LACASA is a local women's shelter. They have several fund raisers a year, but the one I go to year after year is the garden tour. Each year they feature ten gardens from all around the county. What gardener isn't eager to see what their neighbors are growing?
There were three stunners on this tour, a lot of borders, and one disappointment.
Borders. I shouldn't be so dismissive of this term, as this is how I would describe my own garden. Borders are lovely. Backed by a fence or a hedgerow they can be quite dramatic. They are the form that the gardener cuts his teeth on, and most of us are happy to master the fine art of borders without going on to tackle more substantial fare.
My beef with borders? I'm ready for the next course.
My only disappointment of the tour stemmed from that fact: I'm ready to view more structured gardens, carving creative solutions out of the restrictions of plot and location.
So when I read this blurb for one of the gardens, I was eager to see it:
Norma Haydu's garden is the epitome of a small but mighty landscape. A gorgeous wall of impatiens, geraniums, daisies and dahlias provides a cushion of quietude between the Haydo home and the downtown Howell railroad tracks. The garden's unique blend of astilbe, hostas and hollyhocks provides a colorful feast for the eyes in this city-centered garden.
Ah. Here I thought would be a small garden, constrained to a small city lot, using unique methods to maximize the impact of the greenery and flowers. Here was something I wanted to see.
Well. This may be 'city-centered' but it was not a small lot. There was room between the house and garage for an addition that would more than double the size of the house. They did have a few of those flower bags of impatiens hanging on the facade of the garage, very quaint and country. Nothing like the 'wall of... quietude' I was anticipating. And out back? They had a border:
(click image to enlarge- sidewalk travels from house to garage)
It's very well done. What isn't obvious in the photo is that the ground drops directly behind the flowers, and the greenery you see behind there is 'borrowed landscape' from the other side of the tracks. When you walk over to the drop, the hollyhocks and such are naturalizing down the slope in pretty contrast to the structured bed at the top. It was lovely.
Did I have unrealistic expectations? You bet I did.
I let myself down. With a *THUNK.*
They did have this really cool wooden one lane bridge right at the edge of their property. It looks to be made entirely with railroad ties. Unique and interesting.
The second photo shows how deep the tracks run behind the house.
So ends part one of an ongoing series.
Hm. I seem to have been banned from one of my sidebar links.
The web is a funny thing. If you don't want discourse, you want a private place. These exist.
That's all I'm saying.
Posted by: Jenn | July 30, 2006 at 02:11 PM