Our Neighbor Has A New Head Gardener

We have lived in the same place for generations and it’s unusual but we are very grateful that we have had the same wonderful neighbors for what feels like forever really, they are just like us and speak a bit like us. They enjoy the same TV shows as we do, similar tastes in music, they enjoy art, sport and generally have the same core values as us. They believe in a peaceful life. We have loved living harmoniously with them, they collect our mail when we go on holidays, water our plants and generally they keep an eye out for our kids and we do the same for them.

Recently, though our dear neighbors employed a new Head Gardener. He’s quite different from the old Head Gardener that our neighbors had for eight wonderful years but someone in that family must have seen enough value in him to employ him. So, the neighborly thing to do is to give him a go, right? That’s what we do on our side of the street. Generally, we are pretty easy-going kind of folk.

Here's the neighbours' new Head Gardener
Here’s our neighbors’ new Head Gardener

So far, The new Head Gardener has been doing an awful lot of deconstruction work but in his haste to weed out the “nasty” weeds that he doesn’t want, he has also pulled out many beautiful flowers and shrubs which had been nurtured by the previous Head Gardener. Apparently, most of his experience has been with golf courses and rooftop gardens in high rise buildings.

Getting down and dirty-The previous Head Gardener at work
Getting down and dirty-The previous Head Gardener at work

It’s a funny thing really, we were hoping that he would wait just a little bit, perhaps give things a light prune and have a good look at everything again, after the winter, when the spring revealed the good work done by the previous gardening team.

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Our neighbours garden in the winter
The previous Head Gardener-he was there for 8 years
The previous Head Gardener-he was there for 8 years

There are many things worthwhile keeping in our neighbors garden, that’s for sure, you see our neighbors have always had a beautiful garden and there are treasures currently buried in the snow. We have enjoyed so many BBQs and gatherings there, swam in their pool, prayed with them as they farewelled their family members who have passed away and helped them when they were sick and needed our support or just a helping hand. We are big on mateship in our neighborhood and that’s what mates do, they are there for one another in good times and in bad.

Our neighbours garden
Our neighbors garden

The other day, however, a very strange thing happened, Our Head Gardener called and reminded the new Head Gardener across the street, that we had an agreement with the previous gardener to take care of the potted plants which we had been looking after, as they had been disposed of when their previous owner from a neighbouring suburb, moved without a trace. They have no home to be returned to. The new Head Gardener said that he thought this was a really “dumb idea” as he said he has enough potted plants and is scared that the ones we have been looking after may have weeds that he doesn’t want. We offered to check thoroughly for weeds and remove them but he’s still not happy. We hope that he will see reason and honor the agreement. So that we can make a plan to house more pot plants from other neighborhoods. Our Head Gardener wishes that the new Head Gardener at our neighbors’ place would be a little more polite, after all, our families have been neighbors for a very long time.

Our Head Gardener
Our Head Gardener called the neighbors’ Head Gardener for a chat the other day

The new Head Gardener is advocating to build a large new walled garden so that we may not be able to wave so easily to our other neighbors across the street, who incidentally have the best Taco and Tequila parties.

We love Taco and Tequila night
We love Taco and Tequila night

While we love a beautiful walled garden especially when it is covered in abundant flowering vines and espaliered fruit trees, we are worried that we might not be able to visit so easily with our neighbors as we have always done in the past.

Walled garden-we love these
Walled garden, we love these!

The new Head Gardener does not seem to want to make friends with any of our other neighbors’ friends either and he has been quite nasty to some of the people who can help him get his new job done better. The people who look after the parks, gardens and national monuments might be able to help him if he was a bit nicer to them. I hear he tried to shut down their communication on Twitter, luckily they found another way.

He has employed two under-gardeners, who seem to do most of the talking, one of whom just can’t seem to get our Head Gardeners’ name right.

The new Head Gardeners' assistant, doesn't seem that into gardening
The new Under-Gardener doesn’t seem that into gardening
Another Under-Gardener-nice sunnies
Another Under-Gardener-nice sunnies

We will keep smiling and being polite to the new Head Gardener, he’s new to the job, after all, and it’s our way. We don’t like to make a fuss.

We are hoping that he won’t chop down any trees at our neighbors’ place, we love those giant oaks and magnolias they have growing there. We respect the history these represent in our neighbors garden.

Side view of our neighbours garden
Side view of our neighbors garden

Apparently, the new Head Gardener has a four-year contract, hopefully if we stay friendly with our neighbours (they have a big family) that the Head Gardener will learn to listen to his employer a bit more and not be so hasty with decisions to throw everything out before checking to see the good things that were planted in the garden by the previous Head Gardener and his sweet wife.

