When we first saw the “garden” on the corner property in Ponderosa, it was in autumn, when we were walking around admiring the house and its woodsy setting. Towering firs and pines, one huge vine maple (which we later named “Big Mama”), prickly wild rose bushes, and assorted native shrubs were dominant features in the landscape. A perennial bed and grass area bordered the southwest area of the house and carport, in the only open sunny area.
After buying our “dream house”and property that next winter, then building a guest/studio the followingsummer, we began to consider the landscaping challenges. Our top priority was to cut down a few tall trees that were too close to the house for fire safety. This would also create an open sunny view from the two-story window wall in the living room.
Next, we needed to provide more privacy on our borders. We decided to transplant some baby vine maples from “Big Mama” in key spots. They became vigorous young trees in just a few years giving summer privacy and autumn color. Gardening friends also provided us with starts of shrubs, and small trees; Japanese maples, vine maples, mountain ashes, and sumacs.
Our next priority was to plant shrubs for all season interest, so we began to visit local nurseries and drive through neighborhoods for ideas. During our autumn drives we noticed brilliant red shrubs in several gardens. We discovered that they were aptly named “Burning Bush” with green leaves during spring and summer becoming bright red in October.
Many nurseries also featured a variety of smoke bushes, and so we bought several, with our favorite being “Golden Spirit” in honor of all the family Golden Retrievers!
We did our research during the winters, haunting bookstores for gardening books that featured high country gardens and landscape designs. One of our best resources was The Garden in Autumn by Allan Lacy. He convinced us that autumn was an important garden season, especially in the country.
“In autumn, above every other season, it is possible to have a great harmony between the garden and the larger landscape of fields and meadows and roadsides.”
To view Olson Gardens III – click here
Lovely photos – such rich colors!
Cathy and David