At the Iowa Round Up., several of us Cedar Rapids members ganged up on zonedenial. When can we come see your spring garden?
I was lucky enough to visit this piece of Eden back in the spring of 2004. Alwaysweeding,llilyfan and I slipped in to enjoy it last July. And now--we're baaack....
Alwaysweeding, zonedenial & dax080 in front of his beautiful custom gate & deer obstacles....
Zonedanial carved this one acre shade garden out of the woods. His wandering paths, varied flora and garden art delighted at every turn.
Becky(dax) and Don (zonedenial) enjoy a garden visitor.
This message was edited May 20, 2006 9:02 AM
This is a beautiful stacked stone fountain surrounded by part of the hosta collection near the entrance.
One of the glorious paths into zonedenial's Garden of Eden lined with all manner of rare plants from zone 4 to 7!
Don's garden is an eye-opener for those who think shade gardens are only green. He had all manner of blooming spring flowers including these lovely lady slippers. (All his plants are well marked and he even knows all their botanical names!)
We were fascinated by his collection of Jack in the Pulpits--5 inches to 3 foot high from all over the world! (He keeps forgetting he can't grow many of these things in an Iowa woodland garden! I guess the plants are in denial too.)
One path led us to his huge garden gargoyle perched on a pedestal. Incredible detail in bronze. WOW! I'd hate to run into him on a dark night....
Colette(alwaysweeding and poho(Judy) had a million shade-gardening questions for Don.
Don is showing us the fine details on this asiatic little gem!
Beds of Azaleas and Rhodendrons basked in the filtered sun of the garden.
That's all the pics I have--you'll have to ask zonedenial for more. I was exhausted just trying to take in all the beauty of this special garden. Trying to capture it all on film would be impossible.
wow....all I can say is....wow
Thank You for sharing the wonderful day Wanda. Oh what a garden! And Don makes it look so "natural". We'd love to have been with you!
Ron and Peggy
It was great having the Crazy Crew for a garden walk... of course you should have been here TODAY!
Don
Wow......breathtaking!
Beuatiful - I'm jealous! I wanna tour too...pout pout!
Zonedenial: What do you grow that you shouldn't be able to ? I'm really interested, as I am reality challenged when it comes to gardening!
sharon
Caitlin: some would say that it's surprising I can grow anything at all, due to the fact I'm so easily distracted by a multitude of temptations outside of gardening. As far as what I grow that's surprising for 5a Iowa, a lot of it is just stuff that most gardeners don't try, like Roscoeas, or a variety of oddball Japanese perennials, say. There are things though that are surprising from a hardiness standpoint, and in this category I've had the best luck growing tender herbaceous or bulbous perennials (perennials that die back to the ground in winter); for example jack in the pulpits Arisaema fargesii (z6), Arisaema robustum (z6), or A. kiushianum (z7). In these cases a lot of the time it's just a matter of planting them deeply. However there are some evergreen perennials that hug the ground, like the panda faced ginger, Asarum maximum (z7) that survive, though I can't say they are outgrowing their bed. I've had some luck with tender shrubs and trees, like Japanese maples because we live in a south-facing valley, with a modest ridge behind us on the north, and lots of sheltering trees... but all plants are but guests in the garden, and sometimes they leave unexpectedly (more often than not because of something I did wrong, like planting a tree too deeply). Then there are just oddball things that happen. Some friends gave me a voodoo lily, Sauromatum venosum, from India, and I planted it in the garden for the summer, and forgot to dig it up in the fall. I felt badly about losing the gift, but next summer I was weeding, and ran across this:
Interesting! So planting deeper might work, unless it is something that can't be planted deeper. (Like iris rhizomes.) Thanks for the hint :>)))
Just want to add my thanks to zonedenial and a great company of folks for this awe inspiring, stunning, and meditative garden haven tour. It was an absolutely breathtaking while completely peaceful and spiritual place. And beyond that, zonedenial was tremendously generous with advice and tips (and future questions for assistance) as I begin to work on a woodland garden at my place. Ah, I can dream but at this point, couldn't begin to contemplate the beauty of his garden of 8-9 years maturity and loving care. Thanks again, everyone!! Dax (Becki)
Wow! Incredible gardens!
And the possibilities... Don was a sweetheart to put up with out millions of questions. And he is far too humble. It takes a master to make a garden like this seem "natural".
You'll all have to come back and stay longer... we didn't even get to the ravine, where there are other kinds of ladyslippers and other stuff (also I did just lay in a new supply of limes).
Don
That is a gorgeous flower and a stunning pic!
Thanks, zonedenial - now that I (and we) have a better understanding of the garden, we can schedule a MUCH longer time. I'm sure we'll be in touch - I'd love to come back in late July - right guys? Anyone else interested? Dax
I hope I can come next time - looks lovely. I had a conflict last Friday.
Linda, we can slip down with Lisa one of these afternoons... His spring display is simply awesome! We need to schedule at least 3 hours for a trip. Don has so much to show us,
Don,
Beautiful gardens. Everything looks so natural and lush and healthy. Kudo's to you.
Kelly
Thanks Kelly; I guess I do try to have a somewhat natural appearance... but maybe it's just the weeds. Here's a shot in the ravine we didn't get to on our tour, with more cypripediums, and some showy orchis. Hopefully this year I'm finally going to get started on having a stream run down through this area (there is already a ten foot bridge across it). There is quite a steep drop through this area, down to a four acre pond that borders one side of the garden, so I want to pump water up to our goldfish pond and let it splash back down under two bridges, to the big pond. This project has been in the conceptual phase for more years than I care to admit to, but this could be the year!
Don
Oh, those are beauties. Your plan for a stream sounds fabulous. We have been talking waterfall, pond and stream for quite a few years also,,,just that the checkbook won't cooperate,,,,Hate when that happens,,lol,,,sooner or later, it'll come,,,,I'm lacking in the patience dept. though,,,
Hope you can get started on that very soon. Please post pics when you do,,,you know how we all love pics.
zonedenail--want a work crew? I'm free after June 30. I'm helping move a friends AHS Daylily/Iris/perennial nursery in my spare time until then. I'm not bright, but I have a strong back and a mind weak enough to volunteer for hard labor.... :)
Wanda, I might just take you up on that... of course this project at this stage has been, and continues to be, just in my mind, so there is probably a 10% chance it will get started in the next 10 years, based on my track record. I may have made a mistake, in that, as if I don't have enough to do in my own woods, I recently, innocently joined a local organization that purchases, and restores, prairie and forest habitats, and two months after joining I find myself responsible for a newly acquired 40 acre woodland, that is filled with neat wildflowers like three kinds of native orchids, but it is being badly invaded by garlic mustard, multiflora rose, and the other usual plant thugs, so here we go again! I'm going to have to start getting up earlier. For what it's worth, here is a picture of the bridge over my ravine, under which the babbling brook someday may or may not run.
Don
Don,
Bit off more than you can chew? LOL What gardener doesn't,,,also I think we all have ideas that have been rolling around in our minds for quite some time that just never come to fruition. Great project with the 40 acres though. Once you get rid of the ickies, it will be really a pleasure to see all the beauties.
Kelly
40 acres to clean up? Oh, my aching back! Sounds like you are aglutton for punishment... :)
