Upon a May Night: Fire and Ice Follies

 Fire & Ice Follies Upon a May Night: Enjoying Narcicissus ‘Ice Follies’ & Dan Snow’s Fire Sculpture After a Day of Work in the Garden

Now that spring has finally sprung, I find myself caught in a familiar pattern of  Maytime, garden design madness. There’s so much I want to see, and so very much I need to do, how can I possibly fit everything in? Fortunately, Mother Nature has anticipated this problem and she likes to extend us all a bit of daylight credit at this time of year. It’s so nice to have a few extra, late-afternoon hours to bask in the low sunlight and linger in the garden, before twilight shadows settle in.

Once darkness falls, my favorite way to spend a May night is beside Dan Snow’s fire sculpture; relaxing with a glass of wine, a view of the ever-expananding flowerbeds, my furry friends and good company . . .

 Note to self: you can never plant too many Narcissus! Fire Sculpture: Dan Snow Stoneworks 

As a garden designer, this is my busiest time of the year. Most days, I only catch tiny glimpses of my garden as I run to and from appointments. I like to make the most of those moments, so I choose a different path each time I pass through the garden, and  I carry my camera with me most of the time. First to bloom beside the Secret Garden wall, the Bodnant Viburnum (V x bodnantense ‘Dawn’), is just now fading to leaf. Meanwhile other Viburnum species —my favorite genus of woody plants— as well as the Lindera benzoin, Amelanchier, Fothergilla and Syringa are budding and bursting into flower. I adore the spicy-sweet fragrance of the Viburnum in  early morning and later, in misty evening air . . .

With its silver-green, pubescent foliage, cerise buds and intensely spicy fragrance, the Judd Viburnum (Viburnum x  judii) is truly one of my favorite species.

 Mirror, mirror, beside the garden wall, who’s the fairest of them all? Why Viburnum x bodnantense ‘Dawn’, of course! Although her blooms are slowly fading, I still have her gorgeous foliage —and scarlet autumn color— to enjoy.

 Beautiful Burkwood Viburnum, Anne Russell’s Buds Swell in Sunset Silhouette: Viburnum x burkwoodii ‘Mohawk’ (Mohawk Viburnum)

 The last flowers of Bodnant Viburnum (V. x bodnantense ‘Dawn’) greet the first blooms of Spicebush (Lindera benzoin)

 And the fragrant, bottle-brush fluff of Fothergilla major ‘Mt Airy’ (Witch Alder)

Fire Sculpture: Dan Snow Stoneworks

Garden Design: Michaela Medina Harlow

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