I am slowly but surely adding pops of purple into the garden. My garden design leans towards the subtle pastel color palette and green foliage textures that predominate my woodland setting. I needed some pops of strong color without going too far out of my comfort zone and purple seemed the perfect choice.
This time of year the flowering trees steal the show all across the Mid Atlantic. At Aspen Hill the Saucer Magnolia and the Weeping Cherry, two of the first trees that I planted after we built the house, are in bloom. They may be twenty years old or more by now and are getting more impressive with each passing year.
Weeping Chery
Hellebores are a definite favorite in my garden. They are the first things to bloom, they thrive in the shade, and the deer leave them alone. I bought my first hellebores at a local nursery that really is a cut above the norm for plant selection. I started out with five plants of the 'Pine Knot Select Strain'. It took several years for them to mature, but they sure bloom and self seed prolifically now. The five initial plants have colonized a nice sized area.
A few months ago Mike and his brother Lowell spotted wood ducks at the pond. The ducks hung around for a few days and then were gone. I started doing a bit of internet googling to see how to entice them to come and stay, and learned that the habitat here is ideal for providing nest boxes. Found how to construction instructions and Mike's brother Richard built three of them. We spent most of yesterday afternoon putting them out on metal poles around the pond. Only thing left to do is put the critter deterrent baffles on the first two - need to head back to the hardware store today for the right kind of bolt. Then it is a wait and see game to see if they come back to nest.
I first saw the idea for a millstone bubbler fountain in a garden magazine at least fifteen years ago. I've searched for millstones ever since. I never saw any local and the ones that I was finding online were really pricey and then there were enormous shipping costs to consider. Been on the back burner of ideas for years. A few days ago, I felt the urge to stop in at the local antiques general store. This place sells shabby chic and upcycle type stuff and always seems to draw a crowd, but I have rarely gone there. Off in a corner in one of the outdoor booths, I spotted a pile of five millstones. Price was good compared to what I had seen in the past too. I thought about it for a couple of days, and then talked Mike into going to get it with me this morning. The one I decided on seems a perfect size - 23" diameter. Mike said he could tackle the project of turning it into a fountain pretty easily. I'll start looking online for bubbler kits. I've been thinking about where to locate it, and finally decided that I want to put it with the angel statue in the hillside shade garden. That is where I spend most of my time gardening and where I would probably see it the most for maximum enjoyment.
