The European Flair

The Browder Garden is a very special garden and similar in style to mine, though more refined-I am working on it-have patience! I enjoyed Helga and Dewey's garden very much.

Like many couples I meet who garden together, each half of the couple have their niche. Helga's is the flowers, and Dewey's is the vegetables.

I was very sorry to have missed seeing Helga at her garden, but I did meet her and her daughter at my garden. They made the long trek out here to Woodlawn to visit me just prior to my taking off to tour the other gardens. I appreciated it! Dewey was home though and showed Julie, Nancy and I around his extensive vegetable garden (a big hit with the crowds). He also shared some water; which was ever so helpful on the hot day we toured the gardens!

I learned quite a bit about vegetables from Dewey. Our vegetable gardens are very similar in that we both garden in raised beds and have solid paths in our vegetable gardens. His is surrounded by a picket fence and has a wonderful garden house located nearby. Dewey's garden gets full sun (a must for vegetables) and mine only part sun (but my veggies do okay due to the garden's orientation). Dewey taught us about a salad you can grow in the summertime. A big goal of mine is to pick greens at the same time I pick cucumbers and tomatoes. This is a hard task in Tennessee since most salad greens like cool weather and there is not much of that here in the summer. I believe it was Portulaca oleracea Dewey was growing. I am going to look for the seeds and try it out as it likes the heat! Some of the Browder's favorite vegetables growing in the vegetable garden are: German potatoes, tomatoes, beans, peas, a variety of salads, radishes, garlic, onions, carrots, Kohlrabi, corn, peppers and eggplant.

Helga and Dewey have six grandchildren, three boys and three girls. Their grandchildren's names are: Nicholas, Phillip, Eric, Katie, Lauren and Jessica, and they all reside in the garden! No silly, not the grandchildren literally, but the Pin Oaks that are named after the grandchildren. Naming trees is a good thing and I know a few other gardeners who name their trees. The only named tree I have is Christine's tree. I'll have to name a few more.

Helga, I hope to make it out to your garden when you are home. I would love to talk with you about it. And come back here when you have time and we can talk too!

Helga and Dewey wrote a lovely description of their garden which I would like to share with you all:

Our gently sloping backyard is a combination of island gardens and floating flower beds with different characteristics.

The 'Gazebo Surround' is our shade garden and is hope to: hostas, ferns, bleeding hearts, astilbes, hydrangeas and other shade loving plants.

The 'Moon Garden' used to only contain white flowering plants, but is now our new Austin Peay State University (APSU) Garden and sports a combination of red and white plants-APSU's colors! (That is it with the white Adirondick chair, Annabelles and red geraniums)

The 'Northern Boundary' island is the busiest part of the garden in terms of plant variety, color and structure. It is anchored by a native cedar tree; which is home to lots of our feathered friends. The hummingbirds absolutely love the bright red monarda (bee balm) and find lots of other flowers for food.

The 'Rockery' is mostly a spring bed with azaleas, iris, and daffodils. It also glows later in the summer with crepe myrtles and sedum. A garden house (German style), the vegetable garden, a berry patch, and a few smaller accent gardens float in the upper garden to round out the backyard.

Most beds are framed by flagstone borders which we have added over the years. We have lots of wildlife including everything from birds to deer to rabbits to squirrels to turkeys to foxes and butterflies. Some critters we enjoy more than others.

Helga wanted to share a funny story about the garden tour. Patsy, her daughter and helper on garden tour day, was walking toward a garden while a visitor was also walking toward it from a different direction. All of a sudden a baby deer jumped up and ran right by them in a big hurry! It scared both ladies half to death and must have been a sight. The baby deer had been in the bed all morning even while some 140 visitors toured the garden.

I want to share a funny story too. Not many will experience this happening-and it is probably a good thing. Helga liked a hypertufa pot I had made. I offered it to her at a very reasonable price, complete with the plants. She unfortunately got a bonus with the pot unknown to her. While driving away from my house on Lylewood Road, a big toad landed on her ankle. Imagine some panic and crazy driving for a quick minute there. She stopped and let the big fella out and continued on her way. I asked her daughter if she got a picture as it would surely make a good blog picture. She replied, "NO, it was NOT a Kodak moment." Too, too funny and I am glad you are safe Helga and Patsy!

in the garden....