A Spectacular Garden Tour

You are in for a treat today, touring through a beautiful garden which has been a work in progress for 29 years. My friends, Dale and Joan Marsh have a love for beauty.  Dale and Joan both love antiques and enjoy collecting beautiful art for their home and garden. Dale is the quintessential gardener and Joan the quintessential designer, a great combination.

 Their Louisiana Low Country Style home was built in 1987 on a large woodland lot.  It has charm and grace depicting their love of architecture and history that you will see firsthand as we tour.

In the cool of the early morning with blue skies, I  had an enjoyable time photographing the beauty of spring flowers in their garden.

 Many colors of azaleas, dogwoods, magnolias, oak and pine trees grace the natural area leading up to their home.

 Side of the house leading to the back gardens.

 View of their beautiful fountain and back terrace looking out over the gardens. The fountain was purchased in New Orleans and the fencing on the terrace is from an old home in the local area.

Katherine, their daughter, in the garden before her wedding recently. What a beautiful bride she was!

This is the whole family. From left to right: Dale, Joan, son, daughter and her husband. Joan insists this garden is Dale's because of his hard work and devotion to it. Everything other than the natural area and initial foundation plants, driveway azaleas and brick path boxwoods was put here by him alone. Joan says, her role was to provide design and structure. She says," He is the gardener I am the under-gardener." The tour begins.

Strolling down the woodland steps the native azaleas are in full bloom and the fragrance was ethereal.

The old millstone was under an old oak tree at Joan's grandparents home. Loving old things Dale salvaged it before the home was sold probably knowing he would find the perfect spot to keep it in the family and preserve it's history.

This gorgeous statuary sets the stage for the next vista.

      The rose arbor laden with beautiful Lady Banks roses.  We have enjoyed garden parties in their garden throughout the years and we always enjoy viewing the sunset from the pavilion shown in the background.    

Lady Banks blossoms don't last long but are so beautiful at their peak.

This photo does not do the arbor justice. 

To the right of the arbor is a large viburnum full of luscious blossoms. 

 The viburnum or what is commonly called snowballs are striking and like this location. This charming old birdbath was also from Joan's grandmother's yard.

The splendor of the beautiful day and spring flowers was delightful.

There is a feast for the eyes everywhere you look. Antique gates and urns accent plants of all kinds along the trail. I'm sure these irises will be blooming soon.

This plant is Mountain Laurel which Dale dug up from the woods at his farm. It is a native species of Alabama and the Southeast. 

The passion and love of plants and beautiful garden antiques evident in this garden charm all who enter.

Florida anise. Quite beautiful!

 Center entrance to the garden. Close ups below of statuary.

I don't believe their collection of beautiful statuary can be matched for miles around.

Coming up the trail to another part of the garden there is a special large spreading Japanese maple tree that is a favorite spot of Joan's.

There is a bench underneath the tree where Joan sits and enjoys this exquisite tree. She told me she felt God's presence so strong there. This bench was her mother's and on the other side of the tree is another of her mother's benches.

I told her that my camera could not capture what God's eyes could see.  What I was viewing with my eyes was so much more beautiful than the photograph. 

  

 From underneath the Japanese maple looking up at the house.

 The blue of the sky and the new green was so pretty.

This was Joan's mother's bench on the other side of the Japanese Maple. I'm sure many prayers of praise have been prayed here. Close up of ram in background in next pic.

There is a story behind each vignette. A shopping trip together exploring usually is a fruitful addition to their garden. They enjoy traveling together and find great treasures near and far. 

The ram depicts the sacrifice God provided to Abraham for Isaac, and is a garden symbol from the Roman days.

These ladies are from Joan's mother's garden. Mrs. Warren toiled in her garden joyfully and it was beautiful also.

 Crossing the lawn toward the garage and into another garden there are many lovely vignettes.

 Love the juxtaposition of the french iris and dusty miller.

 Another graceful Japanese maple cascading over the sweet season statuary

It takes tremendous planning and backbreaking work to create a garden.

Now we are entering what they affectionately call the "kettle garden."

Sweet scrub.

 According to Dale, the 80 gallon cast iron syrup kettle now made into a fountain came from an "old syrup making family " in Samson, Alabama.  It was manufactured in Chattanooga. Dale remembers every detail and it is fascinating to hear the history behind all the pieces. Notice the figure in the background.

