When I first arrived at Iten's Acres, there was a large open space to the right of the house practically devoid of any plants save grass and a walnut tree. For some reason my predecessor had planted a clump of blackberry bushes--four or five--right behind the privacy fence at the edge of the parking area. Why he put them there or why he planted so many I do not know. But by the time I became "park ranger," they were huge--white blossoms in the spring, lots of berries by mid-summer. I have been surprised by the apparent lack of interest in the fruit by the birds and wildlife, but the only creature that snacks on them is a chubby old bald thing. Well, some visiting dignitaries once made a pan of blackberry cobbler. But other than that . . . There were, also, two metal sheds on this side of the house, a pair of horseshoe pits, the frame of a doghouse, and a line of trees--mostly walnut--between my property and my neighbor's. I don't know why my predecessor left only the frame of a doghouse--he took the large "cage" that was there and the outside of the doghouse. I don't know if the line of walnut trees is on my property or Aaron's, but I do know that if I ever get my hands on a chainsaw, they may just "disappear." Aaron may come home some day and find himself the victim of deforestation. Hope he doesn't mind. In my happy dreams I can see the walnut trees going up in smoke in someone's wood burning stove.
As you may have guessed by now, the area around the house is the exact counterpoint to the front of the Acres. Up there, most of my property is to the left of the driveway. Back here at the homestead, after the driveway has wound its way around the ancient maple and the pond, most of the space is to the right of the driveway/parking area. Naturally, all that space needed some decorating. And over time, a plan was instigated, acted upon in stages, and some beautiful "stars" have been planted in this space.
Step one was the obvious one. I mean, what would any sane gardener do with horseshoe pits other than turn them into flower beds? Duh. One of the pits is now a bed of shade flowers. One of the pits is now a bed of shade and sun flowers. In fact, this second bed was doubled in size this autumn. The stars of the shade garden are a Lenten rose, a yellow corydalis, a lily, some phlox, crocus, and hyacinth. The stars of the "dappled" bed are a meadow sweet, creeping phlox, lilies, daffodils, crocus, and glory of the snow. Neither bed has ever complained about the change in its job description. Just thought I would throw that in there.
Step two was just as obvious--at least to this old man. Do something about the doghouse area. It's quite huge--forty feet long by eight to ten feet deep. It's shady in the morning but gets some sun in the afternoon. In other words, I can plant whatever I want in there, anything goes--or should I say anything grows. A flower lovers dream. In the spring the stars of this area are wild phlox, anemones, snowdrops, white iris, daffodils, tulips, and pink columbine. All of these are not only gorgeous but aggressive "spreaders." In summer the stars of this area are phlox and oriental lilies--most of them orange tiger lilies. Both of these flowers grow eight feet tall or higher, bloom prolifically, and like their spring "pals," spread magnificently. And the phlox as they spread, change color! In addition, a variety of morning glories come up each summer from seed and wind their way up the phlox and lilies to add to the bouquet of flowers. By August this area is stunning. (There are other flowers in here, but these mentioned are the stars.) Every year because of the madcap spreading of all the varieties the "pattern" in this bed is constantly changing. The wildness of it adds to its appeal. Someday I will remove the old doghouse frame and allow them to race to fill in the new open area.
Step three involved the metal shed that is too readily visible as one walks toward the back/front of the house. The plan was to try to make it disappear--as much of it as possible--by putting a garden in front of the visible area. This, of course, required an emphasis on taller, wider, plants. The solution was a forsythia, a redtwig dogwood, lots of phlox, and some day lilies. These are the major beauties here and do quite well in "hiding" the shed from spring to frost. I love it when a plant comes together.
Step four was to put a huge--16 by 16--lily bed right in the middle of the area. It has other things in it as well--iris (duh), a lilac, phlox, daffodils, giant sunflowers, and moon flowers to name a few. But the lilies are the stars. There are, at least, forty different lilies in this bed and each year they spread out to claim more territory. At times in mid-June there are 150 blooms in this bed each day. Marvelous to see! I always put a number of gladiolas in here as well; they can tower as high as the lilies. And morning glories and larkspur come back each year from seed to add to the color scheme. I'm going to have to add some cosmos in here as well. They'll come back each year, too. And they last until frost. This bed will become the eighth wonder of the world--or at least, of Iten's Acres.
Step five--hey, there's lots of space--was to put in what I call the Conifer Garden, next to the doghouse zone. It has some non-conifers in it, but it started out all conifers until I made it into an actual bed. By mid-summer it is quite shady most of the day. What's in here? Glad you asked. Taxus, red and yellow barberry, false cypress, two elderberries, a Lenten rose, a few hosta, an iris, and some lilies are the main ingredients. There is one "special" bouquet here--toad lilies. They are strange but lovely little flowers that love the shade and bloom late in the year. I have a couple elsewhere, but in this bed they thrive! (Tip: elderberries do not last long once they ripen. They must be the filet mignon of the bird world. They are an exceedingly sweet berry--when I've been quick enough to get a bite or two. Maybe they're the milky way of the bird world?) Adding to the picturesque quality of this garden is a bird bath. It's lovely on summer afternoons to see a flock of goldfinch in full bloom flitting about the foliage here and gathering around the rim of the bird bath to drink. And to munch on elderberries too, no doubt.
This fall I did two last things to this space. (Well, not "last," but last so far.) First, I cut down the walnut tree! "To everything there is a season. . .A time to dance!" I hate those trees! The other "last" thing was to turn an old dilapidated fire pit into an iris bed. It's quite small but deep with the iris sitting on top of the soil. I'll be anxious to see if the experiment works. If it does, you'll probably see some more "pot bunkers" of various flowers popping up all over the Acres.
Ahhhh, I love large open spaces. Yep, I love being spacey. The more space, the more places to plant a variety of stars.
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