Hey Tessa great project! My dream project for this autumn (summer here in Australia) is to get my small secondhand glasshouse put together. I bought it 2 years ago and it’s been quietly waiting for it’s permanent position 💚
It must have been sad and frightening to loose the big tree😢, but, every as every gardener knows, garden loss is followed by garden opportunity... Your new project is exciting and I'm looking forward to see more. Last year I lost all my box hedges and topiary to box caterpillar. It changed the structure of the garden so much. It is a challenge, but I'm now working towards a looser, softer feel with other evergreens and perennials. I am very sadly avoiding box plants for fear of repetition. I keep in mind that the box trimming was a big job each year and now I have the chance to make the garden more practical as I'm not as young as I was! Last time I looked I was 25, now I'm in my 60s ! How did that happen???😊 Love your work Tessa , you explain clearly and concisely, and seeing your family all working together is lovely. Best wishes from Worcestershire, England.😊
That is so true. How very sad about your box hedges. I am too afraid to install any extensive hedges here for that reason - isolated plants and resistant cultivars only. But one good thing goes away, and it means we must adapt and learn. Are there any evergreens you have found to be especially helpful in replacing the structure from your box? That is always a question here - how do we still create very nice bones for our "classic" gardens with as little box as possible (or none). Nothing I have found here is an exact replacement. I think it is so wonderful that you have been gardening for decades - I hope that will be me as well. :)
@gardenpartystudio So far I am trying common yew and euonymus Jean Hughes for hedging. Pittospernum Golf Ball and Tom Thumb and euonymus varieties for evergreen ball shapes. I'm also looking at any plants that can offer a general rounded shape, like thyme, sage, lavender. Nothing really replaces box ,but I'm trying to reproduce the mounding forms to use as "pudding plants" to punctuate the garden(a description from Margery Fish of East Lambroke Manor in Somerset 🇬🇧) I've also found it helpful to look at images of a French garden, Nicole de Vesian's beautiful "La Louve"in Provence for inspiration - if only I had that climate! ref book "Modern design in Provence". Of course all my experiments will be dependent on the soil conditions 🙄. We have solid clay, which bakes hard in summer and is waterlogged in winter. But gardening wouldn't be so rewarding if it was easy, would it?😊
Great use of that space and taking good from a sad event. Prayers for all still suffering from Helene. Here in NC my heart is hurting for them as the winter storm approaches. Your new garden space will be lovely, a restoration. Congratulations!
Thank you! I have been thinking about NC as well with all the wintery weather coming - and also the fires in California. It really puts everything in perspective for me - we have been so fortunate.
So generous of you Tessa to share your positive message of loss presenting new opportunities. Helene took out a beautiful, healthy 90'x90' Oak which anchored our upper yard in the back. A really terrible loss of privacy but also because the shade loving shrubs and perennials adjacent are now perishing from the intense direct sun. But just this week the landscape team came to remove the giant stump, grade the slope from upper to middle terrace and generally prep this area for a new landscape installation. First though, I need to plan what that will be, what it will cost and if I will need to do this in phases or if I might need to divide this into what I can't do myself and what I can. Either way, it will be an interesting Spring 💚
I'm so sorry about your beautiful oak. That changes the whole light environment... and I understand about the privacy, too. I hope that you will be able to transplant and save some things as soon as this winter blast is past. It is also tough when just doing the cleanup takes any money you might want to spend on a new design, right? We spent thousands on tree removal and cleanup and I'm sure you probably had to as well with a tree of that size. It makes us have to be thrifty. I hope that spring show you new possibilities!
@gardenpartystudio Exactly, the costs from the May tornado and the September hurricane have been shocking! The emotional costs beyond quantifying. Gardening and gardens teach us resilience and adaptability so I am hoping I will use this Winter season to heal, adapt, get creative with my planning to be ready with a transformative new design for our entire upper terrace by Spring.
What a great project! As a fellow upstate resident who lost two 80+ year old oaks in the front yard due to Helene, I can definitely sympathize with your space feeling empty. The only real upside is that it pretty much gives me a blank slate to start from scratch! 😂😂
Great transformation. It will be beautiful in the spring
Thank you! It's so exciting to imagine what it will look like when everything is in bloom!
Hey Tessa great project! My dream project for this autumn (summer here in Australia) is to get my small secondhand glasshouse put together.
