More gardens

Ours and his

We went to Long Island this weekend to visit our friend Jo, who has a comfortable little beach house in Westhampton Beach. You get there by taking the New London-Orient Point ferry; we left early on Saturday on a foggy day, as you can see--it made me think of all the nice places we have been by ferry: Nantucket, Block Island, Monhegan Island in Maine, Prince Edward Island, the Madeleines, Mull, Iona. We also took a dreadful ferry once to Nova Scotia but we won't count that.

On Saturday we went to visit Madoo, a garden built by an artist named Robert Dash. It is a very personal garden that is open only two half days a week in season. Season ends at the end of September--payment is on the honor system, both for entry and books. We enjoyed it greatly and would like to go back in another season; it's full of fairly small rooms with wonderful effects mixing art and plantings. There were only a few other visitors; one man asked what a particular blooming tree was and I was able to tell him (a Franklinia), which pleased us both. I'd forgotten about Franklinias--it is a wonderful tree of which we used to have one in another house. I think I may plant it where our designer has suggested a Dogwood--it's certainly a native plant although a fairly exotic one. But having blooms at this time of year on a tree is a huge plus. The purple plant picture is included in the faint hope that some reader can identify it. The bottom Madoo picture is of a fountain shaped like a small, twiggy dead tree; quite wonderful.

I feel that I have to issue a final report on our garden. The beanpole, as you can see, looks very scrawny, no doubt the result of my having added morning glories which nearly killed the beans. I've taken the morning glories mostly out although it looks like one has survived. We keep getting bean crops although I can't see much in the way of flowering. Other pictures include the fence with roses--the big leaves are moonvine, which may actually bloom if the weather holds (need to start earlier next year) and the wonderful sweet autumn clematis near the front door. That last will be kept even with the new landscaping; it's such a pleasure to have a few things that have been here long enough to really look like something.

We spent the first phase of a small fortune on plants and new soil yesterday; those bought to mimic that Wisley picture don't look like much yet here but presumably will improve on acquaintance. Pictures of the work are sure to follow.

Eyes

I have just finished having my cataracts replaced--it's easy surgery these days, from the patient point of view. The worst is lying around in advance while your pupil dilates. I've had a great result--now have 45-year-old eyes which means I only need reading glasses but am finding that re-establishing reading glass habits isn't proving easy.