Sunday, October 25, 2009

Creative gardening and gardens

On a long return loop through an unfamiliar neighborhood after a Farmer's Market visit, I noticed an unexpected gem of a garden.

Asheville, North Carolina is full of interesting home gardens in the older neighborhoods downtown, maybe because they have limited space, but this one was a standout.

I need pictures of this garden, I thought.

Returning in early afternoon, I was fortunate enough to chat with the gardener, who was doing some clipping in a lovely shrub border.

She said they'd been there 18 years, and started with a blank slate (lawn, no doubt) around a lovely historic house.

Her early inclinations towards flowers and cutting gardens have now focused on foliage textures and colors; her combinations of conifers, other evergreens, and herbaceous plants were really lovely.

I loved the red-stemmed dogwood that highlighted the entrance to a old-brick path.