What makes Dr. Graham and Helen Ray’s garden at their home on Rustic Road so special? Planning, patience, compost, and hard work over many years. This shady treasure located just a mile from the garden center has been visited and photographed repeatedly by this top fan and legions of serious gardeners from around the region – and around the world. Graham’s friendships with many top horticulturists has offered him the opportunity to acquire unique specimens and to indulge his love of conifers, hosta, and Japanese maples.

This ‘Wolf Eyes’ dogwood appears to glow on this cloudy afternoon, at the crossroads of a gravel path and a grassy path. In fact, Graham mostly uses grass as paths between garden beds rather than a wide lawn. This is not a place where all the plants are pushed to the edges of the lot.  ‘Wolf Eyes’ grows more slowly than green-leaved dogwoods due to the lack of chlorophyll in the variegation.

Speaking of a lack of chlorophyll, how about this white hosta? Almost no green to make photosynthesis.  The speckled wild ginger in the foreground contrasts nicely with the hostas. Graham’s compositions always feature a variety of colors and textures that complement each other, so that even when there seems to be one of everything – the design still works.

Drooling yet?

Even his vegetable garden is off-the-hook gorgeous. Surrounded by poultry wire on 8-foot supports, deer can only dream of marauding this buffet.

The evidence of Graham’s planning and precision can be seen here, too, in the rows of beans and peas guided by strings nailed across the raised bed.

Back to the shade – ‘Little Honey’ oakleaf hydrangea shines in shady spots, and these clumps of heartleaf Brunnera must have been there a long time.

A lot to unpack here, but mostly the deciduous azalea calling attention to itself – Graham says he doesn’t like oranges and reds, so we’ll call this one a yellow bloomer.

Beckoning paths, one of grass and one of mossy brick, beg you to explore.

Japanese forest grass dots the pathways with the graceful appearance of movement even when no wind is present.

Aren’t garden kitties the best? Meandering with us on this pleasant afternoon, never far from view.

Now, no more words – this garden can speak for itself:

Actually, a few parting words – I also admire Graham’s contributions to Greensboro’s public gardens. As a longtime fellow member of Greensboro Beautiful’s Public Gardens Committee, I have benefitted from his calm wisdom in our monthly meetings, as well as in Guilford Horticultural Society endeavors. Graham currently curates the Dwarf Conifer and Hosta collections at the Greensboro Arboretum, so you can always visit his handiwork there.

To read more about Graham’s techniques – this Greensboro News & Record article he wrote a few years ago will further delight you – Click Here

I recently had the opportunity to visit the garden of Celine & Stan Sprague on Timberview Circle and was reminded how gentle and encouraging filtered sun can be – on both plants and the gardener. Mature neighborhoods in Greensboro are blessed with both shade trees and understory trees, but if you don’t have them – go plant some and enjoy the lasting effects.

Upon arrival, I noted once again that the mailbox garden often makes the statement: “A gardener lives here”. We want to proclaim our love of plants and our eye for design by sharing both with our neighbors and their visitors. Imagine your mail carrier’s vantage point, with the variety of displays they encounter on their daily rounds.

I noted the beautiful bark and graceful living sculpture of this Crape Myrtle. Lagerstroemia is not my favorite, but this one is done justice by letting it grow/not topping it. This is how they should look. Prune wayward side branches when the tree is young, just to shape it, and watch it reward you with an extended view of the cinnamon bark.

At left, one of my favorite Plum Yews is contrasted with a purple Ajuga’s early spring bloom. The first of several Laurels is revealed behind them. I wondered to myself whether the Daylilies have enough sun to bloom here along the driveway.

The lovely brick sidewalk to the front door is flanked by more Laurels, looking out on River Birches with their signature triple trunks. Note that Celine uses groundcovers such as Pachysandra well, avoiding the need for more mulch.

Time to ring the doorbell and have Celine show me her magnificent back yard!

Breathtaking and restful at the same time, you see the center island garden with its stone patio, and the first impression is all soft pastels bordered by varying shades of green. The modern-style chairs invite us to sit a spell and sip our tea, but there are fabulous plants to see.

I’ll let you Google who Otto Luyken was.

Just around the corner from where I shot that last shady photo, full sun provides the perfect site for the vegetable garden. The structure is a great frame for holding frost cloth or insect netting.

Looking across the border to a neighbor’s yard. This illustrates how borders don’t always need to provide privacy. We also see here a dwarf pine “candling” its new growth. And look at the placement of sun and shade plants – the pine and columbine aren’t usually neighbors for most of us, but dappled sun that changes through the seasons – and throughout the day – owes to Celine’s success with it.

