Driving up to Layanee's house in Rhode Island I was struck by how old New England is compared to the Midwest and how so many time-honored traditions are still cherished - the smell of sweet hay as it's first cut, the lovely stone walls that were laid by our fore bearers. Layanee and her husband Chris have deep roots in this area and it shows in the lovely garden she has produced. It's a large expansive garden with lawns, stone walls, a pond, perennial beds, vegetable beds, imaginative potted arrangements, and a lovely pool. Her ability to produce such beautiful plants while living on a granite ledge is very surprising to me. Below is one shot of that ledge and the stone wall beyond (notice I'm using the New England term for the walls - "stone" not "rock" (which is what I call them down south)).
Layanee's dog Tucker follows us throughout our tour (with time out for a good wallow near the pond).
She has potted arrangements here and there. Here's one inspired by Pam at Digging and another full of succulents.
While touring we chanced upon this deadly scene - some type of very large bug sucking the life out of a Japanese beetle! Wish I'd thought to get the name of this lovely bush.
Layenee's office is in the glassed-in portion of their house. Can you imagine having such a nice view out to your garden everyday? I especially loved that their octagonal house (the original portion of the house they built) was reminiscent of those 70's homes in Mother Earth News that we used to read about. (I think you need to be of a certain age to know what I'm talking about!)
Here's the lovely Raspberry Wine bee balm that Layanee can see from her office and that she plans to get under control someday. I don't know about that; it looks pretty cool to me.
Many thanks to Layanee and her "Equipment Manager" husband Chris for taking time out of their Sunday to welcome us travellers (we were driving from Maine back to Louisiana). They are such lovely people and I feel fortunate to have met a fellow garden blogger and toured her garden.
Isn't she a delightful hostess! Such a pleasure to visit... and her garden is lovely, too. I'm with you Jean...I was totally enamored with the monarda and would gladly have it grow so well in my garden! Thank you for sharing your visit with us! Btw that's Tiger's Eye Sumac and we need more of those JB sucking wasps! gail
ReplyDeleteI hope I get the chance to see Ledge & Gardens for myself one day! I'm glad you were able to get away from the heat and humidity. I'm sure it's hard to reacclimate to the humid South!
ReplyDeleteI love seeing the pics from your visit. Layanee's garden is stunning, and it sounds like you had a really nice time.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tour. I love octagonal houses and that shot of Tucker is hilarious! It's great he enjoys the garden as much as his human companions. Next, I want to see Layanee rolling on her lawn! ;-)
ReplyDeleteHer garden is always so lush and green when I see photos. I would LOVE to have a glass room on our home like that! Just love it! Thank you for another wonderful tour of her garden. --Randy
ReplyDeleteI love her garden and that glass room is to die for. You were lucky to visit it in person.
ReplyDeleteHow lucky that you got to see Layanee's garden in person & meet the famous Tucker. I want one of those bugs! I didn't think anything ate live Japanese Beetles. I second Gail's ID of the shrub.
ReplyDeleteThis must have been such an exciting experience; Layanee's garden looks magnificent! Between your photos and Gail's, I now have a better understanding of the "ledge" part of her garden. I see I'm not the only one interested in that wasp/bee, though--I didn't know there was anything that would kill Japanese beetles. Maybe Layanee could breed more of those JB predators and send them to the Midwest--she'd make a fortune:)
ReplyDeleteDo you think Layanee would take in an aging, tired blogger who hasn't had a good night of sleep in forever? I'm pretty sure that all of her peaceful looking loveliness would have me sleeping like a baby. I love New England. But then there is something to love about every single state in the country.
ReplyDeleteJean, I am blushing and truly honored by your visit. The pictures look especially nice...is that my garden really? Thank you so much for taking the time to stop in and share the garden and some stories. To the rest of you, you are welcome here. I live off the beaten path,so to speak, so sharing in person is the best. The 'bee' is actually a Robber Fly, Genus, Laphria. I will post on it. Need some more as it seems to like Japanese Beetles.
ReplyDeleteHey, don't tell Layenee, but some of these shots of her "grounds" are better than hers. Actually, it's always interesting to see photos taken of my garden by someone else. It's like an alternate dimension or something–my own garden, but slightly skewed through someone else's vision.
ReplyDeleteAnd I wish I knew the name of the bug sucking the life out of the Japanese beetle. I need some of those.
Hi Jean, that was a nice garden tour. Lots of interesting things. Wonder what that bug was killing the Japanese beetle. I want some.
ReplyDeleteI went back and looked at some of your older posts. Your tomatoes are done and mine are just starting. I looked everywhere for sweet million. Had it a couple years ago and love them.
Your flowers and your birds are beautiful. I'm so glad I stopped by to visit.
Marnie
Hi Jean, thanks for showing Layanee's spread through your own unique lens. I loved seeing the outside of office view up close. Those vebenas are going to block her view if she doesn't do something! HA We need to add some of the Raspberry Wine too. I only bought one plant of it and obviously need hundreds more! I do wish you had been able to stop by here on your way up there. Maybe on your return trip, or are you already home?
ReplyDeleteFrances
Nice post! Thanks for shariing your tour of her garden with us.
ReplyDeleteFrances, I'm so sorry we never got a chance to connect. We did go back the same way but were too tired to do anything. We enjoyed seeing so much of the U.S. on that trip that we may be out and about again next summer. So I may see that garden of yours sometime!
ReplyDeleteJean
Mark told me he read a great post about visiting Layanee's garden and then he couldn't remember where he read it! So I'm glad I discovered it. Really fun to see it through someone else's eyes. (And, yes, we remember Mother Earth News. I think its time may be here again).
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