9 Feb 2011

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back – Part Two

garden09-10So, where were we? Ah yes. Part One of the posting introduced you to the fact that for me personally, the Summer and Fall of 2009 represented the perfect growing season as witnessed by my small shaded garden. Bold is beautiful, and perhaps more than any other, this photograph shows this better than any other!

garden09-11  Just because my garden tends to lie in more shade than most, doesn’t mean that I am without flower power! On the contrary: Some of my most prized flowers have learned over the years to being more adaptable to shade. Its a win-win situation for all parties concerned when we both understand the importance of compromise! I adore the genus Thalictrum, and grow no less than five species within the garden repertoire. One of my first was this stunning beauty, Thalictrum delavayi ‘Hewitt’s Double.’ It wasn’t until I took up my camera, did I fully appreciate the delicate filigreed beauty of her flowers. To me they looked like a bunch of boring stamens that fell to the ground in the first sudden wind! How wrong could I be?

garden09-12 In my ‘irreverence’ and ‘ignorance’ I vowed that I would try and steer away from the more common ubiquitous shade garden plants, including ferns! Silly me, what was I thinking! One lookat this gorgeous Athyrium nipponicum var ‘Pictum’ [also known as the Japanese Painted Fern] and I knew it was time to give my head a serious shake. Today, more than a dozen unique and characteristic ferns reside along the Shaded Walk! He’s hypnotic is he not?

garden09-14 garden09-15 Two of my all-time favourite photos taken during the glorious Summer of ‘09. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that as my garden began to settle into its own, I found myself grabbing up my camera more and more frequently, in order to capture its splendor and beauty. Photography is intimidating unto itself, but I simply let the lens guide my eye to what I thought were moments of pure beauty. Luckily the camera must have agreed! I’m now considering upgrading my lens so that I do not have to risk flattening my beloved plants as I prostate myself in order to snap the perfect picture! Besides, I’m getting too old for that kind of foolishness!

garden09-22 Next to the Shaded Walk, my favourite section of the garden is without a doubt the ‘R & U’ border which runs along the side of the garage. ‘R & U’ is an acronym for rare and usuals as it is here where the majority of my true ‘Holy Grail’ list of ‘hortgasm’ worthy plants reside, but methinks I shall save this for next time

** Stay tuned for Part Three

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the shot of plant lust, Barry. I love these photos and recall the photos in all their splendor the first go round. I think I need to dust off my wish list and make sure these lovelies are at the top.