Cone Flowers, Phlox, Daisies, Yarrow, Russian Sage, Rudbeckia Heatherwood Summer in the “Bright & Shiny”
Summer is definitely here! Earlier this week the temperature showed 100 degrees as I was driving along the road. The hot temperatures are triggering the summer perennials to burst out in bloom. We have to water the beds every night. The water is directed to minimize waste and provide moisture only where needed.
This vignette of color is in a section of Heatherwood’s Cherry Allée. Mary requested that the design criteria for this area was to be “Bright and Shiny.” I think we have satisfied her request.
Our Heatherwood meadow is a potpourri of color in midsummer. This vignette is a mixture of yellows from the red hot poker and yarrow, pinks of the Joe Pye weed, blues of the globe thistle, greens and browns of the Karl Forrester fountain grass, and the background greens of the red twig dogwood. It is an eye’s delight!
Mid-summer is the peak of color which gives Heatherwood’s Cherry Allee its nick name, ‘Bright and Shiny’. When we were defining the conceptual design of the lower garden area, we asked Mary what she would like to see. She quickly said, “Something bright and shiny.” Three years after planting, here it is.
We envisioned creating a framed-in colorful view from our house level which included both a near field interest of color as well as a bucolic view of the background farms. Pink Flair cherry trees frame the planting area and lead a viewer’s eyes through the scene to the sky above. The shaped lower lawn separates the foreground from the background. We planted oak and birch trees to separate Heatherwood from the neighbor’s pasture. The trees at the top of the hill provide additional interest as they break the horizon line.
We added ‘sitting rock’ benches at the top of the garden to immerse the viewer into the bright flowers. Lilies planted just right of the stone benches provide a sweet aroma. It is easy to get lost in the beautiful colors and sweet smells.
All season interest was also in our minds when we designed ‘Bright and Shiny’. In the early spring, the cherries break out in beautiful pinkish white blooms. Later in spring the perennials start to bloom in color profession. In summer the perennials reach their peak as different plants come in out of their prime colors. In autumn, the cherry trees and the background trees burst out in brilliant fall color. And in winter, the red bark of the cherries and the yellow bark of the yellow twig dogwoods frame the view while the different forms and textures of the spent perennials provide winter interest. When snow covers the ground and trees it is like a winter wonderland.