This antique cast iron jockey holding a lantern was always admired by Dale and was gifted to him by Miss Elizabeth Ballard's estate a number of years ago. It stood at the end of her doorsteps for as long as he can recall. She was a family friend and later a client.

 Whimsical turtle planter made me smile.

View from the side of the garage where comfortable seating is enjoyed for quiet lunches and morning coffee and meditations overlooking the garden.

Joan is a talented designer and has an antique business called Legends. She has a booth at Scott Antiques Market in Atlanta a number of times a year and also has a booth At Montgomery Antiques and Interiors, Montgomery, Alabama.

      I have enjoyed hearing the history of so many of their vintage pieces. I am glad I can record this information for their children as well as many of our local friends that are familiar with these places.  The Victorian window on the garden side of the garage came from the old parsonage of First United Methodist Church, which once stood where the Citizens Bank building is located across the street from the FUMC sanctuary in our town.   It was taken down and demolished, except for 2 windows, one of which is pictured above.

  

 Variegated hydrangeas. The garden is magical when the hydrangeas are  blooming in late May and early June. They host lovely garden parties on their terrace quite often when the hydrangeas are blooming. Strolling through the garden is a special tradition we all look forward to enjoying.

I learned these posts are called bollards. These French cast iron bollards were bought over 20 years ago at an antique store in Montgomery, Alabama. The attached heavy chain was moved from their farm.

As you meander down the brick path various varieties of camellias greet you.

 Dale, in his element with his beloved camellias.

A myriad of quaint seating areas are scattered throughout delight the eye.

The bell was the school bell for Piney Grove School, which was located near the Marsh farm.

        The front porch fretwork for Kate’s playhouse was taken from the Edwards home (Joan's great grandmother and father’s home) at the intersection of Edwards Street and Daleville Avenue where the present Citizens Bank is standing. It was demolished to make way for the bank and the porch columns, baluster rail and gingerbread all came from the front porch of the Edwards home.

 I had a fit over these cute bunnies!

 Don't you love all the details? Mail box and everything!

The gable eve work standing next to the door of the playhouse also came from the Edwards home. 

Green bottle tree. History of bottle trees found here.

The blue bottle tree is based on an old African tradition to ward off "evil spirits", with the evil spirits being trapped inside the blue bottles, and providing some measure of protection to the homeowners.

The gate to the back property called Bernie's Gate after the friend who built it.

So lovely.

The  special rose garden will soon be full of beautiful roses with lovely scents. Catherine was a sweet fragrance of beauty in our lives and is sorely missed.

Buckeye plant native to Alabama and the southeast.

Would you believe there is so much more to see?

 Joan adds, "that their garden and all of nature really, feeds her soul." When I walk through it and see God's creation in the flowers and shining through the sun dappled trees I immediately think of the song, Hallelujah by Chris Rice." View it here.

The love and passion for this beautiful garden shines through.
I know you can see how talented and knowledgable Dale and Joan are. They are very special friends of mine. Thank you Joan and Dale for allowing me to share your garden. It was indeed a pleasure for all of us.

Blessings to you today, Bonnie

Linking to : Gardens Galore, Metamorphosis Monday, Show and Share,The Scoop, Inspire Me Tuesday, The Enchanting Rose, Wow Us , Share your Style Party, Tablescape Thursday, Thoughts of Home,Feathered Nest Friday, Home Sweet Home, Foodie Friday,Dishing It and Digging It.

The evolution of my garden

Seventeen years ago we bought our current home situated on a heavily wooded lot with natural areas in front and back and on both sides. At that time, I didn't know much about gardening at all. My main goal was to grow hydrangeas and camellias for flower arrangements for myself and to share with others.  So, I began planting.  It didn't take me long to  realize that maintaining our natural area would not be an easy job. My husband's main objective was privacy, so planting shrubs along the fence on the back of the lot, was my first priority. After researching shrubs that would grow in the shade,  I chose a variety of viburnum.      At that time, we didn't have a great camera, I didn't take many pictures and  had not started blogging.  As a result, all I have are some xerox paper copies of pictures and the quality is not good, but maybe you can get an idea what the area looked like when my garden began. The old saying, I wish I had known then what I know now comes to mind when I think back and realize all the mistakes I made. I had no plan at all just started planting things I liked. Of course, I did know enough to know I had a yard that was primarily shade so my love of hydrangeas and camellias fit in nicely. 

This is what my garden looks like now. It is still a work in progress and I constantly dream and think of ways to change it.

