Part 1: Change in a Garden

Hamamelis x intermedia 'Jelena'

"Nothing is static. Everything living has its beginning and its end."

- Elizabeth Lawrence
Lob's Wood

Sometimes it is harder to make changes in a garden than one would like. It was certainly difficult to make the final decision to take down the once-magnificent witch hazel, Hamamelis x intermedia 'Jelena', in front of Elizabeth Lawrence's house. Dealing with terminally ill plants is inevitable in gardening, especially in a garden with so many mature specimens. 

Every plant loss in Miss Lawrence's garden weighs much more heavily on my mind than those in my own garden, for those are my (much) younger plants; they are not on public display, or documented on small index cards or large maps... much less, an integral part of a garden that is a Preservation Project of the The Garden Conservancy, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, entered into the Smithsonian's Archives of American Gardens, a recognized local historic landmark... and, oh yes, have I mentioned that this is the garden of the South's most pre-eminent garden writer of the twentieth century? 

Honestly, all of that aside, what I attach to more than anything else is imagining the years of care and attention that Elizabeth gave to each plant. I imagine all of the knowledge she gained over the years, and then documented so eloquently for all of us to learn in perpetuity. Seeing all of this, like movie clips in my mind's eye, does not make it any easier to decide that an original Lawrence plant needs to go. But there are times when decisions must be made - as in the case of the Jelena witch hazel - because the plant is telling you - perhaps with its very last breath - that it is time to make a change. 

If there's one thing I've learned as a gardener, it's that dying plants don't get any greener.  Then again, the loss of a plant is really an opportunity to try something new!

Stay tuned for the story of the witch hazel in "Part 2: Change is a Garden".

Yours in Dirt,

Andrea Sprott

Elizabeth Lawrence Garden Curator

Creatures Add to a Garden

"...it is said that a toad is worth twenty dollars a year, and I suppose a frog helps, too.  In my garden there are more frogs than toads, as we have a pool, and their evening chorus is such a din I have been expecting the neighbors to complain, but all I have heard them say is they like it."

Elizabeth Lawrence

the Charlotte Observer
February 5, 1961

Indeed, creatures do add to a garden, and this little fellow was just as happy as can be perched lazily atop the leaf of a crinum.  The observant eyes of Sukey Pratt and Ellen Archer, two of our wonderful garden Keepers, caught this tree frog hanging out in the humid morning air.

Yours in Dirt,

Andrea

Summersweet... for your nose, a treat

"Walking down the garden path on a sultry afternoon in late July, I met a fragrance that took some time to trace. It was the mountain summersweet, Clethra acuminata, a delicate, elusive perfume that comes and goes with the breeze."

Elizabeth Lawrence

the Charlotte Observer

November 30, 1969

The summersweet to which Miss Lawrence refers is still in her garden, just beginning to reveal its first delicate fragrant blooms.  I experienced the same wonder on a hot July afternoon as I walked down her garden path two years ago.  The fragrance of the mountain summersweet is said to smell like heliotrope, but I agree with Miss Lawrence - it is more like vanilla.  It's a scent I never tire of noticing.

Come delight in the fragrance - and many blooms - of July in the Elizabeth Lawrence Garden!  As always, I am...

Yours in Dirt,

Andrea

Taking Time to Enjoy the Garden

“This January, I have added a new resolution to the old promises to get behind my garden sins; the new one is to take time to enjoy my garden. It has been a long time since I sat in it with a book that I didn’t read, and never gave a thought to weeds or watering or plants overgrown by other plants. I have always found it hard to reconcile a resolution to do nothing with one to do everything and do it ahead of time, but I used to find it easy to put my sins and negligences out of my mind. This year I am going to try to recover the talent for leaving things undone.”

Elizabeth Lawrence

January 1, 1961

the Charlotte Observer

Ever since I initially read this passage, I loved it.  It took several readings for me to really get it, and I still force myself to slow down and drink in every word.  As we find ourselves thrust into the hectic chaos of the holiday season, perhaps Elizabeth’s words will help us all stop and take a breath, and make some much-needed time to just sit and chill with nature. 

