To the left of the house, just a little to the left, is another "enhanced" area--if flowers and flowering shrubs are part of your definition of "enhance." I call this the Canopy area because it's shaded by a few trees of various sizes. The trees were here when I arrived; well, most of them anyway. I did put a redbud in there that's doing quite well. I expect it to bloom one of these springs soon. 2012 anyone? I hope so. I added it because last winter I cut down a large vine in here that was strangling a dogwood. In fact, the top of the tree was already dead. A storm this summer blew down the top. Fortunately, the dogwood has sent up a number of shoots from the bottom, and they are starting to thrive. I've even moved some of its saplings to other places on the Acres. And they transplant quite well! Anyway, the removal of the vine allowed more sun into the area, and I want to keep it shaded; hence the redbud. I have a number of redbuds that I planted all at the same time in various places. I'm fascinated at the difference between how quickly some of them grow and how slowly others of them grow. It's amazing how where you are planted influences how quickly you grow and flourish.
There is a small bed at the edge of the canopy. Quite primitive in structure; it's made from cement blocks. I call this bed The Lenten Rose Bed. It has five of them in there. They are the stars! Lenten Roses are amazing. They thrive in the shade. They are green year around. They grow remarkably tall. They bloom earlier than anything--late February or early March--except maybe the pussy willow by the pond. And they keep their blooms for most of the summer. Gorgeous things! And like other stars they need a supporting cast. In this bed that includes tulips, white grape hyacinth, allium, and a mystery plant that is huge each spring but has never bloomed. I wish I could find my old records to "discover" what it is and understand why it hasn't bloomed. I have another one in another bed that is sunny. Same result. Tall, luscious, bloomless every year. Even the resident expert--Mom--doesn't know what it is. That's a semi-miracle! Perhaps by time I'm 98 it will bloom, and I'll be able to tell you what it is. Until then, the mystery remains. Where's Sherlock when you need him?
Once upon a time this bed was the source of forget-me-nots that I spread all over the property. Beautiful little blue flowers that you would never be able to forget once you saw them. And do they love to spread themselves. Well, they used to love to spread themselves. This spring--nothing. (Okay, there are a few in the Blue Bed and the Spring Bed.) But I had those lovely little flowers all over my property, and this spring they decided as a group to not show up--to forget that I was counting on them to add some beauty to the Acres. I miss them. I remember them. They are all but gone. Sigh. I have no idea what happened to them. Of course, they are on my shopping list for next spring when I wander out to Baker's Acres--the nursery that has every flower known to man and myriads that they've "invented" themselves.
The stars of the actual canopy area are the bleeding hearts. I have loved bleeding hearts since I was a small tyke in Wellston, Missouri. There are four large red ones, three large white ones, a dwarf red one, and a dwarf white one all under the canopy. Marvelous! And their wild cousins are here too--Dutchman's Breeches by the score! Combined with the two gigantic ones in the rock garden by the house which is right across from the canopy, this is the land of the bleeding hearts--and no one has shed a tear. (Except for the missing forget-me-nots, of course.) The supporting cast for these stars? Aconite, tulips, lily-of-the-valley, grape hyacinth, crocus, daffodils, a zillion yellow corydalis, bluebells, lilies, hosta, dwarf iris, fall crocus, hardy cyclamen, and a lovely Japanese fern. And this is the area where I have wild yellow violets! And--we're not done yet--in front of this area are three container gardens: impatiens, snapdragons, alyssum, marigolds, morning glory, begonia, coleus, dianthus, petunia, bright eyes. Since this area gets a dab of morning sun yet is still shaded for much of the day, a variety of annuals thrive here. Who doesn't love variety?
Abutting the Canopy is the beginnings of an azalea hedge that runs all the way to a magnificent white pine near the back of the house. I say "beginning" because only one has bloomed so far--an alluring lilac-purple. Like the hibiscus I thought azaleas grew and flourished only in the South. Wrong. Eventually--in my life or in the life of those who come after me--the lilac will be joined by a couple different reds and a goldish yellow. Should be stunning in about five or ten years. "Sprinkled" amongst the hedge (I love sprinkling flowers.) are three hydrangea, a peony, a bouquet of daffodils, two bouquets of phlox, and a small pink dogwood. The latter would be larger and blooming by now if some careless COBG hadn't lawnmowered it a couple years ago. Ugh. Oh, and there are several daffodils and crocus under the white pine.
I think I'm going to put a bench over here for idling in the shade on those hot August days. The shade is a lovely place to spend an afternoon loafing thinking of all the things you should be doing but have no intention of doing now and have no intention of even feeling guilty about not doing them. Drop by some hot August day and see what I mean. I'll scoot over. If you sit here quietly. Only the birds are allowed to sing.
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