The previous Head Gardener had a very sweet wife who loved to help him out
The previous Head Gardener had a very sweet wife who loved to help him out

We hope that we can still spend time with our neighbors and enjoy their beautiful garden, despite their new Head Gardener. If we show him how friendly we are, he may just come around. You never know, there’s a lot at stake we really need to make this work. It’s our neighborhood and we want it to be harmonious for our children to play and grow up in as we did and our parents before us. We love our neighbors garden almost as much as we love our own.

Front view of our house and gardens
Front view of our house and gardens
A view of our garden
A view of our garden in the springtime

Mountain Goats not required here…

You don’t have to be called Heidi and own a small herd of goats to successfully garden on a sloping site.  Just ask Rosie Davidson who recently opened her garden to a group of Garden Communicators on tour, as part of the 2016 national conference of GWA in Georgia during September.img_1932

it wouldn't be the South without a bottle tree
It just wouldn’t be the South without a bottle tree

It is always tricky trying to design usable garden spaces on a sloping block. Trying to create interesting areas and accommodate a swimming pool and spots to sit and enjoy the great outdoors without chairs sitting on awkward angles and visitors leaving your place looking slightly more distorted than when they arrived and losing the food you have carefully prepared as it slides off their plates. As a Garden Designer or creative home owner if you’re into DIY, the challenge is to create areas of flat, both big and small within the sloping block. Practically, the garden owner wants to make the most out of every square foot of their land and also avoid completely covering their guests’ clothing in food and wine and losing all of their friends in the process!

Your guests wont lose their lunch to their lap on this flat surface
Your guests won’t lose their lunch to their lap on this flat surface

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Mrs Davidson warmly welcomed us to her property which offers an enchanting garden built into a hillside in a leafy green neighborhood in Atlanta. The gardens have been created over four levels and a combination of rustic steps, brick paving and gravel pathways provide variation of underfoot experiences and easy access by winding into the contours of the garden rather than going straight up (which is enough to exhaust anyone, let alone when you’re carrying plants and bags of fertilizer to tend to your garden).

The garden provides cool tranquility and respite from the heat on a summer afternoon, large canopy trees form a living green baldachin overhead with just a hint of middle-of-the-day sunlight and blue sky penetrating through.img_1948

I could have easily jumped into that deep blue swimming pool clothes and all…if only 50 people weren’t watching, it was very inviting! A large wall of Miscanthus created privacy as well as whimsical movement above the swimming pool area which was also surrounded by a meticulously clipped 7′ high hedge for extra privacy and screening and acts like a living wall additionally providing sheltered habitat for birds. Love that!

The shadowing on the pool created by the trees in the upper story above was almost mirror like on this still afternoon and really quite beautiful.
img_1942img_1943                              Can you see the trees reflecting in the water?

Ahh...the stunning branches of the Lagerstroemia (Crepe Myrtle)
Ahh…the stunning branches of the Lagerstroemia (Crepe Myrtle). I love the shadows that form on the wall behind that’s art right there!
Buzzing in unison
Buzzing in unison, check out these two beauties completely engrossed in their work

Lush verdant green areas offer tranquility, sometimes people forget that green is a color and that we need it to rest our eyes from the intensity provided by flowers. Small areas of green ground covers and raised terraced gardens offering depth and shades of brown through the use of beautifully crafted stone retaining walls were a wonderful feature of this garden. I almost felt like I was climbing up into the forest beyond.

A delicious collection of succulents close to the house offered a splash of color, texture and fun by the use of a variety of terracotta and glazed pots.

Ophiopogon japonicus (Mondo Grass) provided soft edges to a gravel pathway leading down to the main entertaining terrace.

where will this pathway lead me?
where will this pathway lead me?

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Pots filled with healthy flowering plants and a beautiful potted Acer palmatum provided added interest to this lovely garden.

Specimen Pots filled with healthy plants
Pots filled with healthy plants

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You can  always tell a little about a garden owner by the art that they choose to accent certain spaces in their garden and Mrs Davidsons garden is no exception, she’s a cheerful and very bubbly garden owner which is reflected in the pieces she has chosen for her garden, a little bit of vagary and fun throughout the garden never goes astray.

Hello Froggy
Hello Froggy
Delightful Potting Bench
Delightful Potting Bench

This was a most enjoyable way to conclude a full day of garden visiting, a calm oasis before heading back into the busy city streets of downtown Atlanta.img_1939 img_1935

Thank you, Rosie Davidson for sharing your stunning garden with us.

A little bit of Fairy Fun
A little bit of Fairy Fun to make you smile!

 

 

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