Margaret Moseley recently turned 95 and is still gardening away. Through the years, her garden has been published in magazines and books and has been the subject of television shows. Set on a flat lot under a tall canopy of trees, the garden consists of grass paths and rock lined beds. The latter contain year round plantings so that the garden is as beautiful in January as it is in May. Margaret was initially inspired by the books and articles of garden writer Elizabeth Lawrence. The light in this oft-visited garden is exquisite almost every time of year, although this fact makes it difficult to capture its beauty in photos.
Margaret's garden has changed through the years. She is constantly moving plants if she doesn't like where they are. One day when she was in her late 80's, I went to her house and noticed that a viburnum was missing from its normal spot. "Oh, I moved that the other day. It was in too much shade." I couldn't believe she had dug and replanted such a large, established shrub, but the viburnum survived and thrived. She has never hesitated to relocate a plant if she feels it's not well situated. And, she is constantly "editing" her garden. This past spring, she cut down a large Camellia sasanqua 'Yuletide' because it was taking up too much space. I was horrified. "Well, I needed the room. I've got another one that is just as pretty." Case closed.
No comments:
Post a Comment