For the past five years or so I have donated a one hour landscape consultation for the silent auction at the Arkansas Flower & Garden Show. I did so again this year, and the recipient came to see me after my talk at the show to tell me she had won and was quite excited. She contacted me very quickly and we set a time to do it this past Monday. When I pulled up to her yard it was relatively small in the front, and I thought, this will be a fairly short visit.
Don't judge a book by its cover, or don't judge a garden by the front yard! The back yard was massive and loaded with plants.
The gardener responsible needs to be a Master Gardener. Such enthusiasm, and such skill. She has so many plants and so many plans!
We had a lovely time touring the yard and sharing ideas on what to do. She has a great "She Shed" with gardens surrounding it and a great arbor.
She recycled her old she shed door for a potting bench, and I suggested adding some sinks in the panels for potting (and drainage).
She is also getting into edibles in a big way with a large vegetable garden (which she wants to expand) and fruit trees and blueberries.
There were quite a few fruit trees blooming nicely. They all needed some pruning chores, and we discussed how to do that. From this plum tree
to this pear tree.
She had a very diverse mix of perennials, shrubs and trees including some beautiful hellebores in full bloom
to some amorphopallus just emerging. These will have some showy but smelly blooms later on this season.
It was a delightful visit and I hope I gave her some useful ideas. She treated me to tea afterwards (which I did not take a picture of!). It was delicious with scones and some fabulous Malaysian sausage roll things. Quite tasty, and a delightful treat.
Even though our spring season is a tad behind, there were plenty of plants in bloom in her garden with loads more to come. It is so nice to talk to a gardener who is enthusiastic. I can't wait to see what more she creates!