Great composition here, with the finer chartreuse groundcover leaves contrasting with the longer/wider strappy leaves of Scilla and its nodding blue lanterns.

Celine uses various shades of blue and purple repeating throughout her borders, as with this ‘Daughter of Stars’ Bearded Iris.

Another Iris, name unknown, is a cherished gift from a mutual friend. I have it too! Undoubtedly we will both pay it forward.

Doesn’t this make you feel cooler, gazing on this sturdy fern? That’s because it IS cooler in the shade. I noted that it felt like the temperature dropped 10 degrees. The Selaginella “Spikemoss” bright green clump on the left is given its own space to achieve its form next to the blue pansies still hanging on. If she’s lucky the pansies will go to seed and their offspring will return in the fall.

The short bird bath allows bathing privacy – doesn’t everyone want that?

Celine’s willingness to use just ONE Dianthus impressed me. The boulder and its ornamental turtle lend permanence to this composition.

I absolutely love garden art, including this weathered concrete frog. Whatever it started out looking like, time and the elements have made it perfectly one-of-a-kind. Let’s see some of Celine’s other ornaments –

Sweet weathered perfection.

Another bird bath, visible from inside and nestled among the yews.

Fountain quit working? No worries – it endures as a sculpture.

I consult with homeowners every day on what to plant to provide privacy, curb appeal, and for biodiversity and ecology. I look, listen, take photos, and ask questions. Most have issues with standing rainwater and erosion caused by water flowing down a slope. Many are looking to attract and feed wild birds (or if they haven’t thought of it, I’ll suggest it – especially when I observe bird feeders, birdhouses, and birdbaths). And a surprising percentage have inherited non-native invasive plants from previous owners – or present neighbors. So they’re tasked with the removal in order to reclaim their real estate for planting beneficial trees, shrubs, perennials, and groundcovers.

The most frequently spotted invasives I see in home landscapes are English Ivy, Bamboo, Mimosa Tree, Nandina, Privet, Bradford Pear, and Mahonia. Let’s take them one at a time:

English Ivy (Hedera Helix) – this one has been widely deployed in the Piedmont as a groundcover, especially on difficult slopes. It is highly effective there, but breeds mosquitoes and will climb and smother trees, your house, and slow-moving children. Difficult to remove, it must be pulled – and then when it resprouts, because it will – sprayed with herbicide. No responsible garden center should be selling it, except maybe as a houseplant where it can be more easily tamed. Instead of this stubborn thug – plant the native Pachysandra procumbens, an evergreen, shady lawn alternative.

Pachysandra procumbens at Biltmore – photo by Jim Robbins

Running Bamboo (Bambusa sp., Phyllostachys sp., and others) – Unfortunately planted as a fast-growing screen, this one respects no property lines. Bamboo can be seen in several locations around Greensboro where it has escaped a well-meaning homeowner’s yard into public spaces, rights of way, under the neighbors’ fences, and just anywhere it darn well pleases. The new canes spread rapidly by way of underground rhizomes – and stopping or removing them is difficult but not impossible. It is a BIG job that seems almost futile. There is a company in Chapel Hill that consults specifically on bamboo removal. Consider planting Hemlock as an alternative. Carolina Hemlock and Eastern Hemlock can both take moist soil and won’t get away from you.

Mimosa Tree (Albizia julibrissin) – “Oh, but it’s so pretty!” Ah, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder – this one moves fast, spreading in multiple ways – root sprouts, birds, wind, fill dirt, and moving water. Seeds deposited by birds are responsible for many of these spreaders – as birds perch on fence lines or tree limbs, they deposit the seed below and voila! – a new plant is born. These plants spread so rapidly that they displace good native plants as they outcompete them for resources. Please do your part to remove them as soon as they are recognizable. Shockingly, some nurseries still sell these in our area. A much better choice is our native Fringe Tree (Chionanthus virginicus).

Nandina (Nandina domestica) – This might be confusing, since Guilford Garden Center does sell some nandinas – but the varieties we sell are bred to not produce berries, which is how the species spreads. When I see even one nandina in a home landscape, I’ll quickly scan for more – and there they are, right on the fence line. Yep, birds sit there and pop them out. I do have a family heirloom nandina in my yard, but I remove the berry clusters when they ripen around Thanksgiving – they’re great for holiday decorations! And I stay vigilant for any that pop up thanks to the birds.

