"...to reminisce with my old friends..."
It's hard to say, "I went to a garden party" without wanting to sing Rick Nelson's '72 hit by the same name. But I actually did go to a garden party yesterday. Landscape architect, plant geek and friend Jamie from Cedar Line Design hosted one at her home. Jamie did design work for me years ago that still gets compliments from strangers passing by. So to visit her own Secret Garden is a treat. Jamie lives in a duplex and the first thing you notice is which half of the house is hers. One side looks like most PA homes, neat but boring -- a geranium on the porch. The other side is lush with greenery and the hint of an inviting stone pathway. From the moment you start down that path, disappearing from the street, you know you've entered a very special place.
I've seen it a few times over the past 10 years and it just keeps evolving. Unlike my lovely landscaping which seems to be devolving from periods of neglect, bad weather and deer, this is a yard with a steady diet of nurturing, love and work (and I think, perhaps, no deer). If there is a root creating a bald spot under a tree, there is a beautiful ceramic planter sitting on it spilling over with a splash of color. Jamie makes use of some tasteful garden art (a simple metal dragonfly for one) and furniture (an old decorated outhouse is a focal point). But it's the wide variety of plants and trees that interested all the guests. I saw more than one look over their shoulder before pinching off a clipping or sneaking away a seed pod. As if we could copy Jamie.
But I do worry for her. She has a huge task in the fall to pull many of the plants indoors -- down to her basement. Now, I have not seen this basement, but I'll bet there are grow lights. The power company and the neighbors probably think she's growing pot down there. I think maybe there's a carnivorous Little Shop of Horrors scenario going on and it's always a relief to hear from her again in the spring.
It's hard to say, "I went to a garden party" without wanting to sing Rick Nelson's '72 hit by the same name. But I actually did go to a garden party yesterday. Landscape architect, plant geek and friend Jamie from Cedar Line Design hosted one at her home. Jamie did design work for me years ago that still gets compliments from strangers passing by. So to visit her own Secret Garden is a treat. Jamie lives in a duplex and the first thing you notice is which half of the house is hers. One side looks like most PA homes, neat but boring -- a geranium on the porch. The other side is lush with greenery and the hint of an inviting stone pathway. From the moment you start down that path, disappearing from the street, you know you've entered a very special place.
I've seen it a few times over the past 10 years and it just keeps evolving. Unlike my lovely landscaping which seems to be devolving from periods of neglect, bad weather and deer, this is a yard with a steady diet of nurturing, love and work (and I think, perhaps, no deer). If there is a root creating a bald spot under a tree, there is a beautiful ceramic planter sitting on it spilling over with a splash of color. Jamie makes use of some tasteful garden art (a simple metal dragonfly for one) and furniture (an old decorated outhouse is a focal point). But it's the wide variety of plants and trees that interested all the guests. I saw more than one look over their shoulder before pinching off a clipping or sneaking away a seed pod. As if we could copy Jamie.
But I do worry for her. She has a huge task in the fall to pull many of the plants indoors -- down to her basement. Now, I have not seen this basement, but I'll bet there are grow lights. The power company and the neighbors probably think she's growing pot down there. I think maybe there's a carnivorous Little Shop of Horrors scenario going on and it's always a relief to hear from her again in the spring.