Brooke's Garden VII
Lana B. Swan
Just got back from a meeting with the landscape designer. Definitely the
most fun I've had in a long time. We exchanged books. I gave her my
three garden books from the library and a stack of magazines with pages
marked for the colors, flowers, or overall "looks" I liked. Good ol'
Martha Stewart even dedicated this month's issue which arrived in the
mail today to gardening. I gave it to Kelly and told her to ponder the
problem of the path. We have to consult with the school and see if we
are bound by the practicalities of snowplowing and traffic and must keep
it straight or if we can enhance it with a bit of a meander. If we
can't, we're just going to have to fit in another path which will
meander.
Kelly said, "I can see I'm going to have to be the wet blanket here.
Lana, we just can't have everything we love- there's not enough space. I
did convince her that we must have a clemantis Montana. I remember once
driving down a dirt road on the Cape to find out just what that plant
that was so gorgeous it was unreal was. I had a gorgeous clemantis in
Newburyport too. We even found a picture of the perfect wrought iron
supporting frame which Kelly agreed would not overwhelm the garden.
She recommended a Virburnum plicantum tomentosum for the right hand
corner as you approach the garden and I approved. She said the colors
will be perfect with the brick walkways and it will bloom for three
weeks each spring, eventually reaching 8-10 feet in height. There will
also be berries going through the whole range of color from green
through purple to black. For the other side she recommended a hedge of
holly- Ilex meserve.
There will be room for a bench- hurray! We'll angle the bench so it's
facing away from the high school with a view of the pond. After reading
the book about Monet's garden I think it may be the Giverny bench I saw
in the Smith & Hawken catalog. I knew I loved Monet's paintings, but I
didn't realize we had such similar tastes in flowers. I probably won't
be able to have the roses, cosmos, and nastursiums he loved in this
garden, but they're always in my garden at home. I did see a picture of
his Tamarix ramosissima which Kelly agreed was gorgeous and which we're
considering although it may be too large for the left front corner of
the garden. Other possibilities are Syringa villosa (late lilac) and
Prunus glanulosa (dwarf flowering almond).. There is another row of
shrubs blocking the view of the concrete benches and the concrete
planter which turns out to be a trash receptacle.
She moved the existing yews to the bases of the three granite pillars
breaking up the brick facade of the building. She said we can have
Boston ivy growing up the walls. It will take a few years to get
established, but it will be dark green in the summer and a glorious red
in the fall. Much softer and more attractive than the unadorned wall as
a backdrop for the garden.
There is room for about 50 smaller shrubs and perennials. We'll have
stachys (lamb's ears- or bunny's ears as my friend Kathy's son calls
them. The ones he gave me are already two feet tall after only two
summers!)lavender, several kinds of artemesia, and possibly creeping
thyme or periwinkle for along the pathway unless Monet's favorite (I
forget the name) will work. It also had purple flowers.
I asked Kelly to check with Andy and see if I can get over there to
plant lilies and maybe dahlias in April. I'd hate to have to wait until
next year. It's bad enough there'll be no tulips. She said he'd probably
want to do all the prep work at one time. I told her if we had the plan
done I'd just go dig the holes and plant them. I never did any prep work
at home. Just dug the holes, dropped the bulbs in, sprinkled them with
food, covered them with dirt and waited for June. Each year they were
more and more beautiful. And each year I'd squeeze in just a few more
because it didn't seem possible to have too many. Kelly left space for
two nice, protected perennial beds, so I will have plenty of space to
dig in the garden. I can hardly wait.
My friend Peggy made me drive her over the other night to show her where
it's going to be. She said she'd never noticed it before even though
she's lived in Winchester for over sixty years. Kelly said it's very
different working on a garden that's going to be for the public.
She said she wants it to be intimate, but it will have traffic so we're
building in the traffic control. As we both said simultaneously,
"There's nothing worse than having people trample through your perennial
beds!" She said it's difficult working with such an antiseptic
environment. I said, "It's beyond antiseptic, it's repulsive." She said,
"Lana, it's not that bad."I said, "I don't know, I have a physical
reaction whenever I enter the building because the colors and materials
are so esthetically unappealing." Still, I'm confident we can transform
this small space. If it inspires them to do something about the rest of
the place, so much the better for the kids who go to school there.
Well, it's time to go to sleep and dream of shrubs. I love flowers and
am somewhat knowledgeable about them, but I know almost nothing about
shrubs. Good thing the flower show is coming up next month. If I study
the book and know what I'm looking for maybe I'll be able to check some
of them out in person. I also suggested to Kelly that we could take a
trip south to visit some nurseries. Maybe I will anyway. My niece is
coming to visit my mother for spring break so I'm planning to go to
Virginia in March. Aunt Sarah (Brooke's godmother) is always looking for
a good excuse to visit a nursery-not that you need an excuse. I did send
Steve an e-mail today with the copy for the plaque, to ask if they had
any suggestions for the garden, and to wish them a happy Mardi Gras one
day late.
Thinking of a garden,
Lana
ps. I couldn't post this last night because my server was down, but I
did dream of a garden. It was lovely!
Peggy Jeanette Wetta
Each time I see a new post entitled 'Brooke's Garden ???' my heart leaps.
These posts always make me smile and evision beautiful things.
Thank you for sharing your daughter and her garden with us.
PJ