Privet (Ligustrum sinense) – Privet was commonly planted as a privacy hedge 30 years ago, before we knew better. Now we can observe it running rampant in undisturbed wooded areas and open fields throughout Guilford and surrounding areas. Take a hike on any of the Greensboro watershed trails and you’ll spot it trying to take over. And that fact really highlights why we must remove all of these thug plants from our landscapes – some might reason that they’ll keep their ivy or nandina under control, but it isn’t just about that one plant in the yard – it’s where and how it travels and displaces good natives that insects and other invertebrates need to eat and to complete their life cycles – these are the building blocks of our food web. A better choice is Rhododendron – evergreen and flowering!

Bradford Pear (Pyrus calleryana ‘Bradford’) – Another popular tree that was recommended decades ago is the Bradford Pear. Today most homeowners will tell you they removed it because it split in a storm, having weak branch angles. And yes, that is a good reason to avoid it, but WAY more urgent is the need to avoid how this China native cross-pollinates with Callery pear and spreads everywhere it can – just take a drive out around Piedmont Triad International Airport when these guys are blooming and you’ll note that it has become the dominant species in open fields along Fleming and Lewiston roads in particular. Thankfully, it has finally fallen out of the nursery trade locally. Pear is beautiful in bloom, but why not get a fruiting pear that’s well-behaved?

Mahonia (Mahonia bealei) – This tall shrub with spiny leaves and spikes of yellow flowers blooms in winter and was a favored shade plant for the back of the border until it was recognized as moving through both suckers and berries. So look around – yours probably has offspring in nearby woodlands. Instead, choose Soft Caress Mahonia, Indigo Flair, or one of the Mahonia x media cultivars.

Mahonia bealei in bloom and in berry

There is a group of volunteers removing non-native invasives from the Bog Garden at Benjamin Park in Greensboro – a wonderfully wild place at 1101 Hobbs Road, (adjacent to Friendly Shopping Center) that features a natural wetland and invites exploration with an elevated boardwalk, waterfall, and nesting Barred Owls each spring – absolutely a naturalist and photographer’s delight. Over time, invasives from nearby neighborhoods have threatened the wetland ecosystem and crowded out native flora that feeds birds, butterflies, and other wildlife. Kudos to the collaboration between the groups getting it done! Let’s all help get it done in our own backyards.

This month’s featured garden is that of Kit & Terry Schooley on Gramercy Road. Their love of nature is announced right away by their mailbox cover, a foreshadowing of all that is about to unfold on my tour.

My tour guide on this visit was Dr. Kit Schooley, a Presbyterian Minister. He and Terry, a former Delaware State Representative are always so kind and welcoming – this was not my first visit to their home, as we’ve known each other for a few years in the Extension Master Gardener Program, as well as through their involvement in the NC Unit of the Herb Society of America. I let them know they’d been nominated for Yard of the Month by a reader of this blog, and they expressed their modesty over it. But what gardener doesn’t love to show off their garden?

Calla Lilies fit perfectly in a narrow strip along the driveway.

As the back yard came into view, Kit explained how they’d redesigned what they found when they bought the house. Mostly just azaleas. So they carefully planned what they wanted and where everything should go. It had been fairly shady, but a loss of a large shade tree has changed the light recently. Regardless, the plants that haven’t been moved to more ideal lighting seem to be adapting well.

In the photo below you can see some of the garden structures that most of us have – a small storage shed, bbq grill, shepherd’s hooks, and the fence. That big, blue, beautiful obelisk back left makes a bold garden art statement and will support a couple of crossvines in time.

As we wandered, Kit explained why each plant was where it was. It was clear that the thought process was well-approached. Much more disciplined than my own plant-collector process. The Schooleys have already decided what they want to add this fall.

This little composition of textures and colors works whether any flowers are blooming or not. Wide, strappy leaves contrast with finer textures. Chartreuse pops out against dark green.

I know you were wondering…and so was I! Do you save your labels?

This vignette of a pretty pink garden phlox and ferns illustrates what can be done in that adventure known as “part shade/part sun”.

An empty rain gauge doesn’t mean no rain when you have attentive gardeners checking and emptying it after each rain. A good rule of thumb when establishing new plants is that you’re looking for about 1″ of rain per week, preferably not all of it falling in a 30-minute thunderstorm. If not at least that much rain falls, start watering. But watch the plants for signs of wilt and act fast to restore the water loss. This process accelerates quickly in heat.

Black-and-Blue Salvia – a hummingbird favorite, accented by Art and Artemisia – get it?

