My garden odyssey: The Moon Garden (part two)

Episode XXV

HE SAID: Although we frequently refer to features or areas of our garden as if they were to be experienced as isolated events, just the opposite is true. We have tried our best to create relationships among all the various elements of the garden.

The rocks in the picture below were selected, purchased, and placed in this location long before work began on the Moon Garden. During all the hours I spent clamoring over small mountains of boulders at Madison Block and Stone — selecting rocks for the pond and walls in the back garden — I kept my eye out for a rock that could hold water. Just before having the last load delivered I was thrilled to find this one. Ken, the yard manager, was a little disappointed. He said that when they came across rocks with significant depressions they usually pulled them aside and charged more for them.

I placed the flat-topped rock next to the water stone and in a position where it would serve as a seat from which to view the, as yet non-existent, gravel garden.

SHE SAID: Gardens are always in flux; even elements we think of as rock solid can evolve. I had seen an image of a folk style Japanese lantern, made of rocks balanced one on top of the other. It finished with a wide stone like a hat or roof with a finial on top. One of the stones had a square opening to hold a light. 

I thought it was charming and suggested to Mark that we try to do something like that sometime in the future. Imagine my surprise — and pleasure — when I walked outside a couple of hours later and discovered Mark had taken me at my word and created our own folk lantern. 

HE SAID: Once all of the enclosing elements were in place, all that was left was to add the bulk material. In the photo above you can see that we've backfilled with some of the top soil we saved from the rear garden.  And below you can see the completed construction. We used a crushed black granite for the circular path. The sharply faceted stones meshed together to give a much more stable footing than rounded river stone. 

I've never been able to decide which half of the Yin/Yang division is which, but the mounded planting area is a mixture of soil, peat and sand — meant to provide much better drainage than most of our soil. Notice that the large gray rock with the pink stripe, which was perched atop a dirt pedestal in previous photos, now looks quite natural resting on its gentle mound of soil. We top-dressed the planting area with a brown pea gravel both for its appearance and to help keep weeds down.

Here is a shot from early winter with a white ring of ice surrounding some of our first plantings. And below is a summer view of the area. The raked gravel and the geometry of the stonework provide a welcome contrast to the lush plantings of the rest of the front garden.

Raking gravel lives up to its reputation. It is one of the most calming and enjoyable tasks I perform in the garden. I don't do it every day, but the patterns do wear down with wind, rain and animal traffic. I like to rake whenever we are expecting guests. For several years I made a point of never raking in exactly the same pattern, but recently I've come to accept that some patterns work better than others and that I just enjoy raking some designs more.

I haven't forgotten that last week I promised to explain the origin of the name of this area: "Moon Garden." For many years I was acquainted with an "outsider" artist (one with no formal training) named Carter Todd. He "discovered" art during his recovery from alcoholism. Art turned him into a new person.

We ran into each other on a regular, if infrequent, basis; and always talked about his work. Although he had shows at major galleries in New York and Chicago, he was also known to trade a drawing for cigarettes at times. I asked him if he would be interested in a commission to draw a portrait of our house and garden.

We arranged to meet one afternoon and Carter walked through the garden with me. He sketched a few notes on a pad and said he'd have the drawing ready for me in a few days. When Linda and I picked it up, we found that he had selected those features of the house and garden that he clearly saw as important: the large window on the back of the house, the deck, the pond, stream and stepping stone path. He also included the bridge and a lantern that we had recently added. All of the trees in the yard were reduced to three.

SHE SAID: But was that the moon in the sky over the house, I asked the artist. No, that was the garden in front, Carter replied. The two thoughts have been tied together in our minds ever since. 

Carter Todd died of heart failure not too long after completing our portrait ... an ironic end for someone with so much heart.

For previous episodes about the design of our garden, click on My Garden Odyssey in the categories list.To read Part One about the Moon Garden design and construction, click here. Click on the photos to enlarge them so you can see the details. 

Comments

[mlc]

Wonderful awesome moon garden. I am very envious. I've always thought I would like one, because we are out and about late at night so often and I think we would enjoy it.

[Randy]

Very neat, these gardens are unlike anything I have seen. KUDOS for your creativity.

[LINDA from EACH LITTLE WORLD]

Thanks for the comments and compliments. We spent (still spend) as much time and effort on the hardscaping as we do on the plants.

Randy — you must have a big pond if you were out in a canoe. Those butterfly (dragonfly?) photos were amazing.

[Erin]

What a beautiful story. I love it. And the Yin-Yang garden is remarkably calming, even when just viewed in photos.

[Lisa at Greeenbow]

This is marvelous. I have often wanted a rock garden I could rake but I decided it would drive me crazy wishing it looked perfect. I like your lantern too. I thought it was a cairn. I would love to see a photo of it lit.

[LINDA from EACH LITTLE WORLD]

Erin and Lisa — it is a calm space and you can see the pattern in the gravel when the sun hits it late in the day. That's usually when I am at the kitchen sink; an unplanned effect but perfect!

[Term Paper]

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