A Garden in 40 Shades of Green

A transplant from the Emerald Isle shares his first American garden

Emmanuel Touhey sent us these photos of his garden in Burke , Virginia , just outside Washington , D.C.

This is my first real American garden . Born and raise in Ireland , I go to the Virginia suburbia three year ago with my young kinfolk . Having always lived in the metropolis , I never really had much unripe space to play with . gratuitous to say , there have been many mistakes along the way . I promptly learned about the importance of “ right plant , right place ” and that you have to embrace the quad you have . A rose garden will not flourish in the tad — and the visiting cervid , who dined on the periodic bloom , only reinforce that full point .

This garden is all about the super acid . It sit against a timberland backdrop that is strip bare in winter and is then completely shaded over in summer . It ’s occupy with plants of wildlife , including the aforementioned cervid , owls , hawks , woodpeckers , cardinals , frogs , turtles , snakes , and Fox .

Room with a view . The porch is a wonderful advantage point to baby-sit and view and listen without obtrude on or disturbing nature any clip of the day or night . It is the perfect room with a view .

wintertime desert landscape . The garden is disinvest bare in winter and becomes a innocent chocolate-brown landscape painting . The social organisation of the plants reveal themselves in the moth-eaten winter light or when snow crusts the nude branches .

Hope springs eternal . In spring and summer , the garden transforms into a great deal of profuse green . I joke with my friends that there are 40 shade of green in my Irish - American garden .

Lights , camera , activeness . Light , color , and grain are important in this garden . A change of Grass blend in nicely with the creeping speedwell ( Veronicarepens , Zones 6–9 ) , which in spring is a beautiful carpet of tiny gloomy efflorescence among thedaffodilsin the foreground , and among the elephant ears ( Alocasia ) and sneak Jenny ( Lysimachia nummularia , Zones 4–8 ) in the background .

Fun with foliage . There are two varieties of elephant ear ( Alocasia ) in the garden , one grim than the other . I love the large leaves , which have a hint of black in their coloring . Black and immature go so well together , with the black delivery out the rankness of the foliage , especially against the light light-green ferns andgolden icteric creeping Jennyunderneath . The combination is especially magical after a rainfall .

trip the light fantastic toe in the tip . Mary Jane are perhaps the best works to show off in the mottled sunshine , and none more so than this purple fount grass ( Pennisetum setaceum‘Rubrum ’ , Zones 8–11 or as an one-year ) . In summer , it just dance and rock in the gentle snap .

pop of color . The blade of iris and the pops of orange and red from the Nasturtium ( Tropaeolum majus , one-year ) against the blue pot model in the one hot maculation in the garden . Pots are a great way to contribute color and pastime to a garden . All my pots are blue , which help tie the whole space together . I call this area my “ little cottage garden . ” It bakes in the good afternoon and evening sun in summer .

bungalow garden . The “ cottage garden ” is also another dandy vantage distributor point to see most of the garden and see the bee and butterfly stroke feast on the butterfly bush ( Buddleia davidii , zone 5–11 ) . I have several George Bush in this small expanse . I love , too , the frothy white flowers of the garlic cive ( Allium tuberosum , Zones 4–8 ) , which blossom freely at this time of year and complement the blank nicely . The bees love to banquet on them as well .

Thriller , filler , shedder . I always endeavour to make the infinite and plant combinations interesting . The grassy spikes ( Dracaenaindivisa , annual ) , oregano ( Oreganum vulgare , Zones 5–9 ) andthyme(Thymus vulgaris , Zone 5–9 ) have a central casting character in this spot , with backup from the elephant ears and a wave of golden creeping Jenny wash over the pathway to a lower place . It gives the blank space a sense of movement and excitement .

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