Melanies | In Your Garden: Melanie Caldwell
June 30, 2010 – 1:20 am
The garden, on the corner of Highland Avenue and East Eleventh Street, has a free-flowing, unrestricted feel to it. There is an easy, casual atmosphere here that is a refreshing change from some of the more modular garden designs in town.
Melanies focus appears to be an emphasis on color and textures rather than design. It makes for a relaxing view punctuated by vibrant colors and unexpected discoveries.
From the street, a panorama of green meets visitors. Supported by a stone wall, sedum, moss, cleomes and liriope serve as a welcome to the garden. They end at the corner of the lot when deep orange day lilies take over the vista.
And then a cavalcade of flowers and plants begin to jostle for attention. They reach up with stalks and leaves and flowers as if hoping to be noticed by visitors.
Hosta stands beside tall green American holly. The shy lavender color of cleomes rub shoulders with Veronica and phlox. And delicate sweet peas have won the battle over Dutch Irises, covering them so that visitors must sift through leaves of the former to catch a glimpse of the latter.
Im a country girl, said, Melanie, a member of Romes Spade and Trowel Garden Club. So my garden isnt a showpiece. Its just here to remind me of my rural background. Im proud of it.
And the parade continues along the length of the garden. Bright red canna lilies seem confident in their color while a Japanese maple asserts its status quietly. One of the surprises in the garden is a contorted filbert. As its name implies, the weeping branches twist and spiral to form an unusual shape. Even the green leaves of this shrub are contorted. In winter, golden-yellow catkins hang on the gnarled branches to make this an eye-catching shrub.
A miniature rose offers a brief respite from the blanket of green leaves by spreading its wings dotted with bright red blossoms.
An unusual twist in the story of this little garden is that a large oak, over 167 years old, has always given most of the plants and flowers shade. But it could withstand the elements no longer and had to be removed. Its absence has left Melanie with some work to do. She must now rearrange plants and flowers that were used to shade in such a way that theyll be able to cope with the full sun.
The most dramatic effect of this recent change has been to Melanies prized bright blue lacecap hydrangea. The stunning flowers are wilting under the hot Georgia sun and Melanie is in mourning.
Ill have to make some changes now since we have full sun all the time, she said. I just
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