MARTHA'S FANTASTIC GARDEN, PART I

CLASSIC FORMALITY...

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...LARGE OLD TREES ANCHOR THE GARDEN...

...COBBLE STONE WALKS WITH CHINESE ACCENTS...

...ADD SOME WHIMSY...

...GARDEN PATHS...

...TAKE A WALK IN A STYLIZED WOODS

Saturday,  8:00 AM.  63 degrees F, wind W, light with stronger gusts.  The sky has a high overcast and there is haze over the Islands.  The humidity is trending up, at 78%, and the barometer has fallen to 29.76". It was unusually warm in Ashland yesterday evening, and considerably cooler north towards Bayfield.  Local radar shows storm clouds moving in from the west, and NOAA radio is posting small craft warnings for later today.  It is likely to be a wet afternoon, which is OK with me, as I pulled a muscle in my back yesterday splitting wood and Buddy has a cough and we both need a little down time.
   In a long career as a botanical garden and arboretum director I worked in and helped design a lot of gardens, and travelled throughout the United States, Canada, Great Britain and Europe visiting famous gardens, public and private, so I have an appreciation for garden design and maintenance.
   There are many types of gardens, from kitchen gardens to great pleasure gardens and everything in between, and some that defy categorization.  There are as many reasons to make a garden as there are gardeners, just as there are as many reasons to make a painting as there are artists.  But most gardens, if not all, are at heart an idealization of nature, regardless of their functionality.
   I could go on and on about the subject, but instead will simply introduce you to a fantastic garden that has many if not most of the elements of a great garden, and it is the creation of one individual who lives right here in Bayfield.  Most noteworthy gardens are the result of considerable wealth spent with abandon and employing the talents and labor of many individuals.  This garden was created by the interest and labor of one lone individual.
   Her name is Martha and her garden is in her backyard on the corner of Washington Ave. and Ninth Street.  Her knowledge is the result of years of travel and study, and the labor is, with minor exception, all her own.  This in itself makes it a noteworthy garden in my estimation, but its combination of various classical design elements and wide variety of plants and garden ornamentation make it outstanding in almost anyone's garden lexicon.
   I hesitate to give the style of her garden a name,  as I don't know whether Martha would agree with it, but to me it is best described as chinoiserie, which is a combination of Eastern and Western stylistic elements and originated in France in the 18th Century.  In Martha's garden', Japanese and Chinese garden ornaments are mixed with English garden benches and tueters.  Native North American plants are mixed with all sorts of other species and varieties.  Oriental motifs are laid out with French formality.  Variations of color, texture, and form abound.  All this in a garden that fits within the bounds of a city back yard.
   I will continue with more about Martha's Fantastic Garden, Part II, in tomorrow's blog.