So at long last, I am finally making the time to sit, chill with nature, and write another post.  How amazingly busy (in a good way) it has been here in the Lawrence Garden!  I have kept my schedule so filled with reorganizing garden areas, research, our incredible volunteer group (the Keepers of the Garden), and several fantastic workshops; I’ve left myself no time to fill you all in on the garden goings-on.  And there has been a whole lot going on!  

If you've visited the Lawrence Garden since August, you may have noticed a new face helping me out. We were lucky enough to have a co-op intern from the Horticulture program at Central Piedmont Community College, April Ryan.  April has helped me out with many aspects of the garden in her 4 months here. Although her internship officially ended December 4th, she will continue to volunteer some of her time here in the Lawrence Garden.  April has just been awarded an American Hemerocallis Society scholarship, and has been named President of the CPCC Horticulture Club for 2013.

April (far left) taught part of a propagation workshop in the garden.

And now on to some plant highlights from the garden...

Galanthus are coming up and blooming in the back woodland.  I’ve spread out several congested clumps over a larger area in the hopes of creating more of a show in future years.  A vibrant patch of sweet tiny Crocus laevigatus ‘Fontenayi’ in front of the house decided it was time to shine last week, even though their “normal" bloom time is February.  (I'm always amazed at how plants never read their manuals!)  

One of my all-time favorite plants is the Chimonanthus praecox (wintersweet), whose relatively small flowers permeate the entire Lawrence Garden with their intoxicating fragrance... especially when the late afternoon warms them.  I routinely cut branches for Elizabeth’s desk to admire the delicate flowers and sweet perfume up close.

Chimonanthus praecox

Last year, the Algerian iris, Iris unguicularis, made its fleeting debut on December 16th; I am sitting on tinter-hooks eagerly awaiting the first bloom's arrival this year.  I have seen it in other gardens... Ann Armstrong’s was blooming in late October!  Hopefully we will see a bloom here before too long.  This is Elizabeth Lawrence’s original plant... still under the kitchen window where she planted it so long ago.  I find this kind of perennial longevity absolutely amazing, and it’s part of the unseen depth of this garden.

Wing Haven is a magical place to visit any time of year, but especially in the winter.  The Clarkson Gardens are filled with birds galore, and the Lawrence Garden is bejeweled with blooms... each more precious now than any in the spring.  Come see us... take time to enjoy the gardens of Wing Haven!  

Yours in Dirt,

Andrea Sprott

Spring in Full Swing

Magnolia veitchii

"The special charm of a Southern spring is its earliness; it is as long drawn out as it is sweet."

 A Southern Garden 

What a winter it was in the Lawrence Garden!  (I say "was" with great optimism)  Temperatures were generally colder for much longer than I remember in recent years.  Although the extended winter chill set blooms back anywhere from two weeks to a month, with the recent prolonged spring warmth, flowers are popping out absolutely everywhere!  One can only hope this year's gorgeous Southern spring is long drawn out.

One of the latest discoveries in the garden: an entire stone landing that was hidden under 3-4" of pathway gravel!  It is amazing how time changes a garden.  Mostly, we think of change in terms of plant material, not in hard-scape.  Once I uncovered and relaid the landing, it made perfect sense to be there.  Yet more testimony to the success of Elizabeth's keen design skill.  Each time I find something new (to me), I get a deeper sense of the meaning of this garden.  It's as if Elizabeth is with me, understanding the wonder and delight that this garden brings.  


Here are a few pictures of the lovely floral display in the Lawrence Garden over the past few weeks.  Join me for the April Garden Walk to discover many more spring treasures!


Happy Gardening!
Andrea

Narcissus 'Tahiti'

Camellia 'Freedom Bell'

Narcissus 'Barrett Browning'

Crocus vernus 'Flower Record'

Iris unguicularis

Trillium cuneatum