Of course, the weather is a constant factor in how well a garden performs. Plants and shrubs outgrow their spots and may need to be moved. Pruning each year is a major job for me as well as mulch in the beds and weeding. I enjoy the work but it is time consuming and life happens. Perfection does not happen!

This is the first picture I could find after moving in our house and beginning my garden.   My benches were painted black and I soon learned that black does not show up well in shaded areas, so I re-painted them white. You can see the viburnum shrubs planted along the fence in this pic and notice how much the camellias have grown!

My cute niece in our back yard basically before anything was planted except the viburnums along the back fence. She has two children now!!

 Fast forward and everything is growing and the hydrangeas and camellias are rewarding me with blooms. I fertilize the camellias with 9-4-8 right after they finish blooming and before new growth begins. The last of March I fertilize the hydrangeas with 10-10-10.

The camellias are blooming in this picture and have grown quite well.  Stone wall has not been stacked...just a few stone outlining beds. The viburnums in the back have grown also and it's beginning to look like a shade garden.

 On the left side of the picture are three large pine trees. They eventually die from pine beetles and had to be removed which changed the garden dynamic.  View the tree cutting process here and the arbor I lost.  I loved the pretty long leaf pine needles they provided and enjoyed the back drop they made for my statuary. The white benches beside the fountain were in the back of the garden and were not used much so I moved them to the front.

Close up of the pine trees I lost and the statuary I mentioned in the previous picture.  Post about my garden statuary may be viewed here. The variegated hydrangeas shown here were also lost because they were moved to protect them from the falling trees and did not survive. Variegated hydrangeas are hard to find and I love their light color. I hope to add some more of these when I find this variety again.

This is further down the border. I had just acquired this old iron fence and the new arbor. Wow, that was a long time ago.

Here you can see what a few years can do. The same iron fence and  the arbor thickly covered with confederate jasmine. Woodland phlox grew by the fence for a number of years but the blooms only lasted a short time.   Look how the camellias have grown. I forgot to mention irrigation was added to this area in 2001 or the garden would not have grown as quickly.

At this point my husband was seeing that losing a few trees would give  the garden more light  and things would grow better. I finally convinced him it would look better if the crooked tree and a few others could be cut down. The dogwoods made me happy blooming but they too would fall to disease. A garden is always evolving due to the elements and nature.

This large oak tree shaded our grass and was dangerously close to the house. I have my husband's mother to thank for this tree being cut. We were sitting outside and she looked up at the tree and asked weren't we afraid this tree would fall on the house! When my husband said to call a tree cutter I did not hesitate and it has made a huge difference in the grass growing as well as much less maintenance because it dropped a lot of leaves and hickory nuts.

Cutting the tree opened up this area and now I can have a few blooming things in this sunny spot. The old wooden blue birdhouse in the back of this picture has been moved and updated to a white  birdhouse with a copper roof.

In 2011, the wall was built and has made the greatest difference. "Bones" in the garden are the most expensive items but add  structure needed. The concrete bench pictured here has been moved to  another spot and the pair of white wooden benches are by the fountain now. The white color illuminates in the late evening and early morning. Using white plants throughout my garden lights up the shady areas  and by repeating the same color unifies the various garden rooms.

 Along with adding white flowers of varying textures I like to add concrete statuary throughout my garden. Hardscape items draw the eye from one point to another and invite you to continue around the path from one area to another. They also add interest and variety.

Adding a touch of blue adds a touch of whimsey and the unexpected.

This is a terrible picture of me but I'm in my element! Happy Gardening!!!

Have a wonderful week.

Joining: Gardens Galore, Metamorphosis Monday   Botanic Bleu  Show and Share  The Scoop  Celebrate and Decorate  Inspire Me Tuesday  Wow Us Wednesday  Tablescape Thursday  Share Your Style Party  Thoughts of Home  Foodie Friday  Feathered Nest Friday  Dishing It & Digging It   Calypso in the Country, Sunday's At Home

A Fabulous Garden

You are invited to view a wonderful garden at Lake Martin in central Alabama today. I toured this garden in, 2012, and still receive inquiries about how to visit this garden. I am on a family vacation and wanted to link up to Pam's new Gardens Galore party@Everyday Living. Please click here to view the garden.  I could not get the repost to work. I apologize it is taking a longer time for the pictures to load from the link.   I know you will enjoy the tour of Jim Scott's garden at Lake Martin and the new gardening link up party at Everyday Living. I am looking forward to it. Have a wonderful week.