A Weekend Gardener in the Bluegrass: July 2010

Sunday, July 25, 2010

A look at the garden in July

Even though it has been a sweltering summer here in the bluegrass state, my garden has held up pretty well. Most of the daylilies have bloomed but the black-eyed susans are now in full bloom. I think I need to thin them out a bit next year. I also have some August lilies (aka naked ladies) in bloom and it isn't even August. Everything seemed to bloom earlier this year. Here are a few views of the garden taken during the month of July.

Saturday, July 17, 2010

Old Louisville Garden Tour

I enjoy seeing other people's gardens. One of the best ways to do this is to take a garden tour. It's fun to see beautiful and unique gardens, and I usually get some ideas for my own garden on these tours. There are several annual garden tours in the Louisville area including Crescent Hill, Tyler Park, Audubon Park, the Original Highlands neighborhood and Old Louisville. Last weekend I experienced the Old Louisville Hidden Treasures Garden Tour. This is my favorite tour because the yards and gardens are small like mine (some are even smaller) and the architecture is spectacular! Old Louisville is a National Historic Preservation District and has a large assortment of Victorian architecture. Saint James Court in Old Louisville is host to the annual St. James Art Fair, one of the largest art fairs in the country. It is held the first weekend in October. For more information on Old Louisville: http://oldlouisville.com/ Here are some pictures of gardens I found especially interesting:

Saturday, July 10, 2010

Introducing Maggie the Cat

Maggie has her own special viewing areas of the yard and garden. This happens to be one of them!

Monday, July 5, 2010

Take a tour of the garden to see what is blooming spring and summer 2010

Saturday, July 3, 2010

The walkway to the garden from the front yard

I tried a new look this summer for the front yard. In the past, I've planted impatiens in this bed. This year I planted blue and purple ageratum, penta, Mexican heather, blue salvia, begonia, snapdragon, and dusty miller. It's quite an assortment but they seem to blend very well. At least I think so :)

Stargazing Time

My one and only stargazer lily is in bloom for the 4th of July holiday. I wish I had a few more of them. Maybe next year!

ABIGAIL'S GARDEN

My interest in gardening began several years ago when we buried a pet cat named Abigail near a big holly tree in our back yard.

How we wound up with Abigail is an interesting story. Our next-door neighbor, Roberta, lived alone for many years with her houseplants and assorted cats. We were never really quite sure just how many cats she had! Roberta was an excellent gardener who took great pride in her flowers, especially her roses. She offered me lots of advice, from across the fence, on how to prune my roses, when to plant annuals, and other unsolicited tidbits of useful and not-so-useful information.

Roberta died after several years of declining health. Her son and daughter-in-law were left with the task of finding homes for all of the cats. Quite some time after Roberta died, we began seeing one of her cats, a beautiful white cat, in our back yard. The cat especially seemed to like the area near the big holly tree in the corner of the yard.

We found out from Roberta's daughter-in-law that the cat's name was Abigail. She and her husband had been unsuccessful in "catching" Abigail. She appreciated the fact that we were concerned about Abigail, and she told us we could keep her if we were able to capture and civilize her.

So, we began putting food out for Abigail and made efforts to befriend her. She was extremely wary of us. Little by little, Abigail gained our trust, and we were eventually able to coax her inside. She was very thin and frail. We took her to the vet where she was cleaned up and completely checked out and treated by the vet. The vet told us that Abigail was not in very good physical condition.

Nevertheless, we brought her home in the summer of 1995. Unfortunately, the medical treatment came too late for Abigail and within a few days, she died.

We buried Abigail in the back yard in her favorite spot near the holly tree. The next spring, I decided to plant a few annuals to brighten things up a bit. Later, I added a concrete cat statue to mark her burial place.

As time passed, I envisioned creating a seating area in Abigail's garden. I added a concrete bench, planted a few daylilies, hostas, coreopsis and Asiatic lilies.

One summer, I got the inspiration to add a circular brick patio to Abigail’s garden. The back yard is on a hillside with very little level ground. So, little by little, I began shoveling out the area for the new patio.

Since I knew nothing about building a patio, I hired a young landscaper to build it for me. He informed me that he had never built a circular patio, but he promised me he could do it. I was a bit concerned when, one day, I looked out the window and realized he was reading instructions on how to build a patio!

But, as promised, he eventually got the patio built. He added a pathway made of pea gravel and stepping stones to connect the new patio to the existing side patio.

Although the new patio looked good, it was not very functional. I felt it needed to be larger in diameter, and I was unhappy with the way the pathway looked. So,the next spring, I hired the same landscaper to expand the patio. He removed the retaining wall he had built the previous summer, dug deeper into the hillside, added a few more rows of pavers, and then rebuilt the retaining wall. He also rebuilt the gravel pathway with red brick pavers to match the “new and improved” circular patio.

Finally, I had the look I wanted! The addition of a round wrought iron umbrella-table and chairs provided some much-needed seating. Of course, the patio area needed landscaping, and I decided I could do it myself to save money. Little did I know what I was getting myself into! I mulched (and mulched some more!), planted lirope, hostas, and daylilies as well as impatiens, begonias and other assorted annuals. And, as the saying goes, "the rest is history".

What began as a tribute to a lonely stray cat has blossomed into my passion for gardening. Abigail's burial marker now stands proudly amid the perennials and the ornamental grasses. In fact, the fountain grass has grown so much that it covers her up in the summertime. I’m sure she would find it a great place to hide!

Each spring, you will find me trimming the fountain grass, thinning out the hostas, pulling up weeds, separating the daylilies, and planting even more flowers. It's a never-ending job, but that's what makes gardening so much fun. (That's what I tell myself the next day when I can barely get out of bed because of my aching muscles!)

Thanks Abigail for giving me inspiration. I hope you approve of your garden!