Steve Snedeker’s Landscaping and Gardening Blog

We made it!

The busted hose notwithstanding – now all fixed and working properly -  I made the journey with My Own Mom out to her favorite place on Earth, Bernheim Woods, 15 miles South of Louisville, on a gorgeous, slightly hazy but satisfyingly warm day. We kept the crimes to a minimum on our way out.

(click on images to enlarge them)

The unusual Spring we’re experiencing – complete with these flirtations with warmth and then ice cold periods following – have acted to preserve a few blooms and fade others. Of all blooms I enjoyed most, the Chinese Pears had a wonderful show this Spring – not buckled by the heat which often sends the blooms cascading down in sheets, but, rather, keeping them fresh for just a bit longer.

It did put the Dogwoods off a week or so, although they are now pretty much at their height again, providing what I see as a unique Kentucky feast for the eyes. The native Dogwood and Redbud blooms sprinkle local forests like pixie dust, highlighting the fresh lime-green leaves of the Oaks and Walnuts, the Hickories and Maples and making a tableau which is somewhere at an “Urbanite’s Lunatic Fringe of Freshness”, if such a thing could be said. It’s a true Spring scene.

Spackled throughout the forests here, like the best tourist brochure pictures, native Spring-blooming trees provide a warm and pretty picture which every native Kentuckian misses when they get transplanted – to a man. The fragrance and visual delight of Spring Kentucky forests is special, making Spring an entire phenomenon all of its own and comprising 0ne of the purest and most compelling reasons for loving this lush and gorgeous geography.

The completeness of Spring seems to round itself off with the dogwoods while less native plants still give out hefty efforts at being as beautiful as genetics can make possible, such as this nice Soulangiana Magnolia.

But, still and all, Bernheim shines yet again with absolutely pristine local character, some by design, other by the strict cooperation with Nature.

Here we have the somewhat rare Vasey’s Trillium, a native with an unusual brown flower and the tiniest of flowering periods. We felt extremely fortunate to be able to catch this one at its prettiest phase. While other trees and shrubs had bloomed already and dropped, these little gems seemed to have waited for us as we tromped over the where we had observed them a year ago. “Voila!” – there they were!

I attached a completely anthropomorphic activity to the entire scene in the picture above:  a classic look at a pretty ballet soloist, using her grace and natural ability to achieve an act of rare beauty. I was struck by this scene’s simplicity and its restful but sensual color and form.

I was getting into it. 

Bernheim, like my other favorite parks, Hidden Hill Nursery (Bob Hill) and Yew Dell Gardens, features human creations other than the landscaped grounds.  Nothing focuses the mind like a riveting sculpture, perfectly situated in its own grove.

And then, of course, I also like the Supernatural part of the park – among others, the Magnolia’s. I realize there has been some die-off recently from the severity of Winter Storms in recent years, but the remaining supple suckers still put on an impressive show. Magnolias are ridiculously photogenic, for one thing.

I have a real thing for the yellow-blooming Magnolias. I planted two large trees here in Louisville last Fall and they should be happening now. I just think they may be the only plant I ever saw that looks “lit up” at daytime.

Anyway, the plant is new to me and it’s a current rave. It may be old hat to a lot of people, but for someone still somewhat new here, it’s another dimension.

Last picture of the Yellow Magnolia’s. Promise!

The yet more photogenic Magnolia’s make their bold little splash below:

Enlarged is how this picture needs to be seen. It’s pretty busy!

Eventually, we went and walked along a small creek that courses through the grounds. This one is where Mother had spotted Siberian Iris plants hard by the banks of the creek bed in year’s past. Sure enough, they were busting out.

And the creek is more “Kentucky” than Kentucky is.

Yes, that is My Own Mom, looking fresh after a small crime spree we went on. (It involved a bazooka and an Eggplant….long story.   oh, and an Anteater.

And here’s that creek:

Louisville has some of the greatest creeks. All that limestone and the tough cuts made by water over incredible lengths of time. As a child here, I vividly recall hunting for arrowheads and Civil War relics. Fossils were very much in the mix as well. Many was the time I traveled with a pocket full of rocks which – come to think of it – says more than I care to say about how I ended up.

