It's almost a fact of life...

The conifer bed on the east side of the birch walk in 2008

... one often needs to take a step backwards in order to move two steps forward.  Sometimes it is a necessity to 'tear things down a bit' in order to grow. As a student of voice it was necessary to 'unlearn bad habits before I could grow vocally, and I often had to take my own vocal students through that type of growing process. Sometimes we have to unlearn misinformed techniques and bad habits so that we can make real progress.


As I spent years redoing this 1850's cheese factory, I often wondered if a recent destruction could lead to something better... or had I traversed too far down a path that would take me from a situation that was ok, to a disaster that couldn't be salvaged. In the end, I've generally been pleased with my results.


So too with gardening... removal/cutting down/pruning up/ reshaping the borders... these are all processes that need to be tackled before real improvements can be achieved. Frequently in the garden, the original concepts simply outgrow their place and a rethinking of the venture becomes necessary. I am at that spot right now... it will take time to get past changes made this past weekend, but they became necessary since time had compromised my design and the health of my plantings.


Patience is required as there will now be a 'rough' patch before the garden responds to what I've done. It takes a certain amount of courage to jump into a situation with the proverbial 'machete' in hand... not quite knowing what is on the other side of the destruction portion of whatever the latest project may be.


I have mentioned in the past that my landscaping style is a series of projects encompassing a great many years. Destruction often leads to visions that were not apparent at the outset. I've spent the last couple hours outside, just imagining all the exciting changes that this past weekend's garden 'de-construction' may eventually lead to. With chain saws in hand and a tremendous amount of help from our son and my wife, trees were felled and others I'd planned originally to take down, were limbed up. This encompasses my point entirely... one needs to move through a garden change with an eye towards 'what shows itself unexpectedly' In my style of gardening, too much planning is dangerous. Had I jumped into what I had envisioned totally, I would have completely missed some really exciting possibilities.


In fall of 2008, the conifer garden on the east side (see 1st photo) of the birch walk was perfectly as I'd envisioned it... too bad one can't freeze a moment in time. Over the course of the following two years, everything grew (a lot). Problem #1 involved the smaller conifers being shaded out by the larger ones as well as these smaller growing conifer shading out each other. These include one Thuja Sherwood Frost, a wonderful specimen of Picea glauca 'Pendula' now approaching 12' in height with a footprint of about 18", three Picea omorika 'Nana's, and a Pinus sylvestris 'Fastigiata'. In addition to the large Picea pungens 'Moerheim's shading out the intermediate and dwarf conifers (problem #2), they themselves were being shaded out by the Whitespire birches that now displayed a lot of height and leaning.

In 2008 the blue spruces were full and beautiful with plenty of air circulation and light

The birch trees were not yet so tall and heavy that they leaned over the spruces

Within the span of two seasons, the birches had grown very tall and shaded the spruces... the result was that the conifers became spindly for lack of light and by virtue of their own growth, lack of good air circulation as witnessed below... the area had lost its appeal.

This brings me to my remarks about making plans... the plan was to remove all except for one of the spruces and also to remove some trunks of the birches with a thought for a new conifer bed of the dwarfs and miniatures that I enjoy so much.


Removal of a 35' trunk of the most southernly birch clump was harrowing to say the least, as there was no way to simply drop it, particularly since a number of Japanese maples live under and in its vicinity. I am still quite limited from my shoulder surgery which made the process even more difficult... we did succeed however with the use of ladders, extension chain saw, pole pruners and rope. This is the only full trunk that needs removal as the other problem ones split into a 'Y' formation... we only need to remove one arm at about 20' above the ground, thus removing the shade concern while allowing a strong leader to grow vertically. 