Here a bit of lawn with paths inviting exploration beyond.

Lungwort, hosta, and astilbe make a lovely combo.

Young plants are protected from the ravages of rabbits, and the big blue obelisk comes into closer view.

Kit loves this variegated Fatsia japonica. I have one the same color but with much larger leaves…maybe a function of the amount of sun vs shade? Or they could be different species.

At the feet of this beautiful redbud is Begonia grandis, aka ‘Hardy’ Begonia…which isn’t really hardy so much as a reseeding annual, but it comes back so I love it. Truth be told I love all begonias except annual wax begonias. More on that later. I should have asked Kit how he keeps these guys corraled in their brick edging. Mine seem to scramble all over the place.

More combinations of color and texture…bravo!

As we crossed into the more utilitarian area of the garden, I observed the Schooleys’ solution to marauding wildlife in the vegetable garden – an 8′ tall fence of poultry wire seemed to be doing the trick. We talked tomatoes of course, and how this year’s insect pests are worse than we remember in a long time, and maybe ever. A compost bin system and rain barrel completed the ensemble.

Have you ever lost your tomato labels in the ground once all that foliage hides them? Here’s a solution – hang them from the top of the cages!

The blue pot is especially eye-catching. Blue and black seem to show off plants exceptionally well compared to other colors. In the background, note the thick habit of the Edgeworthia chrysantha, or Paperbush.

Here’s at least part of how that thickness is being achieved…pruning. I’d always thought that if you prune this plant it would ruin the shape, not pushing out new growth at the site of the cut like other plants will. Maybe I got that idea from investigating whether it will propogate from cuttings (it won’t, just remove the suckers at the base with a bit of root attached) and I correlated that to “don’t cut” – anyway, it’s working well as you can see from this photo.

So congratulations and thank you to the Schooleys for letting me poke around, and thanks also to their friend that nominated them – it was indeed as delightful as promised!

June is when daylilies bloom, right? Well, if you’re the President of the Triad Daylily Fans, you have access to all the latest cultivars from hybridizers eager to excite fanciers of Hemerocallis sp.

Lynne Broderius’ driveway border on Bledsoe Road shows off many of the results.

In addition to dozens of unique daylilies, this border also includes a Hearts of Gold Redbud, one of our Guilford Heritage Collection plants – this one discovered and patented by our mutual friend Jon Roethling, Director of Reynolda Gardens. Lynne also enjoys eclectic garden art, here foreshadowing her other hobby as a beekeeper.

I photographed a few of my favorites before ringing the doorbell, noting the labels listing the name of the daylily, the hybridizer, and the year –

‘Pardon Me’ is one of the reddest daylilies, and is among my preferred palette of red/orange/yellow for these flowers. A vigorous cultivar and rebloomer, it has made its way into the trade, unlike most of Lynne’s prized collection.

Here are a few more of my favorites – stay tuned for Lynne’s favorites at the end:

Moving past the colorful flower border, I next spotted a distant but beautiful blue hydrangea and a lovely rose-pink tulip magnolia. I noted that every plant was given the space it needs to be its best. A pair of turquoise pots greeted me on the front porch. This area showcases an Asian theme.

Now with Lynne as my tour guide, we set off counter-clockwise around the house to see what treasures would unfold. The first stop was this ‘Sun King’ Aralia – a shade-lover that takes a little time to get going. But when it does, it really lights up shady areas with its chartreuse foliage.

This cotoneaster was a showstopper, too – such thick branching! She shared that the way to achieve this is through pruning. Left alone, Cotoneaster has arching branches but may appear a bit thin until older. Lynne said this happened by accident at first, but it looks like a happy accident to me. And making mistakes is a part of every gardener’s learning curve (even when our spouses are the ones who err).

We paused briefly near a trellis sporting a coral honeysuckle, and as the back yard unfolded ahead of us Lynne mentioned that she has really worked on getting the “bones” of her shady paradise established first, very methodically resisting the temptation to get lots of plants into the ground too fast before the trees & shrubs could establish their boundaries. The result is a spacious feel even when surrounded by dozens of azaleas, hydrangeas, and specimen trees.

Speaking of specimens, look at this crazy thing – a ‘Monkey Puzzle’ perhaps? That’s Lynne’s recollection. My first instinct was a Cunninghamia or Chinese Fir of some sort, but whatever it is – it’s very cool. New growth was coming out blue at the bottom, then aging to green as it grew.

