December Garden of the Month

My choice for December's Garden of the Month is this garden in Colony Estates near Exit 8 in the Rossview area. For the record, I would like to say I do not drive around looking for special gardens. The few gardens I have featured so far are gardens I have found in my ordinary travels. I spotted this garden when a fellow freecycler (Susan) gave me a ton of Red Hot Pokers. Susan lives on this road so Jimmy and I both had the opportunity to spot this garden. He liked it as much as I did. We thought this neighborhood was a very nice neighborhood and enjoyed our visit to it and with Susan. That visit was back in June and I am just now able to spotlight the garden. This blog has given me a forum to spotlight gardens I think are special and while not everyone will agree with my choices, you will all agree they are special gardens.

As you can see from the front picture this garden is unique and grabs your attention. It is a garden entirely of topiary, which is something I love, though I don't have any in my garden (as yet). The garden's one constant is that it is all unified. There is not one or two topiary plants, but nearly ALL of them are topiaried. It is important gardens be unified in order for them to seem cohesive. Another benefit of this garden is the fact that seasonal changes do not affect it much. Evergreens are constant year round so this garden shines even in the winter and is a perfect choice for this month's Garden of the Month. This garden matches both the house and the homeowner.

The homeowner (Puok) loves her garden and has a special connection to it. I was fortunate she was home when I came by to take a few pictures. I woke her up but she did not seem to mind at all. Puok told me she spends up to 1.5 hours on some bushes and loves trimming them. During the daylight hours residents of this neighborhood are likely to see her in the garden trimming her very artistic creations.

As I have said, I do not have any topiaried trees or shrubs in my yard but I know from watching others and reading about the art form, it is not easy to topiary trees. One wrong cut can ruin the tree for quite awhile. Fortunately, trees will grow back (kind of like bad haircuts-it grows back) and be none the worse for the wear.

You have to have a good eye to masterfully sculpt and shape trees into such intricate shapes. All of these are in fluid forms and shapes, I did not see any animal topiary so it is clear Puok has a certain style she likes and follows. She has consistently maintained that style throughout her yard. While the herbaceous perennials were not blooming, evidence of them was all over the garden so I know she has good color during the growing season to compliment her evergreens.

Sadly, Puok, like the rest of us, lost a bunch of evergreens. She plans to replant come spring but she will be starting from scratch as it takes a lot of time to shape and sculpt these plants.

I enjoyed this garden immensely and really like how the house is married to the yard and one feels comfortable visiting this house because the plants are not overwhelming but are welcoming, warm and inviting. Thanks Puok for letting me visit your garden. If you all are in the Colony Estates area stop by and say hi to Puok and see her garden. She strikes me as the type of gardener who would love talking to other gardeners and has a real connection to her garden and life!

in the garden....