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Elf
House
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When first
approaching this 50s home visible in the distance, the driveway
beckons you
in. The site is a
pleasant woodland
ranch home, nestled in towering pines, native redbuds, and Pagoda
dogwoods . A
large open lawn in front of the home is a soothing entry to multiple
plantings
that were the start of a new horticultural mecca ten years ago.
As I circled the
home counter clockwise, I was not expecting to see what felt like
organized
chaos. Upon closer
inspection, I saw the
side beds were highlighted with massive flowers of herbaceous peonies Paeonia ‘Do Tell’ (that sparkle) and
‘Dancing Beautiful’, (a you gotta have it) deep pink single petaled
with yellow
pompoms. These are
flanked by native Baptisia australis,
resulting in
gorgeous color combinations.
Walking on in
full sun, the gardens looked like weeds in an old vegetable garden and
raised
beds. Soon, you
realize the gardener’s
true passion as you identify what’s there. Stands
of New England asters, monarda, sneezeweed,
rubeckia, swamp milkweed, well, you get the picture. The
priority here is the birds and
butterflies. Actually,
you realize you
are hearing the birds all around you. Daylilies
are abounding. The
owners still grow
vegetables where there is room, which is certainly the best for the
summer
table. The thick
strawberry patches
spill over the raised beds; they just make your mouth water.
Moving along the
1.3-acre site, I was pleased to see plenty of native gray dogwoods on
the
perimeter of the land. The
poor ash
trees are being replaced with native blue beech (the real muscle
trees), dawn redwood,
redbuds, and golden larch. Again
you
will see large open lawn that dances with shadows from the towering
trees. A luxury to
see in any garden, many were
circled with choice hostas. Hosta ‘Leola Fraim’ worked nicely around
one, while a welcomed rest on a stone bench that was guarded by two
beautiful
stands of H. nigrescens
was stunning and
appreciated. Some
garden beds made good use of cut logs
from fallen trees, alternating vertical and then horizontal, back and
forth, in
large circles or ovals, a great repurpose of the trees that were doomed.
Hostas,
surrounding the trees and in beds, are arranged in a pleasing manner,
contrasting each other. I
liked ‘Sea
Gulf Stream’ next to ‘Blue Seer’. H. ’Love Pat’ was full, playful, and
clear. Nothing like
it. You see mature
clumps of ‘Paradigm’,
‘Permanent Wave’, ‘Potomac Pride’, and ‘Liberty’ as you wander. H.
‘Arctic Blast’ and many others have their roots blanketed in sedum
ground
covers. A
particular showstopper is a
planting of Cercis ‘Forest Pansy’, surrounded by Hosta
‘Blue
Valentine Lace’, ‘Twist of Lime’, and sweet woodruff.
When finishing
the circle walk, you pass through worn wooden gates to be met with huge
clumps
of blue and green seedlings that were just grand. There
were no names, but I found out that they
came from the garden of Olive Alice Pauley. She
was a pioneer. Olive
was known for her daylilies and hostas. Sadly,
she left us twenty years ago, but her
work is with us and admired.
Sedums
collected over 30 years and
transplanted here are used freely as a groundcover and do a great job,
looking
neat and tidy. Going
full circle to the
front porch, I can’t believe I missed the towering stacked potted
plants of
cascading grasses and pansies. Take
a
closer look, and you will see that they camouflage large rain barrels,
an idea
worth stealing. This
garden is worth
going back to see a second time in any season.
The birds will definitely be there.
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