Stripped to the Bones

It is currently snowing outside, covering the whole yard with a thin layer of cover.  However, I am only speaking in the abstract, since I am nowhere near the garden.  I only know about the snow because of a reliable source.  Maybe I will be able to get some pictures in a few days, if there is any snow left. This is how the labyrinth looked the last time I saw it.

With most of the herbaceous foliage gone, the tree, evergreen shrubs, and tall grasses are visible.  The shape of the labyrinth paths is much more visible.  Working with the photograph, trimming the top of it down to reduce the dominance of the two neighboring yards, white fences and houses, I became aware of the still young, low growth of the mixed hedge at the back edge.  The Pencil Hollies, Chesapeake Hollies, Inkberry Hollies, and False Holly (Osmanthus) have all done well, but it will be a few more years before they create the privacy screen for people walking the labyrinth.  Did you notice that list of hollies?  Hollies grow well in our climate, while seeming to be untouched by the deer of the area.  A few years ago while selecting plants for my parent's house near Cincinnati, I was told deer were eating the hollies!  I hope the local ones never get that craving, or I am in deep trouble!

This is the beginning of the season to examine the garden bones, that permanent structure.  Without the distraction of foliage and flowers, the place, size and relationship of each remaining plant can be considered. Winters past have shown problems of evergreens too close to each other, or the need for something solid to define a space.  Each position creates a different relationship, an ongoing challenge in a garden in which people will see it from all sides.

This picture shows a number of different things.  The now-bare Katsura tree in the center, immediately behind the tall grass on the right side, no longer screens parts of the labyrinth from the house across the road.  Don't get me wrong, our neighbors are nice people and good friends.  But many different trees and shrubs are placed to create a sense of privacy without totally closing out views.  If someone is using the labyrinth for prayer and meditation, they need some sense of separation and isolation.

In the same way, the Inkberry hedge along the road, even while it is only three feet high and not very dense, keeps the road from intruding.  As it matures, it will be pruned to maintain a height of less than six feet, so it stays as a divider but not a solid wall.

Some new evergreens, like the newly planted boxwood hedge, seen in the middle of the second photo as seven green blobs, are still too small to know how they will function.  The intention is for the hedge to separate and enclose that back corner, a contrast to the open and view oriented section in the front of the photo.

A decision already has been made to find and plant a dramatic evergreen in the center of the rounded off bed in the front of the first photo.  There was a dwarf smoke bush in the place of honor, but it did not provide the presence that prime position required, so it was moved in October.  Next spring all of the nurseries will be scrutinized to find something deserving full 360 degree attention!