Our first visit of the year to the wondrous Laurie’s garden, a private paradise on the bay with a perennial border that verges on jungle in the summer. The usual cutting back of grasses and sedums and other perennials was done plus chasing down runners from Lysimachia purpurea and a white running aster that while I would not qualify it as “the bad-aster” (the running blue one that curses many gardens) still requires strict discipline in spring and fall.
Laurie’s two Peruvian Paso horses Pinta and Elly are elegant and somewhat aloof, as the breed is supposed to be; no rustling in my pockets for carrots like the horses we saw on Saturday. Wizard, an elegant greyhound, perhaps cousin to Annie’s Kira, speeds across the lawn to make sure no birds dare to fly over. His friend Eddie couldn’t look much more different and showed fierce chihuahua teeth till he remembered who we were.
The view is tremendous and as usual I was so absorbed in garden tasks that I forgot to look at it until I was at the bay end of the garden pruning a Buddliea ‘Black Knight’. Even from the horse manure pile where we collected wheelbarrows of mulch, the view is spectacular.
Onward then to the Wiegardt Gallery for more cutting back of grasses and perennials. This may sound tedious but the first visit to each garden is always a joy because we get to see the first growth of the season. I am not a big fan of rhododendrons but a pink one by the gallery’s street sign was breathtaking when the setting sun illuminated its pale blossoms.
(Here’s the link to the Wiegardt Gallery in pink.)
[…] to Laurie’s garden, we found definite progress in the garden, nothing yet approaches the Jurassic height of midsummer; […]
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[…] Laurie’s garden has reached the fullblown Jurassic Park stage of midsummer when perennials such as Joe Pye Weed which start from ground level are now taller than we are. The main feature in fragrance and beauty: lilies. All were purchased from B&D Lilies or Van Engelen. Another somewhat accidental feature are a few showy dahlias, originally given me by friend Sheila. Laurie had wanted some bright late summer colour, and the first year she thought she liked them. By the second year, she decided they did not fit in, and so I dug them all out except for a favoured deep red one at the end of the long curved border. They got new homes here and there, but I must have missed some tiny tubers because back they came. My favourite kind are the ones with tight whorls of little spoon petals, but Laurie thinks those look too prissy. Yet when I told her that I would try again to remove them, she said “Oh, but they are family now!” Adorable! And here, without further gabbery, are the luscious lilies. […]
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[…] Laurie’s garden remained one of our favourites. Her horse herd had grown and now included golden Moony, the Peruvian Pasos Pinta and Elé, grey Kachina (not pictured above) and the newest, the miniature Dewey, rescued from dire circumstances, nurtured back to health, and in possession of a dire temper. The presence of horses required a bag of carrot and apple pieces (offered to Dewey with a toss from a safe distance). […]
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[…] and Moony were the friendliest of the five horses at Laurie’s garden. (11/19/08) […]
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[…] time for a plant buying frenzy at Joy Creek Nursery. Only two and half weeks remained till both Laurie’s and my mother’s gardens would be on the Peninsula garden tour, and each still had spaces that […]
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[…] snake sunning itself on top of an azalea in Jo’s garden, and two of Laurie’s horses (Pinta, a Peruvian Paso, and Dewey, a miniature), and three dogs: Annie on left, Jasmine on right, […]
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[…] to Laurie’s garden, we found definite progress in the garden, nothing yet approaches the Jurassic height of midsummer; […]
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[…] the remainder of the day, we had the pleasure of weeding Laurie’s lovely garden on the bay, where I marveled again at the beauty of her Enkianthus tree. I have one, my purchase […]
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[…] Laurie’s garden has reached the fullblown Jurassic Park stage of midsummer when perennials such as Joe Pye Weed which start from ground level are now taller than we are. The main feature in fragrance and beauty: lilies. All were purchased from B&D Lilies or Van Engelen. Another somewhat accidental feature are a few showy dahlias, originally given me by friend Sheila. Laurie had wanted some bright late summer colour, and the first year she thought she liked them. By the second year, she decided they did not fit in, and so I dug them all out except for a favoured deep red one at the end of the long curved border. They got new homes here and there, but I must have missed some tiny tubers because back they came. My favourite kind are the ones with tight whorls of little spoon petals, but Laurie thinks those look too prissy. Yet when I told her that I would try again to remove them, she said “Oh, but they are family now!” Adorable! […]
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[…] and Moony were the friendliest of the five horses at Laurie’s garden. […]
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[…] have taken care of a certain garden on the bay for a long time. First it was Joanne’s garden, with 2 long curving lawn beds and an enviably large driveway […]
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