I rent a little brick rancher. It’s a lovely home and I am happy here, sans a garden. I dream of a space for a Cinthia-designed (i.e. a quirky mix of formal and not-so-formal) garden but until, or if that happens, I am blessed to live near a park.
Aggie and I walk to Silvermont Park almost every day. It’s a couple of blocks from our home. It took us awhile to discover it because I thought it was just a big, old house. But, one day we went exploring and found a vegetable garden, woodland garden, butterfly garden, shade garden, native garden, and walking paths. Even free doggie bags (I make good use of those).
There is always something in bloom, little surprises tucked around corners and quiet spaces for reflecting. I am grateful to the crew of Master Gardeners I often see there. They volunteer their time and efforts to plant, prune, transplant, divide, cut back, cut down, weed, design, water, the list and the work goes on. I’ve watched them teach elementary school kids about bees, stage open house days, pumpkin patch sales, and a Halloween “garden path of horrors” called The Twilight Trail.
The building is now for senior citizen activities. There’s a small playground for kids, a basketball court for the teens, and a tennis court where people get private lessons, and I am completely convinced that one day I will sign up for those lessons.
But mostly, Aggie and I revel in the plants we miss in our rental yard, the quiet of woodland paths and the benches tucked away for Sunday afternoons. I found Silvermont one January morning in 2017. We’ve explored the whole of it and never tire of it.
It is my solace in a world that often seems too big for a gardener. It is my secret haven, just two blocks up and one block over. It is what I look forward to on Sunday afternoons, balancing book, coffee, camera and Aggie’s leash. Hours are spent there literally thinking of nothing, or clicking away with my camera.
Check it out. This is a year in pictures. A big thank you to all those people who help create this space for my dog and I. A gardener without a garden appreciates it indeed.
Nuccio’s Pearl Camilla, the first to bloom in the garden-like January!
Viburnum, but not sure which one. First one I saw blooming.
The different viburnums come next, this is ‘Conoy’.
Linden viburnum, last one to bloom.
Deciduous azaleas.
Snowdrops. Galanthus. Spring bulbs.
Scillia, bright indigo bllue.
They have so many daffodils I made a collage.
Hellebores, this is ‘Conny.’
Corner full of hellebores.
I caught this early one morning, just as the sun was coming up. Looked like it was glowing.
Shell pink azalea.
Trillium.
Virginia bluebells.
Calycanthus or sweet shrub. A great native.
Mountain laurel
Honeysuckle vine.
Solomon Seal.
Wisteria (under control!)
Oak leaf hydrangea.
Cinnamon fern, a favorite.
Dueztia (the non-dwarf variety).
Red hot pokers.
Taken today. Hollyhocks.
The butterfly garden.
Herb garden and sun dial
Wooded path
Vegetable garden with companion planting
My Saturday/Sunday bench
Solidago and Blackeyed Susn
Hostas in the woodland garden.
Cherry tomatoes ripening on the vine. I promise I did not steal one.
Green beans in early morning.
Tansy in the herb garden.
Chinese lanterns.
A little bit of history.
Statue in the shade garden.
Southern Lady fern. Love the red stems.
Hinoki hanging out on the corner.
Jewelweed growing everywhere.
No clue. A vine growing in the vegetable garden.
Pollinator garden with Autumn Joy sedum.
We had this much rain in two day time period.
Chelone or turtlehead, does well in partial shade.
Linden viburnum berries.
Winterberry holly.
Winterberry holly.
Purple beauty berry.
Hearts-a-bustin seeds.
Moving into fall, Joe Pye Weed and the last of the summer phlox.
Anemones tucked into a shady spot
Jack in the Pulpit seed head
Pineapple sage in the herb garden.
Lichen in the moss garden.
Seed pods of amsonia
front porch, a perfect spot for a 7 p.m. walk/sit
vegetable;e garden at sunset
tennis courts
Looking forward to this.
The park raises money by putting on some Halloween fun for the kids. Dancing ghosts were my favorite.
Of course, white squirrels led the way through the Halloween paths.
A totem Halloween among the hemlock grove.
The ‘Twilight Trail.’
Ghost hiding among the trees.
Fall isn’t ignored in the garden. Color is everywhere.
Fall leaves of oak leaf hydrangea.
Winterberry in December’s snow fall.
My bench!
Until next spring…
Beautiful flowers! Great article!