in a year or two in the form of the oak galls disappearing or at least no more forming. You can also see the chain link fence defining the eastern border of the Woodland Garden. The other side of this fence is the Northside Shrub Border, a large mixed shrub/perennial garden. One of my good friends and frequent visitor, Vonna, says, "You REALLY don't like grass do you??" Nope, sure don't, so I have tons of garden space, maybe a bit much for me but I manage one day at a time. Plus grass doesn't grow well in the shade-and give me shade over sun and grass any day!
Here is a shot looking east from the back entrance to the Greenhouse Garden. I believe this will be the best vantage point to take photographs for my Year Series on the gardens. Most of you asked for the Woodland Garden to be posted about this December. If you look closely at the right side of the picture you will see round concrete stepping stones, these denote the end of the Woodland Garden and the start of the Heuchera Garden. The location I am standing in is directly behind the small greenhouse; which is the start of the Greenhouse Garden. All gardens have their own distinct area, light conditions, soil types, drainage rates, and microclimates. I have tried to work within the constraints of all of these conditions while making large gardens. Thus reducing lawn maintenance and increasing the aesthetic appeal of the entire property.
Now that you have the layout of the Woodland Garden, we'll talk plants for woodland gardens in a later post. The above picture is just a teaser and was taken last spring in my fairly new woodland garden. I started collecting woodland plants two years ago and am hoping for a bumper year from them all this year or next. Though it may take another year or two we'll give it a try. This post and the woodland plant post (to come later) are lead ins for the Yearly Series; which of course will not be posted until mid December once all months in the Woodland Garden have been recorded. But these posts are also just because Woodland Gardens are fun, and I want to show you that anyone can have a woodland garden. All you need is a shady area with some trees, preferably deciduous trees, and some good soil. And right now is the BEST time to be thinking woodland gardens! I have noticed many plants are waking up, specifically the foxgloves and cyclamen, but more will follow. Additionally, there are many home and garden shows going on right now. Most home and garden shows will feature woodland plants this time of year. So if you don't have a woodland garden and would like to get started on one, look around for some nice native ephemerals for your garden.
Do you have a woodland garden? And if so, what is your favorite woodland plant?? I'd love to hear. Nashville's Lawn and Garden show is this week, so I will be looking for some good plants. I am a novice at woodland gardens and really need some help!
in the garden....
Tonight is the first class of the Master Gardener mini class. This fun and exciting mini course is overfilled! But! There is another course-the full blown master gardener course-which will be starting this fall. So if you are unable to get into this course-sign up with Karla at 648-5725 for the full master gardener course.