{"id":5438,"date":"2017-08-14T13:18:46","date_gmt":"2017-08-14T13:18:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.siteandinsight.com\/?p=5438"},"modified":"2017-08-14T13:18:46","modified_gmt":"2017-08-14T13:18:46","slug":"a-mid-summer-check-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/glenvillaartgarden.com\/fr\/a-mid-summer-check-up\/","title":{"rendered":"A Mid-Summer Check Up"},"content":{"rendered":"

In\u00a0the middle\u00a0of August, the garden feels different. It’s not as fresh\u00a0or vibrant, not as satisfying. This makes it tempting to move into planning mode. But first, I need\u00a0to review\u00a0the goals I set for the year, to assess what still needs to be done.<\/p>\n

One goal was to hold a second Open Garden Day. I checked that off in July. Another was to let the garden express itself. This is a goal that will never be finished. But I’m doing my best, letting nature take its course in the fields and in The Big Meadow, previously known as The Big Lawn.<\/p>\n

My first major goal was to finish<\/strong> Orin’s Sugarcamp<\/strong>. Last week we cleaned up the area, removing some tin leaves and miscellaneous bits and pieces. We added slate steps to make it easier to walk up the incline that leads\u00a0to the sugar camp and visually lowered the granite lintel by adding more earth\u00a0in front and behind. Now, someone climbing the steps will easily see the quotation cut into the stone: \u00ab\u00a0The Gods can be known to exist on account of the existence of their altars.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"The

The words come from Chrysippos, a Greek philosopher. I saw them at Little Sparta, a garden in Scotland, and knew immediately I would use them at Orin’s Sugarcamp.<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

Before the clean up we added a short column\u00a0of corrugated tin at one corner. The column ties in with a larger project I’m working on, which I’ll write about at some point. I like the contrast between the rusted tin roof and the un-rusted column — it underlines how things change over time, an important idea behind\u00a0that larger project.<\/p>\n

The final change was something minor that nonetheless has\u00a0a big impact. Compare these two photos to see if you can spot the difference. The first photo\u00a0is from July 1 …<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"This

Yes, the leaves stacked by the tree are gone, but that’s not the change I’m talking about.<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

… and the second\u00a0from August 8.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"The

The angle is different and the change is subtle, and so hard to notice.<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

Did you spot it? The change was lowering\u00a0the boiling pan and turning it around so that a\u00a0long bent piece is in front, almost touching the ground.<\/p>\n

The weight of winter ice and snow brought down some of the tin maple leaves that hang around the sugar camp. Within the next few weeks we may re-hang some of them, but we could stop today\u00a0and call it quits. \u00a0Except for one thing.<\/p>\n

The installation is named after Orin Gardner, a real person\u00a0who worked for my father-in-law.\u00a0Recently I learned that Orin was a strong Christian. The person who told me this worried that combining his\u00a0name with the quotation from Chrysippos could lead people to think otherwise. I respect this concern and am searching for\u00a0a way to acknowledge\u00a0it.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"A

A close-up shows the twisted boiling pan where maple sap was reduced to maple syrup.<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The second major goal was to improve the plantings at The Skating Pond<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

One area at the Skating Pond\u00a0has never done well — it’s soggy, with soil that no plant seems to like. Last summer, hoping to uncover more of the rocky ledge that edges part\u00a0of the pond, we started\u00a0digging. We didn’t find rock; instead\u00a0we created a mess — a steep slope with crumbly rock.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Talk

This is what the area looked like earlier this summer.<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

To correct the problem we added crushed rock for drainage, rocks for stability and good quality soil. We transplanted several clumps of the\u00a0Calamagrostis <\/em>that is\u00a0growing nearby, even splitting some of the larger plants, and to my delight, they didn’t suffer.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"I'm

I’m trying several other plants to see how they manage — Aralia ‘Sun King’ and Agastache. Maybe I’ll add some Rudbeckia.<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

In the fall we’ll divide\u00a0more Calamagrostis. We’ll move out the Japanese blood grass that has never done well, repair\u00a0some of\u00a0the boardwalk and change the shape slightly, to provide a better entry point.<\/p>\n

I’m confident that we’ll finish work on the Skating Pond this year. I’m equally confident that next year I’ll fiddle\u00a0around with the plants. What I won’t do is disturb what is working well.<\/p>\n

The Skating Pond is\u00a0at its best where it is most natural.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"If

Wildflowers fill the field around the Skating Pond, changing with the seasons.<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

A flower\u00a0I seeded years ago has happily spread all around, as have many other wildflowers.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"I

I think this is knapweed, a type of scabious. I can’t identify it\u00a0with certainty — I gathered seeds from plants that were growing along a nearby road.<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

Resident snapping turtles sun themselves on the rocks.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"I

I can’t tell the turtles apart but I know there are two of them — I’ve seen both at the same time.<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

Water bugs, dragon and damsel flies add life and movement.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"A

A Canada darner rests on a native day lily beside the Skating Pond.<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

The\u00a0constant movement makes the area an attraction for children and grandchildren. And for me — I can watch for hours at a time.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"sp

I think this is a Whitetailed Skimmer. Please let me know if I’m wrong.<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

Work on both of these projects will probably\u00a0continue next year but for now I’m satisfied with the progress made.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In\u00a0the middle\u00a0of August, the garden feels different. It’s not as fresh\u00a0or vibrant, not as satisfying. This makes it tempting to move into planning mode. But first, I need\u00a0to review\u00a0the goals I set for the year, to assess what still needs to be done. One goal was to hold a second Open Garden Day. I checked…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12474,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[740,686,173],"class_list":["post-5438","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-glen-villa","tag-goals","tag-orins-sugarbush","tag-the-skating-pond","category-38","description-off"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenvillaartgarden.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5438","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenvillaartgarden.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenvillaartgarden.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenvillaartgarden.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenvillaartgarden.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5438"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/glenvillaartgarden.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5438\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenvillaartgarden.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12474"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenvillaartgarden.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5438"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenvillaartgarden.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5438"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenvillaartgarden.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5438"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}