{"id":5455,"date":"2017-08-07T12:40:00","date_gmt":"2017-08-07T12:40:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.siteandinsight.com\/?p=5455"},"modified":"2017-08-07T12:40:00","modified_gmt":"2017-08-07T12:40:00","slug":"the-upper-room-updated","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/glenvillaartgarden.com\/fr\/the-upper-room-updated\/","title":{"rendered":"The Upper Room Updated"},"content":{"rendered":"

 <\/p>\n

Finishing The Upper Room, the area that honours my mother and her beliefs, was one of my goals for 2017. \u00a0I started work on the area\u00a0last summer, hoping to finish then, but everything took longer than expected. This year, the sand-blasted panels that are the central feature\u00a0were installed in the\u00a0spring, the area was planted in early summer, and the final elements\u00a0were added in July.<\/p>\n

The dogwood screen remains the crowning glory. It\u00a0stands at the uppermost of three levels, defining the space without closing it in. I’m particularly happy with the way the sand-blasted panels reflect what’s behind the viewer and simultaneously give a view through to the woodland beyond. Add\u00a0the beauty of the dogwood tree and over-sized petals, drawn by Mary Martha Guy, and the skill of the sandblasting done by the Montreal company Vitrerie VM and you have something special indeed.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"The

The spreading limbs of a dogwood tree remind me of Virginia and my mother’s out-stretched arms.<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

I’m even happier with the way the different elements of The Upper Room work together to create a space that accomplishes everything I wanted.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"An

An overview, looking towards the dogwood screen, shows the benches I designed. Perspective distorts the relative size of the benches and the dogwood panels, making the benches look larger and the panels smaller than they actually are.<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

The plantings in and around the Upper Room are complete, for this year at least. In front of the dogwood panels is Gaultheria procumbens, a species indigenous to northeastern North America, also known as\u00a0eastern teaberry, checkerberry, boxberry, or American wintergreen. \u00a0Boxwood is the primary plant, though, currently providing a backdrop to\u00a0bleeding heart( Dicentra spectabilis<\/em> ‘Alba’).<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"The

The boxwood came from the Egg, as this area used to be called. I will shape it into balls as it grows.<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

Surrounding\u00a0the area I’ve used native ferns (Polystichum acrostichoides)<\/em>\u00a0transplanted from the forest. These ferns, commonly called Christmas ferns because they remain green all year long, feel very comfortable in the space. I also like the evergreen symbolism — it seems appropriate for The Upper Room.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"These

These native ferns grow abundantly throughout our woods. I plan to add more in the next few weeks.<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

About a month ago I added columnar yews (Taxus hicksii<\/em>) to rise like pillars at the four corners of the ‘room’, and underplanted them with Waldsteinia fragaroides<\/em>, or barren strawberry. \u00a0I didn’t plan to use yew since the deer like it, but no\u00a0other plant\u00a0offered as many of the qualities I was looking for. When I found four tall, handsome specimens, the choice\u00a0was unavoidable.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Yews

Yews planted in boxes at the front and back of the central area will be pruned into columnar shapes. The barren strawberry plants will spread to cover the soil.<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

Choosing yews, though, meant\u00a0we needed a fence.<\/p>\n

We built the fence in June, following the\u00a0style\u00a0used\u00a0at the shrub borders in the Upper and Lower Fields and in the Asian meadow. As they do elsewhere, these fences accomplish their purpose while almost disappearing. I wasn’t happy at first by the idea of a fence but I find I like it. It\u00a0defines the space\u00a0and sets it off from the surrounding woods, making the ‘room’\u00a0feel even more distinct and room-like.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Looking

This view from above The Upper Room shows how an almost invisible fence sets the area off from the forest around it.<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

As a final touch I designed two benches resembling church pews. They were beautifully made of white oak by a local craftsman, Mario Vaillancourt. Placed facing each other, the benches provide a comfortable place to sit. More significantly, their quiet dignity reinforces a\u00a0sense of peace\u00a0that permeates\u00a0The Upper Room.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"A

We’ll probably bring the benches inside during the winter. If not, they will definitely be covered to protect them from snow and ice.<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

Depending how plants\u00a0fare through the winter months, I may need to tweak the selection\u00a0next year\u00a0but for now this area is complete. I am very happy with the results, whether looking towards the dogwood screen or in the opposite\u00a0direction.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"A

A view towards the lake shows how dense the forest around The Upper Room is — the lake itself can’t be seen.<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

Next week I plan to assess progress with\u00a0the other goals I set for myself. But what about you? Are you achieving your garden goals or simply enjoying a summer break?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  Finishing The Upper Room, the area that honours my mother and her beliefs, was one of my goals for 2017. \u00a0I started work on the area\u00a0last summer, hoping to finish then, but everything took longer than expected. This year, the sand-blasted panels that are the central feature\u00a0were installed in the\u00a0spring, the area was planted…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12722,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[34,24,38,21],"tags":[37,741,693,609,695],"class_list":["post-5455","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-art","category-design","category-glen-villa","category-plants","tag-glen-villa","tag-mario-vaillancourt","tag-mary-martha-guy","tag-the-upper-room","tag-vitrerie-vm","category-34","category-24","category-38","category-21","description-off"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenvillaartgarden.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5455","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=5455"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/glenvillaartgarden.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5455\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenvillaartgarden.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12722"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenvillaartgarden.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5455"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenvillaartgarden.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5455"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenvillaartgarden.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5455"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}