Plant material

Some of us are plant people - people who see an attractive plant that really catches our eye and we simply must have one or several. We don't know where we are going to put it but we simply must have it. And there are others that are more concerned with design, structure,or maintenance not that it is one or the other (plants or structure).

I was talking to someone on the tour and mentioned a majestic weeping Purple Beech near the front entrance to the house and the individual hadn't seen it. And then there was a gentleman that asked me about a plant at another garden that was nestled amongst the hostas - I hadn't seen it. Finally, it wasn't until we were well into sitting one of the gardens that I noticed a particularly attractive Tricolour Beech. We obviously look at gardens with different eyes.

It is always fun to tour gardens with someone else as it provides an opportunity to see more and to share while doing it. We can share with the home owner too as they too have problems or questions.

While the home owners were not having a problem with a bed or some plants, they were having problems with minx who were eating the koi in the pond. I was able to suggest that they try laying some weeping tile along the bottom of the pond to give the fish a place to hide. They told me that they leave the green algae in one part of the pond as food for the koi. I had known that koi fed on the roots of plants but never thought that algae might help to save some of the plants from the koi. This is what I meant by sharing.

Several people asked about a variegated willow on one of the properties, asking about height, spread and whether it could be pruned. It is always neat to see how a particular plant behaves in a particular setting and to think how it might perform in our own garden.

I love garden tours because I am a visual learner and always go home with some new ideas.