Looking down the other way -

On the way home, that Anteater got loose in the bank we went to and made a real mess. We’ve used that scam quite a few times and it has paid off handsomely.

We’ll get over to Audubon Park in the next couple of days. It’s always dogwood crazy.

Strictly eye candy – hopefully enough to keep everyone entertained………

I am running extremely whimsical with this. In a way, I am just showing pictures from my Mighty Massive photo file system which have not appeared here before. New blood, as it were.

It also gives a chance to plain have some fun without too much hyped-up thematic discipline, so it’s even cooler. The pic below is my brother Mike posing with our very own Mother, often referred to as “Mom”.  They both seem reasonably happy, so why not etch that rare moment on historical online Eternity? I lied, of course. Truth is, we spend most of our time laughing.

Anyways, sashay with me through various and sundry pictures, none of which match.

(left click all images to enlarge – sometimes twice for real detail)

Here’s a hole in the wall at the Chinese Garden in Portland, Oregon.

Modernistic planting, somewhere.

Let’s face it. You don’t see Dry Water every day…………

A highly-suspicious plant.

Some interesting Iron Work a very good iron man did at a project of ours.

Here’s some iron work of Antonia Gaudi’s. Now THIS is a gate!

This fountain always tickles me.

The Portland Japanese Garden is inspiring, quiet and beautiful. Even the fish agree:

Yew Dell Gardens in Fall. Dude could use a haircut and a shave.

Here’s that big Singapore fountain at night:

Now, this is a river.

Multnomah Fall just outside of Portland.

I always loved traveling this stretch of road between Reno and Portland, Oregon. It was about 540 miles – which is a grind no matter how scenic – but this approach to Mt. Hood not only meant I was getting into more treed areas, it also meant I was within about 60 miles of home. Even in Summer – with the snow nearly gone – Mt. Hood was like a relaxing sight.

Here’s a flower!

Dealing with the desert – you can find some strangeness, for sure. Here is a mulch only a lizard could love. The good news is it grew up nicely.

And the desert can bloom – don’t let anyone tell you different!

Prune This!!!!!!!!!!

This is a lot of moving water. 6,000 gallons a minute, to be exact.

Narwals:

Making Bubble Rocks can put you in some tight spaces.

And some are tighter than others:

I always have liked what we did in making this little creek.

I absolutely love this picture. I shamelessly add it here, not knowing where I got it. I hope the author does not mind.

“Sobering” applies to this military cemetery in Louisville, I’d think. It is amazing quiet here. Speaking as a veteran, I often wish more of us would visit these places. You’d be amazed at how many connections you have here and elsewhere.

You know you’re up early when this sight greets you on the drive to work. Of course, then again, it could be lunch time in the Yukon in December.

Would this be called a “Green Building”?

Here’s something you DON’T want to see when you get low on gas.

Those nutty Barcelonans will do anything for a laugh.

An interesting landscaping idea?

Here’s Louis XIV and an escaped horse in downtown Louisville.

This is what it’s like driving from Reno, over the mountain to lake Tahoe in Winter.

A patio and landscaping project in Portland.

You don’t see rocks like this every day. Nor woodwork, for that matter.

An interesting Architectural feature from the Portland, Oregon Chinese Garden.

The Truckee River as it courses through the midst of downtown Reno, Nevada. This shot is at the head of the fabricated kayak run, designed for competitions. Yes, it is in the middle of town.

A luxury swimmin’ hole we helped construct in the woods near Lake Tahoe. We did everything on top – just not the pool itself. The paving, rocks and all that are ours,

Another fountain, now that I am the Fountain Maven at my new blog at Pond And Fountain World………nothing special, just quite unique.

And unusual.

Anyone seen my Narwal?

My personal update: (Including Magnolia Seed Pod Fall)

I celebrated my first whole year of living here on September 30th of this year.  It has been a good year – a very deep drink of spending oodles of time with my nuclear family – Mother, brother and some of his offspring. There were even babies involved which pretty much always make my Millennium. Now we have a wedding coming up for another niece – Hannah – who is marrying a delightful guy and another favorite of mine, ‘Jimmah’, as Tom and I call him.   My older brother, Mike and my sister Diane are steaming in for the wedding, so we’re all over this family deal. My daughter visits in a couple weeks, so I am partially delirious – more than usual, I guess. If, of course, that’s possible. Finally, we are celebrating the extreme good health of my 92 year old Mother. She and I have torn around the neighborhood and “scenic Louisville” with some abandon ever since I arrived, her showing me the town and me clicking pictures. I guess I’m pretty happy with how things have proceeded thus far. Life is pretty good.

(click images to enlarge, even this here good ol’ Dogwood tree)

So here we are, holding off Winter with another typically “Kentucky” transition season. Reliably, Kentucky presents the most distinct 4 season climate I’ve ever seen. Each season is utterly separate and individual and they occur without fail. From an extremely hot Summer, we now evolve into Fall. This year is complicated by a virtual drought. There are many trees we suspect are dropping leaves owing to thirst, although the clay soils here and the deeper roots of some of the big monster trees would need another year or two of drought to really make a difference.  I do know drought, let’s be clear. I have seen it out West in severe fashion. Since today it’s raining here, I am a bit more sanguine about these concerns. I mean, we had a wet Summer, with very green grass up into September.  But it’s here, in any event, just not the same degree of outrageous which it was last year. Last year was frankly epic for color. This year – just OK. (Look how spoiled I am.)

But this year has also been a heavyweight pleasurable year for grasses. I’ve always adored the seeding process, watching the soft seed fronds develop. Taken in just the right light, this year’s grass seeds are a bit parched, but lighter for that and somehow a bit more ‘whispery’  than normal.

Naturally, the trees are the thing here. Check out this set of Maple Twins. What’s most interesting here is the location where the color begins, up on top. They will spread the wealth almost gravity-like into the brilliant colors they’re generally known for.

I’ve always enjoyed this cluster. The Blue Spruce enjoys its position and the large spreading Maple behind presents a redder cast this season. It’s a fascinating and an altogether complimentary contrast.

And here is the view, just walking up a bit, as the gorgeous Maple shows its looming magnificence as a corner tree………the “Guardian” of this cozy and slow-moving little residential street.

As can be seen, it is not quite yet the full-blown Autumn. We’re borderline! Green leaves still abound, raising some suspicions among us concerning the weather alluded to earlier. And, yet, it also makes for more interesting shadings of color in general. Below, for example, if you enlarge the picture, you can see the yellow highlights forming among the apparently green leaves. It is very subtle but gorgeous, in my opinion. Such small differences are a small element behind the prettiest Autumns.

Here’s the “head on” view of the same tree, illustrating just a bit better the yellow tinges of the season itself.

Then the more colorful neighbors, taken from underneath a canopy of equally-intriguing Maples across the street:

And now a look into the canopy above from the picture-taking location. Delightful color, just taking place:

Then a look back as we pass the trees featured above, but from a different angle, with the Sun playing some very cool games:

You have to admit, this is an interesting 200 feet of walking!

Let us not forget our little sidewalk canopy, either – it has some special coloring as well……….just more

This park sidewalk always provides such ample pleasures. In Spring, they feature a slew of Chinese Plums, in brilliant bloom. Now, this time of year, the stunning success of their landscaping plan reveals itself in the intended colorful offerings of spectacular Autmun color:

Red is such an impressive swath of coloring in Nature. Here we see some local Euonymous Elata (Burning Bush) as it catches the sun an a cool angle and shows itself off in bright detail:

When all is said and done, this Fall thing is taking shape as slightly different and yet no less interesting, as Autumns go. Plus, Mom is kicking butt as a very healthy 92 year old old young pup. Life is OK. Thanks for tagging along.

(click on any image to enlarge)

Bob Hill spent 25 years or so working as a journalist for the  Louisville Courier Journal writing about diverse issues and subjects including gardening, society and historical facts about Louisville. He is enormously respected as a cool voice with a long view and deep, caring insight.  As a book writer, he penned one of my personal favorites: “The Crack Of The Bat”, the definitive history of the world-famous ‘Louisville Slugger’, a tool yours truly has used to good effect and also has broken many, many times as a baseball mutt in an earlier era. A modern day Luddite like me longs for that sound when I venture out to my favorite Spring pastime, sitting as near as I can to Muhammad Ali and watching the University of Louisville “ping” the opposition to death with their metal bats. Bob also wrote a true crime book called “Double Jeopardy”, a local crime which leads him to authoritatively comment and which was featured on the National TV show, Dateline, a couple times and which I read years ago. It is the definitive book on that tale as well, sad as it may be.

Well, Bob Hill is as nice in person and as creative as ever. In fact, he may be doing things that make “unique” look normal. He owns and operates Hidden Hill Nursery, a fascinating, whimsical spot and a must-see on the garden traveler’s road map which also doubles as a nursery, selling exotics. “It’s my niche,” he says with a smile. Bob has most definitely NOT seen the last of me. I am involved in a small project even now which could use a few of his big old Yellow Magnolia’s. He welcomes – for the record – landscapers and designers at almost any time for purposes of sales. He does, after all, run a business in his nursery as well as present a marvelous jaunt amongst his various treasures.

Anyway, so my Mom and I took a jaunt on an unseasonably hot Autumn Day on Sunday, attempting to finally make it to this gorgeous garden on it’s final Open To The Public day of the season. We had spoken of it many times and I had heard rumors of it’s fascinating properties from the sports fans I hang out with at a local sports message board, Inside The Ville, a Scout.com site dedicated to Louisville sports.

Inasmuch as the nursery and garden was compiled around his own home, Bob’s efforts over a long period of time have produced a totally delightful trove of small pleasures and simple beauty which reflect to a real love of the soil and the respect for Nature Herself which Bob gladly and openly brings to the game. Bob Hill is an obvious appreciator of artistic talent and a very non-shy exhibitor of just that. Pssssst…….he has pink bathtubs.

He also features exhaust pipe lizards and a junkyard dog – in a hat no less! – who absolutely reflects that in reality, seen here overlooking a peaceful and gorgeous small waterfall which begins a coursing creek in an outstanding water feature under a cool, shady canopy smack in the middle of the Gardens.

Like everyone I know, of course, Bob also features a very outspoken “oxygen tank duck”:

We were also relieved to find directions posted on some nearby trees,  subtle, yet still effective:

As far as this pair of pants (below) is concerned, I mentioned to Bob and his crew who were relaxing nearby that these overalls could “probably walk to get themselves washed”. Thank God they laughed.

Butterfly chairs abounded!

And as fun as all this was and is, Bob Hill is also a serious cultivator and appreciator of gorgeous plants and stunning beauty – all in a variety and diverse number of settings one has to get close to in order to truly appreciate their scope.

Take these automobile-sized leaves, for example, stuck hard solo under yet another cooling canopy -

Since I am not at all certain this picture does justice to the sheer magnitude of these monster leaves, here is another cluster, battling it out with a giant Banana Tree in a sunnier location on the site -

Make no mistake, designers and landscaping aficionados have much to delight their own senses, aside from the whimsical stuff. There are small features throughout the place, well-designed and gorgeous constructions in their own rights. Take this splendid courtyard as an example as we examine it from various views, including closeup pictures of the simple profusion of the prettiest plants in Nature. This “hot” little Chrysanthemum fronts a serene and exceedingly well-designed small patio/coutyard:

Another few views:

A detail I adored -  a small, shady perennial Paradise:

This one………………the one below. I had to stop and look twice. Please enlarge.

This is a sculpture whose sensuality belies its metal composition. It plain looks good enough to eat.

This small setting below may say more about this splendid garden wonderland than anything I could have imagined. We happened onto this on our way out – it is across from that splendid pink bathtub!

I have no idea of the purpose of this little clearing – if one exists. But I can aver that this reveals a factor of the epitome of excellent landscape and garden design which shows the invitation and the promise which are the rudiments of the most mysterious and excellent designs in the world. When perception rules in the fields it belongs in and the eye becomes trained to accept mystery and to drink in beauty like a fabulous natural drink, then gardens such as this will be everywhere.

Bob Hill, we absolutely loved our visit. You did real good in my book and my Mom agrees.

That’s unanimous, then.