Creative gardening and gardens
On a long return loop through an unfamiliar neighborhood after a Farmer's Market visit, I noticed an unexpected gem of a garden. Asheville, North Carolina is full of interesting home gardens in the older neighborhoods downtown, maybe because they have limited space, but this one was a standout. I need pictures of this garden, I thought. Returning in early afternoon, I was fortunate enough to chat with the gardener, who was doing some clipping in a lovely shrub border. She said they'd been there 18 years, and started with a blank slate (lawn, no doubt) around a lovely historic house. Her early inclinations towards flowers and cutting gardens have now focused on foliage textures and colors; her combinations of conifers, other evergreens, and herbaceous plants were really lovely. I loved the red-stemmed dogwood that highlighted the entrance to a old-brick path.