The next step was to remove the spruce trees and here is where a new concept revealed revealed itself. To paraphrase my friend Frog Pond, removing the skirt of a spruce tree is often considered a cardinal sin among plant enthusiasts. Normally I would agree, but sometimes this sort of outrage actually makes sense. After taking the branches up to a height that I could walk beneath, the tops were in good light, and views emerged through the openings that were quite nice. Additionally, I realized that this could be a great hosta and hellebore haven. By removing and redesigning the garden fences, new definition could be created and the bare backs of some of the smaller conifers could be hidden. I also root pruned and watered the smaller conifers that are too close to one another and will move them next spring...all at once I am presented with new possibilities that truly excite me... my advice is don't be afraid of change in the garden and no well thought out design is likely to last forever... even the dwarf conifers can get large if given enough time.


Following are some photos of what I have to work with now... my not quite blank canvas if you will. Try and ignore the flattened hostas and ferns... it was just too dangerous to always be looking down while wielding a chainsaw!


As one approaches the area, I have several Japanese maples planted. I have become very excited about acers during the past few years. This area is particularly protected and a good position for them. I also know that many new cultivars with zone 4 hardiness are presently being tested. My ultimate goal for my gardens involves lots of conifers and acers and I hope to see the day when these newer plants are readily available.

Acers Seiryu and Sherwood Flame/ one trunk of birch removed

Looking in the opposite direction/ Sango Kaku can be seen in the distance/ 
fence to be extended to incorporate the new shaded area

New found space for hostas and hellebores

I can envision a swath of hostas through the open area!

From the opposite side of the blue spruces, the view hasn't changed all that much... the conifers to the right of the variegated pine will need to be moved apart a bit however and the Aesculus was pruned considerably

I've always loved the look of the blues of the spruces in this area which is not totally lost with these changes... by adding fencing that will 'peak' through the smaller conifers, some added foundation will help balance the view

In closing, I'll include a photo from a different perspective that I think I'm going to be very pleased with once everything is fresh and in its proper place... We pruned a lot off the large white pine that dominates the area where I'm standing for this photo. With its casting less shade, the magnolias should fill out considerably and offer lots of color in season. As I look at these changes I see potential for a fresh new look in the spring. 


This was only a portion of this past weekend's 'destruction'... in another area we removed several trees and it has suddenly presented an opportunity to extend the miniature conifer garden added this past summer... more on that later. Next spring will be very busy with all the moving of plants that will be necessary because of the changing light conditions created by our chainsaws this past weekend... above all other aspects of gardening, I love 'redecorating' so I look forward to it all! Take care, Larry

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Change in the gardens... the last chapter?

I've been sharing posts of late about changes in the gardens, but something tells me the biggest changes are yet to come, and I've been thinking about them a lot lately. The changes are not so much for the sake of change, but rather because of changes in the gardener. I really don't want to discuss health issues but they are at the root of why I'm feeling as I am. I've always been very much driven... in my work, in my interests, and in life in general. I'm afraid to admit it, but I'm getting tired and I don't feel well a lot of the time for (I'm quite sure) reasons that are diagnosed and that I can live with if I use good judgement. The point is, I'm at a place where I actually enjoy just sitting in the garden or my home, and soaking in the results of years of hard work. I remember my grandmother in her 80's sitting in her front yard in the beautiful hills of Vermont  and enjoying watching the world go by, soaking in the natural beauty around her, happy for the occasional soul that stopped to say hello. Please do not think that I'm depressed... I'm absolutely not... in fact I'm very happy and life is good. It's just that things are different... I can't be the person who does ten years of projects in one year any longer, and it feels oddly strange to sit and come up with ideas and yet realize that I may or may not ever act on them. I grew up around a lot of folks who had dreams, but never acted on them... perhaps the dreams were impractical or because there was no real intention on following through.... just a lot of talk. This always drove me crazy and I vowed to do more than just talk about the goals in my life. I was pleased by my teenage son telling people "my dad's got more ideas than years!" I enjoyed being that way, but I guess there comes a time when things need to change. I'm not all that old, but unfortunately my body is...


