Jim's garden

Thanks you, also, for not mentioning the weeds, the unfinished projects and
the other all too evident signs of a developing garden attached to a lively
household. Good garden visitor that you are, you omitted mention of the
garden's many problems and shortcomings.

And I must demur a bit at your seeming praise for what you saw. Had I read
your post without knowing its object, I would probably have thought "that
sounds a bit like what my garden might be once I get my act together."

And yes, visitors are always welcome, especially those who keep in mind
that both the garden and the gardener are works in progress.

Jim McKenney
jimmckenney@starpower.net
Montgomery County, Maryland, USA, USDA zone 7, where surely Joe
misunderstood what I, a judge for the North American Lily Society, said
about those lilies grown from the get-go. : )

At 06:28 PM 7/6/2004 EDT, you wrote:

In a message dated 7/6/2004 7:33:09 AM Central Daylight Time,
pbs-jimmckenney@starpower.net writes:

For several years I've been experimenting with raised beds for growing
summer dormant plants here in Maryland.

Hi all,

I want to use this occasion (query by Jim) as a starting point to tell you
about his very nice yard and garden. I was lucky enough to be in Maryland
recently and arranged to stop by Jim's house (one of the benefits of email

garden

buddies).

The yard is planted with many native plants as well as ornamental plants.
Jim to the time to show me and a friend through the entire yard--I even

saw a

Maryland-hardy Brugmansia (no, I'm not kidding). My friend, who enjoys

herbs

and roses, thought she had visited heaven because Jim's yard if full of

both--he

even has the good sense to grow Darlow's Enigma rose.

One spectacular part of the yard was the multiple levels, Jim's back yard
slopes down to a creek. There are 4 levels if you count one way (deck,

pool and

rose walk, sunken shade/hosta/etc. garden, and then the slope to the creek.
However, the levels are somewhat hidden from each other by plantings and
aspect; also the different levels have different shapes (longer than wide,

wider

than long, pool edged with a walkway, etc.). Finally, the side yards

count as

different levels (in my mind) and the front yard is in a class by itself.

It is all very beautiful and the entire lot is surrounded by large trees,

you

have no idea you are in "the city." Additionally, Jim's garden if chock

full

of infinite shades of green, blue-green, chartreuse, red-greens, green-reds,
and textures of every type (bark, ruffles, edges, thorns, prominent upright
shapes, prominent low-lying shapes, etc.). The birds alone provide a

sense of

deep forest (pileated woodpecker) and open fields (finches and

mockingbird).

I could go on and describe more, but my recommendation is that if you are
going to be in the Rockville, MD area, write to Jim and arrange to see his

yard.

You'll have a lot to see, including what he calls his "lily ghetto."

Afterwards, be sure to go to the nearby Brazilian restaurant and bring your
appetite.

Cordially,

Joe
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