I bought it 2 years ago and it’s been quietly waiting for it’s permanent position 💚
Ooh how wonderful! I think a glasshouse makes such a beautiful feature in a garden, too. Best of luck for getting yours placed soon!
It must have been sad and frightening to loose the big tree😢, but, every as every gardener knows, garden loss is followed by garden opportunity... Your new project is exciting and I'm looking forward to see more.
Last year I lost all my box hedges and topiary to box caterpillar. It changed the structure of the garden so much. It is a challenge, but I'm now working towards a looser, softer feel with other evergreens and perennials. I am very sadly avoiding box plants for fear of repetition. I keep in mind that the box trimming was a big job each year and now I have the chance to make the garden more practical as I'm not as young as I was! Last time I looked I was 25, now I'm in my 60s ! How did that happen???😊
Love your work Tessa , you explain clearly and concisely, and seeing your family all working together is lovely.
Best wishes from Worcestershire, England.😊
That is so true. How very sad about your box hedges. I am too afraid to install any extensive hedges here for that reason - isolated plants and resistant cultivars only. But one good thing goes away, and it means we must adapt and learn. Are there any evergreens you have found to be especially helpful in replacing the structure from your box? That is always a question here - how do we still create very nice bones for our "classic" gardens with as little box as possible (or none). Nothing I have found here is an exact replacement. I think it is so wonderful that you have been gardening for decades - I hope that will be me as well. :)
@gardenpartystudio
So far I am trying common yew and euonymus Jean Hughes for hedging.
Pittospernum Golf Ball and Tom Thumb and euonymus varieties for evergreen ball shapes.
I'm also looking at any plants that can offer a general rounded shape, like thyme, sage, lavender.
Nothing really replaces box ,but I'm trying to reproduce the mounding forms to use as "pudding plants" to punctuate the garden(a description from Margery Fish of East Lambroke Manor in Somerset 🇬🇧)
I've also found it helpful to look at images of a French garden, Nicole de Vesian's beautiful "La Louve"in Provence for inspiration - if only I had that climate! ref book "Modern design in Provence".
Of course all my experiments will be dependent on the soil conditions 🙄. We have solid clay, which bakes hard in summer and is waterlogged in winter. But gardening wouldn't be so rewarding if it was easy, would it?😊
Looks like it will be a great addition nice job!
Thank you! We are excited about the new possibilities.
Great use of that space and taking good from a sad event. Prayers for all still suffering from Helene. Here in NC my heart is hurting for them as the winter storm approaches. Your new garden space will be lovely, a restoration. Congratulations!
Thank you! I have been thinking about NC as well with all the wintery weather coming - and also the fires in California. It really puts everything in perspective for me - we have been so fortunate.
So generous of you Tessa to share your positive message of loss presenting new opportunities.
Helene took out a beautiful, healthy 90'x90' Oak which anchored our upper yard in the back. A really terrible loss of privacy but also because the shade loving shrubs and perennials adjacent are now perishing from the intense direct sun. But just this week the landscape team came to remove the giant stump, grade the slope from upper to middle terrace and generally prep this area for a new landscape installation. First though, I need to plan what that will be, what it will cost and if I will need to do this in phases or if I might need to divide this into what I can't do myself and what I can. Either way, it will be an interesting Spring 💚
I'm so sorry about your beautiful oak. That changes the whole light environment... and I understand about the privacy, too. I hope that you will be able to transplant and save some things as soon as this winter blast is past. It is also tough when just doing the cleanup takes any money you might want to spend on a new design, right? We spent thousands on tree removal and cleanup and I'm sure you probably had to as well with a tree of that size. It makes us have to be thrifty. I hope that spring show you new possibilities!
@gardenpartystudio Exactly, the costs from the May tornado and the September hurricane have been shocking! The emotional costs beyond quantifying. Gardening and gardens teach us resilience and adaptability so I am hoping I will use this Winter season to heal, adapt, get creative with my planning to
be ready with a transformative new design for our entire upper terrace by Spring.
Oh, I hope so! You'll have to pop back in and let me know if you come up with a new scheme that you are excited about.
What a great project! As a fellow upstate resident who lost two 80+ year old oaks in the front yard due to Helene, I can definitely sympathize with your space feeling empty. The only real upside is that it pretty much gives me a blank slate to start from scratch! 😂😂
Ugh, how sad!! I know your yard must feel totally different now - but yes, the upside is for a fresh start!