So this begs the question... 'how will this affect the gardens'. Probably not a lot this year as I have lots of things ordered. Down the road though I want a different sense to pervade the gardens at Oak Lawn. My friend "Frog Pond" always talks of certain plants having a "quiet presence" in the gardens. I want that to become the general feeling here...  I want my gardens to have a "quiet presence" in the larger world... one where folks who visit find a sense of peace... a place where people want to come and "sit a spell". I'm not saying that there isn't a lot of that here now because there is... but for this gardener and his bride of forty years, the amount of work is quite intense. It needs to be a place where the gardeners themselves can "sit a few more spells" without feeling like they should be at something else. It also needs to be a place where we aren't enslaved to the maintenance and can have the freedom to leave when we desire to do so.


And so the changes have begun... last season perhaps twenty shrub roses were removed because they involve more care than I wished to provide. Beds are being filled with dwarf conifers. Instead of annuals, we will start to intermingle ground covers that don't take over the world in a single bound. And after this year greatly fewer numbers of annuals will be planted and shade beds will become woodland gardens without the benefit of one season plants. The twenty-thirty 16" baskets on the arbor and other spots may become a half dozen surrounded by more clematis. Adapt, adapt... it becomes part of one's life eventually.


I've been spending a lot of time researching martagon lilies and plan on planting large numbers of these in the coming fall. Plants of the woodland will become more prevalent... phlox divaricata and stolonifera. I will inject more spring ephemerals. I have a good start, particularly with the hostas and helebores, but far too many gems are missing... gems that could take the place of labor intensive plantings. Gems like lots of trilliums and dodecatheon and scores of others that will appreciate the maturing shade of this place.


"Frog Pond's" style and gardens have had such a profound effect on me over the last few years. When I visit his gardens I just love how we can spend an hour in ten square feet observing and discussing all the intricacies of nature that he has incorporated throughout even a small portion of his gardens. There's a sophistication that comes with age... I want to be more sophisticated as I age and I want my gardens to reflect that in a positive way. Too often I am a blast of color that appeals as in meeting someone for the first time and being sick of them soon after. So often it's the person that you don't immediately take to that turns out to be  the person of depth. I want the gardens at Oak Lawn to have more depth and character, even if some with less experience may find them less because of added subtlety.


In the final analysis, I want these gardens to be about people... we get hundreds going through every year but I want it to be more than "going through"... I want this place to be where folks can rest their minds and hearts, and yes, see a bit of God's good grace in a little two acre plot.


In closing, I'll share just one photo... an example of a part of the gardens where this plan is already making a foothold. A spot with good bones in my estimation and where subtle baubles (such as beautiful swaying martagons) will be just the touch that brings it all together... I guarantee that each of you who is a true gardener will get to this place where I am at some point in your gardening life... embrace it even though it may be a bit frightening... these are no longer superficial changes in the gardens... they are changes that reflect the soul of the gardener, and sometimes the revelation that the gardener is no longer the same person they once were... they've grown right along with the gardens... Just my two cents, Larry


p.s. I'm sharing a link to my favorite garden in the entire world... not that I've actually visited that many about the world, but I do visit a lot and study a lot of picture books! The link is on the right and it's to a small nursery and gardens in Cady's Falls, Vermont. This is a place where I visit and sit for hours... soaking it in. This is the garden of my dreams... this is what I long to experience here at Oak Lawn.


The photography on the Cady's Falls site is exceptional... take the time to navigate through the site's photos (you'll love it!) and please let me know your reaction... L

I like the feel of this area... it reminds me of hiking in a
natural pine mulched forest in northern Wisconsin

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More garden renewal from the not so distant past

Another part of the gardens that was just begging for a redo

This area which is now the south portion of the "cottage garden" was in need of some serious rethinking in 2007. While not a very large area, it is perhaps one of the most work intensive redos I've ever tried. Yes there was more of the dreaded vinca minor which I actually think is very nice in the correct spot (obviously not here). The harder task was the removal of a 12' x 15' area of lily of the valley. My first thought was roundup which did a nice job of killing the tops. The pips however, were in marvelous condition despite the loss of top growth. It literally took days to get all those pips out of the soil as it was necessary to hand strain the soil to a depth of 8". The Aruncus dioicus (goatsbeards) were moved and will take some to come back to their former glory. The fences and the arbor were old and in need of removal as well. The lily of the valley can be seen in the following photo...

Many thanks are due the power company for adding the lovely orange covers to the cable holding the power pole in place... yipes...

The cattle tanks where I grow brugsmansias can be seen behind the fence in this early June photo.  For a time in 2008, I simply added a couple rustic trellises that I built, but obviously this area was to need more attention than that.

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The first task was moving those very heavy containers out of the way... they were not light! Additionally I had removed the fence and arbor at this point and begun to bring in several yards of my good compost. 

It takes a mess to create a garden redo

In the following photo the old plants have been removed and something in the neighborhood of 20 + new to me hosta cultivars have been added under the flowering crab apple "Spring Glory".

One can try to hide ugly utilities, but to my way of 
thinking that often actually draws more attention 

This pile represents about one half of the wood mulch we spread every season

The new hosta bed is complete and underplanted with a variety of minor bulbs and alliums

The next step was to add conifers and potted orienpet lilies, and to create the fence

The remaining mulching is completed and grass is being established next to the bed

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By 2009,  the area felt right at home with the rest of this portion of 
the gardens and the hostas were developing some personality

Other new plantings included the following... especially many varieties of Siberian iris as the goal is to establish a nice drift of perhaps 20 cultivars for early June color...

Blue oats grass with Abies koreana "Siberlocke"

Pastel Splendor

Lee's Blue

Pink Haze

Super Ego

River Dance

The completed garden on a foggy morning

At the beginning of orienpet lily season

And finally, the area in fall

That does it for another post on change in the garden... until next time... Larry

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The rock garden... a long time in coming... 2nd installment

The entrance area in 2008 when I decided it was time for a redo

In my last post, I showed several photos of thesefront gardens here at Oak Lawn, beginning with circa 1855. I'd like to begin today by (re)sharing a little verbal history of this old but important building that was essential to the local farmers so long ago. I first published the following about a year ago...

Oak Lawn Cheese Factory sits amongst Wisconsin farms and served those farms for 100 years. Area farmers brought their milk to the factory for the production of cheddar cheese. The son of a local farmer (now 81 years old) tells how, in the 30's, he was dropped at the local one room school house a half mile north of the factory after chores on the farm.  His uncle would take him and the milk from his father's farm, as well as the uncle's own farm, and deliver it in a model T with a rack that held up to five milk cans. This represented the milk produced by both farms in a single day. After the model T wore out, a model A was purchased and a rack for the cans was added to that vehicle. In the summer, the milk from the two daily milkings was kept cool in a water tank, but in winter that was not necessary. It was kept in an unheated room and approached freezing prior to the once daily delivery to the cheese factory. Two farms and 4-5 cans of milk... amazing when considered by today's standards!  There is now a farming operation a half mile from Oak Lawn, that milks about 2000 cows instead of the 20 or so milked on a typical farm fifty years ago. A few miles from Oak Lawn, there is a new operation that will be milking over 8000 cows! The home farm of 80 acres that supported an operation and family completely, has now become operations that incorporate 1000's of acres to maintain their business. There lived locally a nun who was well known for her advanced age of well over 100 years. In a radio interview, she was asked to what she attributed her long life. Her response was that it was necessary to be able to accept change. 

With that I move on to more recent changes. The photo above is what had evolved since the 80's... I had started using a few rocks in the area, but they really didn't quite do the trick, and the area beginning with the little steps was overgrown with more of that vinca I referred to a couple posts back, hostas of little interest and a pagoda dogwood, as well as a goodly amount of sweet woodruff... the whole scene needed to be addressed. If you look closely at the photo below, you will note that the dry laid terrace walls were in bad need of being rebuilt as well. My 26 year old son came to my aide in taking care of that task much to my appreciation.

In 2008 the front entrance had once again become overgrown. The following year 
we removed all the plant material except the upper terrace hostas and my son 
redid the dry laid wall. We also cut down the young elm tree to the left of center.

Phase one involved this small part of the redo in summer 2008

A good edge on a garden covers many sins so we left it as seen here through 2008 and summer 2009

The wall renovation is completed in the fall of 2009

All the offending plant material is removed and new smaller
cultivars of blue spruce are added to anchor the end of the building,
 as well as  a Fagus sylvatica 'Purple Fountains' for interest

As I pointed out the other day, I am not a real rock gardener, but rather a gardener who likes rocks. When it came time to start developing the remaining portion of the front entrance, it was a matter of laying out the rocks, filling in with my compost, settling the area, planting the area, and then creating the pathway to the house. here then are a succession of photos showing the process and the results...

The first step was to collect a variety of stone... a friend dropped these off for me

I then reshaped the area that was previously here

Normally rocks should be buried fairly deeply but since it was my intention to raise the path area,
I didn't feel it was necessary here

I had dug in a 12' tall chimney tile column to below the frost line and electrified it,
added a light which I installed on top of a patio block,
and  painted the whole affair

I began carting in my compost while I searched out more large stones

I then brought in the remaining stones... held the very largest 10' in the air in a tractor bucket and let it roll out so the heaviest portion landed at the bottom of the bed... with more compost added, this rock was about 2/3rds buried

After compacting the lower layers of compost, I was ready to start planting. I planted an Arnold's Promise and a Jelena witch hazel which will pruned up eventually and be the future source of shade for the garden as I expect the white ash will eventually succumb to emerald ash borer which is becoming a significant problem in the midwest. If that doesn't happen, so much the better. The witch hazels can get very large with time, spreading 15-25'.

At this point, the majority of the planting was completed and the grass in the path was treated
with Round-up in preparation for adding the gravel and flagstones

The dry laid stairway is completed

And lastly the bluestone path is laid in the gravel

Voila... the project is complete

So these were the basics of how this project was completed. I grow lots of primula, double helebores, epimediums, iris cristata, lilies, dianthus of several varieties, thyme, dwarf veronicas and columbines, lots of varieties of sempervivums, and a host of other plants here. Many were from reserves held in other parts of the gardens. I planted thickly, assuming that some may not survive this environment. It does however hold huge drifts of wonderfully insulating snow all winter. In the back portion I've installed another fernleaf beech for future shade... the radiant crab is messy and not worth keeping, but can't be removed until other things increase in size. I will complete this post by sharing lots of photos of what performed here last season... I'm getting excited just thinking about it... 

Well before the path was completed, early primula began their wonderful show

In this photo, several epimediums have begun to bloom... this older section of the
 rock garden also contains several dwarf hemlocks

More of the same from yet a different angle

Primula 'Radical Red' and Epimedium 'Domino' on the right are both favorites of mine

I absolutely love the look of plants against stone

Domino is my favorite epimedium

Looking southeast through the young fern leaf beech across the
flagstone path to the newer portion of the rock garden

Looking north towards the greenhouse

Looking east from the new stairs

The metamorphosis is complete

Burgundy Splash asiatic lily growing in a crevice

Looking to the west

There is something about a busy palette of small plants with variety of textures and foliage colors that I find very pleasing

So that's it for this two post series. In the back of my mind, I see  gardening activities eventually move closer to the house. I imagine the outer gardens becoming pretty much self sustaining with the exception of regular mulching and pruning that could be hired work if necessary. I created this area with the specific desire for a place to sit and watch the world go by, surrounded by the plants that I do so enjoy. Take care and have a great week my friends! Larry

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