A more ordinary but nonetheless lovely Balloon Flower is one perennial that has found its spot among the shrub & tree “bones”.

WANT.

Whimsical, and perfect.

Hydrangeas this blue don’t generally get that way on their own – a little help from soil acidifier will ensure they stay this shade.

More garden art – my favorites are the first 2 photos – the metal flowers and the array of faces on the fence. But Nessie is pretty cute, too.

Here’s a little pruning tip for Oakleaf Hydrangea – where this one was pruned just past a leaf node, it became very upright as it sought more sun.

Here I’m attempting to show the elevation of the back yard, which was steeply sloped and called out for terracing. The terraces were put in by another mutual friend, Steve Windham of Root & Branch Gardens. Contact Steve for landscape design and hardscape – especially if you’re into native plants – that’s his passion and specialty.

I spotted another perennial already allowed to enter the boneyard – this sweet little garden phlox, surprisingly blooming in midday shade. Then something Lynne is going to try to make into a unique topiary form – a weeping Deodar Cedar that she plans to affix to a large ring and have it be like a hula hoop form in midair. We’ll have to check back to see how that works out. Finding the material for the form is the first step.

Ah, the tomatoes! We paused here to share this season’s triumphs and tragedies when it comes to the veg garden. Summer is upon us and here come the pests and diseases – so unfair despite our hard work, and requiring much diligence to ward them off at the first sign of trouble.

Now I spotted another daylily garden as we rounded the house back toward the front yard. This one is in the neighbor’s yard, but Lynne tends it – how lucky is she to have such a generous neighbor to lend her a little more space? Metal butterflies danced above the flowers like their live counterparts.

I had to ask – which Daylily is Lynne’s favorite? She insisted on diplomacy since she’s a flower show judge, instead showing me several unique varieties that show the hybridizers’ talents – this one has the white border around the edge of each petal and sepal.

Doubles, triples, a nearly-green throat, she can obviously appreciate the details while I just merely nod and say “Ooh, ahh, pretty!”

Thanks, Lynne for all that you do for GBI, and congratulations on your showcased Yard of the Month!

Marilyn Schwabenton’s home on Pebble Drive has earned our Yard of the Month designation this time – her combinations and color play created a treasure hunt for our judges. Taking photos on a hot, sunny day is less than ideal, but you’ll note that the shadows and silhouettes are welcome as part of Marilyn’s shady layers.

As we ventured down this side-yard path into the shade, we noted that the temperature dropped about 10 degrees, so welcome and offering an opportunity to more closely examine the individual plants that flourish there.

This closeup of Barrenwort leaves offers evidence of leafcutter bees doing what they do – carving their semicircle material to wrap their larvae for incubation.

This Stewartia tree is nearly at peak bloom, and offers a neat vignette in the understory.

Glazed ceramic planters pop up throughout the landscape, providing a colorful contrast to the plants nearby. This Oakleaf Hydrangea’s leaves are huge as it tries to collect more sun for photosynthesis. To the right of the planter a patch of Epimedium shows how useful it can be as a rambling groundcover in shady areas.

Marilyn’s designs illustrate a great concept – don’t have shade? Make your own by planting trees. There are so many choices for shade trees as well as smaller ornamentals. Marilyn’s varied choices include Amelanchier arborea (Serviceberry), Redbud and Stewartia, and various Japanese Maples and a lovely potted Ginkgo. Once your trees (“walls” of the garden room) are in place, the real estate underneath can be planted with smaller shrubs and perennials.

We liked the changing fence materials here.

Another phenomenon we can study in this garden is how a small space can be made to feel bigger once the plants and other elements are added. Think about how you transition from your front yard to the back along the side of the house – how could it be more interesting?

Cephalotaxus harringtonia ‘Fastigiata’, the columnar Japanese Plum Yew strutting its stuff, the tightly textured foliage provides contrast to the lighter green ferns and Solomon’s Seal nearby.

Texture is really in evidence here, everywhere we looked. As we traveled along the paths deeper into Marilyn’s designs, we encountered many different combinations that worked well together – ferns, wild ginger, heuchera, astilbe, and one of her most-repeated species – Epimedium. So versatile as it scrambles where it thrives – in dappled shade beneath and among other plants.

She uses a number of interesting conifers, too – Hinoki Falsecypress, Juniper, Hemlock and Spruce each found their niches with Marilyn’s guiding hand.

How does this scene make you feel? Serene? So many delicate details combine to provide casual sophistication.

A potted Ginkgo on the deck. Simple, yet elegant and interesting.