It's been a while since I've written a blog, but it's not because I haven't been busy, it's that I haven't been out taking any photos for a while now. And the reason for this is actually quite exciting. The Northern Shenandoah Valley Master Gardeners Association selected my garden for the garden tour this year. Each year, they choose an area and this year is Warren County. A group of them came to the house, the day after we arrived back from our English trip, to assess the garden. It was a mess, mainly due to the fact that I don't cut any of my plants down after summer, leaving the dead foliage and seed heads for wildlife to eat or hibernate in. And the group realized this, and also realized that my dream for the final garden wasn't yet complete, but they loved what I've done so far and wanted to showcase it as a work in progress and an educational garden. They gave me their decision in January, the Blue House would be one of 4 properties on the tour in June, and from then onwards, it was a lot of planning, work and money to try and get the garden close to the vision I had in my head. I had originally planned to come near completion in about 2-3 years, but the master gardeners convinced me that my garden was good enough for the tour as it was. But obviously, anyone who knows me, knew that I saw this as a challenge, and from that moment, I strove to try and achieve as much as possible before the big day.
My first project was a vegetable garden, fenced, that I built during the end of winter, filling the raised beds up with compost, manure, Shenandoah topsoil and shredded mulch, so the soil could work together for a few weeks before I was ready to plant. I still need to build a gate for it, which is on the cards for this weekend.
The beds are now full of veggies growing, but not as fast as I'd like, but this is the same with all gardeners in the area, since we've had a cool spring. But the peas have taken off and are very happy, climbing up their trellises and ropes. I'd done some winter sowing over the first few months of the year, so
had small plants to put in the beds, baby beets, parsnips, cabbage, squash,
beans, broccoli, plus lemon balm, lavender, sunflowers and herbs to
plant around the edges. I've since added tomatoes and peppers, dill, rhubarb and spinach. And you can also tell from the photo, that the camper is now blue. It looks a lot better than the previous red, and neighbors have often complimented it.
Then once the temperatures reach a steady 50F and there were no more
freezes, the plants were deadheaded and pruned, and then annuals
purchased for pots. Every weekend, I'd go to native plant sales and
visit nurseries to buy more plants that insects, bees and birds would love. I had so many gaps and empty areas around the front and back garden that I wanted to fill. For the garden tour, I wanted my flower beds to be alive with vegetation, flowers and buzzing critters. I'd spent the winter scouring local flea markets for cheap or free items to use in the gardens. From old vintage chairs, to planters, to glass and pottery, I'd been collecting and painting, so I had decor to compliment the plants.
I hired a young lad to come round and remove the grass from this slope. The area behind it, up to the gate, had taken me 3 years to remove the sod, dig over and plant. This new bed was the biggest area that I've transformed so far, and the steepest. Once the sod was removed, I then dug it over with a fork, removing more grass roots and mixing with topsoil. For the first time ever, I put shredded mulch down too, to protect the soil, help keep the roots of new plants damp, and discourage weeds.. This will be the only application of this, I'll be relying on the new plants to cover the area within 2 years and dead leaves from each autumn to fill in the gaps. The older beds are established and have only a few weeds, which I leave, since they're still beneficial to wildlife. After all, weeds are simply what us humans regard as 'unwanted plants', but it doesn't mean they don't serve a purpose. I had hundreds of dandelions blooming in the early spring, and as the bees began emerging from their underground tunnels, this was their first food.
This weekend, I'll be attending my last plant sale to fill up the new bed and a few other random spots, and from then until the tour date, it will be just nurturing, as well as other DIY projects that I still have to complete. I'm still going to be on the look out for more free rocks and logs. The driveway was looking like a builder's yard with all the 'stuff' I'd acquired for free over the winter, but thankfully, that's nearly all been utilized now, and the drive is slowly looking tidier.
The rocks and logs, that are already in the garden, have begun to serve their purpose. I created this area in a shady spot at the side of the back garden, using old bricks, rocks, broken flower pots and logs. We've seen a few garter snakes, a toad, skinks, all creatures that love dark, damp places.
The pond I built 3 years ago has become a haven for insects and birds. Everything is growing well, so much so, that I need to move the iron heron I placed there a few weeks ago; it's now barely visible. A redbud tree, that had been trying to grow under the fence for 2 years, with me continuously chopping it back, has won its battle. I let it grow this year, and it's spurted upward, spreading thin branches over the pond. It will gradually become more upright as it gains maturity and strength. In the front garden, I had the same issue with a mulberry tree, but last summer, decided to let it grow. It's now a magnificent bush, and should produce berries next year. Both of these trees are native to Virginia, so the insects and birds will use them.
I sit down on the job when watering the new plant bed. The sneezeweeds and an obedient plant wilted every day after being planted, but with a good soaking each night, they've now got their roots entrenched in the soil and will be OK. I will be watering the garden every evening before the tour date.
Here's a few photos of other areas in the garden, but I'm not giving too much away before the Big Day. I still have the veggie garden gate to build, a fence to make from old doors, and some tile work to do, but I'm on schedule and hope to be finished in a couple of weeks, leaving the last few days for weeding and one-on-one encouragement chats with the plants. I've had to remove a black walnut tree, since it makes the soil below impossible for anything else to grow in, and I found a healthy clump of poison ivy under the spirea, which had sent out runners. Thankfully, I'm not allergic to its oil, but I still wore gloves to remove it. The highly invasive tree of heaven has been determined to get a foothold in the garden, with tiny saplings springing up all over the place, but I have them under control. And a poke weed, which I allowed to grow a couple of years ago, keeps popping up around the hydrangeas, from seeds the birds dropped. I have allowed one to grow by the cemetery fence since the birds love the fruit so much, so will be pulling up young plants for a few years to come.
There are only 3 weekends left until the tour day, and I'm getting nervous, but also excited. It will be a privilege to show my front and back gardens, and I intend on making it more educational by placing boards around, explaining what I've done, and why. There will also be lots of seating areas, in the sun or shade, hoping folks will want to sit a while, to listen to the pond bubbling, or the insects buzzing, or to simply chat.
There will be another blog after the tour, with a lot more photos, and for me, a few days spent with my feet up, relaxing and enjoying the garden, with a few glasses of red.
The tour date is June 24th, 9am - 4pm, and tickets are only $10 to see all 4 gardens. Tickets can be purchased on the link below, and incidentally, both of the photos shown on this page are mine, taken last year in the gardens.
https://nsvmga.org/events/garden-tour/
The featured gardens, including the Blue House of course, are here:
