Bernheim Forest – Spring 2011

Posted on April 17, 2011 by Steve

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.

Another Autumn In Louisville

Posted on October 25, 2010 by Steve

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.

Yew Dell Garden – A Return To A Rare Uniqueness

Posted on August 19, 2010 by Steve

I love Yew Dell Gardens. Located just outside Louisville, Kentucky by just a few short miles, it is one of America’s most unique, eccentric and yet lush gardens. It’s history I already included in the updated post below this one. That particular post was my first visit there and it was in the Fall. I describe its history in far more detail there.

But there is something of the ‘Anarchist In Us All’ that stretches imaginations and challenges the senses in this minor masterpiece of garden artisan-ship. Yes, the superlatives are flowing. I just always find it hard not to go a bit nutso when I describe this very cool and interesting place. It offers some bizarre brain food – from haunting images such as the lonely but somehow eloquent message in “The Hand” in the middle of the field below, to the raft of strangely-colored hybrid plants, cooked up via the hard work of the early owners. Those who have taken over the running of this intriguing spot have completely “bought in” to the originator’s designs and intent. We gain immensely from this, all of us.

(click all images to enlarge)

In a great bit of serendipity, the garden was also featuring sculptures mixed in with the plantings, offering them for exhibit and sale. I especially liked the limestone carvings of this artist, Don Lawlor, a sculptor with this website which is way worth a look:

Tucked around Mr. Lawlor’s fascinating bird bath are the curiously-colored and unique (to me, anyway) Coleus plants which we found in abundance and – to our delight – in a literal rainbow of hues, some very subtle and muted and some very bright and incredibly playful colors.

Check out these bright red babies:

We just missed the Astilbe Show behind these gorgeous plants, but other blooms and invading, competing flowers and plants make this riot of color a pure visual feast. I remarked to my Mom, who laughed: “Man, those are red enough to be a flower!!”

And the Coleus love did not stop there. When I mentioned “subtle”, I meant it. This stunning example of understated elegance provides the perfect foreground and lush perimeter for the rose behind it.

Other Coleus had different designs, such as this one with the blood vessels:

Or this bright yellow, quite playful beauty, shown here at the entrance in excessive plenty:

A peaceful beauty surrounds the lucky visitors, complete with heart warming people who work there and who never fail to be cheery and as helpful as they can be. Below is a most peaceful image, placed near the famous Holly Walk. My good friend The Happy Monk got himself all married there. And it took!! 😉

Proof that romance can flower near……….well……….flowers. But that’s redundant again. Like deja vu, all over again.

Mother and I wandered a piece, curious about adjoinging areas. The reason I bring this up is that we found what was either the original “Holly Walk” or else the practice field for Holly Walking. Kentucky is a basketball-crazy state. It led us to wonder if an area like this might not actually be for super tall basketballers. 🙂 Don’t laugh. When I said they’re crazy about basketball, I wasn’t just “Whistlin’ Dixie”. Anyway, we felt delighted with what was for us a discovery.

We’re easy that way.

Back to………..hmmmmmmmmmmmm………….how about a few ‘Naked Ladies’?

It’s the Amaryllis Belladonna Show! This Naked Lady is native South African plant – a bulb – which has the most interesting pattern of growing with a fairly graceful foliage, then losing the leaves while the blooms appear. The nickname seems rather obvious, too, I would think. Groves such as this are plentiful at Yew Dell – small, shady realms of sub canopy beauty which the garden takes immense advantage of. To me, the groves such as this are one of its true draws.

We were fortunate enough to happen by this particular grove while it was being watered by a good old fashioned oscillating sprinkler. What made it most interesting were the water trails, mixed with the interesting apparent motions of the pants themselves and the additon of this shimmering sort of sculture, smack in the midst of it all:

Other groves of interest to me: (a small glass sculpture paradise, complete with wind-swept, spent lilies.

A Hosta Paradise, featuring – but not restricted to – Hosta Giants with its very own Fertility Sculpture (always handy! 😉 ):

This is getting long………..more in a day or two………….OK, one more sculpture:

Is that cool or what?

Louisville – Yew Dell Gardens

Posted on August 16, 2010 by Steve

(click all images to enlarge)

Peaceful, exotic, unusual, Yew Dell gardens is not your everyday visit. While they have the most gorgeous groupings of evergreens in their classic routine – with smaller, lower-growing species below and the taller groupings behind in a wash of evergreen textures, and all developed carefully over time – there is much more here. Even the more deciduous areas were constructed with the longer view, which means depth, color and structural form of an incredibly appealing nature.

First the evergreens:

Then those more deciduous groupings:

This is a garden that would have to have been a nursery-owner’s delight. Experiments galore still stud the grounds in a riot of stable,aged and standard plantings, mixed with some real bizarre eye candy. Lovingly constructed by the instigator of all this and his loving wife, Theodore and Martha Klein had them some real fun. Here is a short blurb taken from their website ( http://www.yewdellgardens.org/):

“Beginning with 33-acres of Oldham County farmland in 1941, Theodore and Martha Lee Klein spent the next 60-plus years developing an exquisite private estate, a successful commercial nursery and an extensive collection of unusual plants and outstanding gardens. Known locally, nationally and internationally as a first-rate plantsman, Theodore Klein was also a self-taught artisan who personally crafted the buildings and gardens that became known as Yew Dell.

Through the years, Klein collected over one thousand unusual specimen trees and shrubs which were displayed and evaluated in his arboretum. He also worked to develop new plant varieties for the regional landscape, amassing an impressive list of more than 60 unique introductions over his professional career.”

A perfect example of the level of “whimsy” Mr. Klein brought to bear on his property rests here, in the form of his small “Castle”:

Mr. Klein’s love of and appreciation for stone work is redolent throughout the entire place. His walls and even other entire buildings show a severe appreciation for the beauty and form of stone houses, walls and steps into gardens:

I love this wall. It reeks, somehow, of Kentucky, reminding one of the rows and rows of “slave walls” dry set and loose along the roads around horse farms in Central Kentucky:

In the end, however, it remains the plantings which left the largest impression on this visitor. Here is a series of different-colored Xanthosoma – ranging from a lime green, through a cultivar featuring deep purple stems to another entirely purple variety which absolutely stunned me with its deep purple tone and downright uniqueness. (Check out the reverse side of those gorgeous huge leaves and how they become a dustier “negative” of their reverse):

The velvety texture of the darker portion is hard to capture on camera, but it feels just as lush as it looks.

The fact is, the garden’s fascination with “Purpurea’s” of all types does not stop at those uncanny Xanthosomas. Here is a tiny set of purple Shamrocks –

Odder yet – and tons more purple – is this most surprising Mimosa Tree:

The Yew Dell Garden is a true delight. It’s a bit smaller than I had thought it would be but they manage to cram all sorts of fascinating, weird, wild and wonderful stuff into it in a riot of species, colors and form. We caught it at the onset of Autumn, so we missed a lot of some equally-unusual annuals and the perennials which had just pretty much finished doing their thing.

Frances at FaireGarden will appreciate their love of that gorgeous Muhley Grass, however, stuck as it is here at the entrance to the place –

Fearless, experimental and plain fascinating, sculptures are sporadically placed around the Gardens in auspicious spots as well.

I was particularly taken with The Hand – the sculpture which opened up this post at the top. It’s stark posturing in the middle of a wide expanse of grass just speaks volumes to the unique perspective this gorgeous and interesting garden exudes in so many ways:

Here’s a walkway through some pruned Holly Trees, hard by those purple Xanthosomas and another sculpture. Like I said – the interesting stuff just doesn’t quit.

I confess to my own bias – I am also fascinated with purple as a garden color for some strange reason – and maybe that’s it – the strangeness. But Yew Dell certainly has it in abundance, combined with other slices of absolute uniqueness.

Color everywhere – even in Fall – this garden is well worth anyone’s visit. Eccentric gardens are not that unusual in North America. I know a family in British Columbia who once made themselves a small retreat out of Rhododendrons and Azaleas which got bigger than themselves. Some of these places are now parks people gladly pay to visit in season. Yew Dell, motivated by a nurser and handy man with resources has become every bit of that.

Thanks for coming along!

Steve Snedeker's Landscaping and Gardening Blog

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Category Archives: Louisville

Bernheim Forest – Spring 2011

Another Autumn In Louisville

Yew Dell Garden – A Return To A Rare Uniqueness

Louisville – Yew Dell Gardens