From Cheryl's Garden: Garden Walks, Garden Art & Japanese Maples

I love garden walks.  I try to get to as many as I can and even try to have a few at my gardens every summer.  They are great places to get inspiration, be introduced to new plants, see garden art and meet other people as obsessed with gardening as you are.  A few weeks ago, I went to the Kiel Garden Walks and saw some beautiful gardens and a lot of garden art.  Last week I invited some co-workers to my home to tour my gardens.  A good thing about having a garden walk at your home, it helps you to quickly finish weeding, mulching and planting.  This Saturday is the Sheboygan Garden Walks and I am even dragging my visiting cousin from Tennesse along to see them. 

Kiel Garden Walk - 2011

A few months ago I read about vertical gardening utilizing a pallet.  I decided I needed to try that so here is my version of vertical gardening.  http://lifeonthebalcony.com/how-to-turn-a-pallet-into-a-garden/  I'll take another picture in about six weeks so you can see how it progresses. 

Cheryl's vertical garden

Adding your personal touch to your gardens can be done with garden art like I saw at the Kiel Garden Walks.  I have several pieces in the music garden to enhance this theme garden; such as, a wire guitar with morning glory growing on it, metal musical notes nestled in the perennials and metal crickets playing instruments.  Some pieces have sentimental meaning; such as my grandfather's ladder painted lime green with birdhouses on each step, an old watering can planted with lobelia from my mom's garden shed or an old chair from the homestead with an antique white bucket planted with petunias on it.  A few years ago I was introduced to bowling ball art and was lucky enough to receive seven retired bowling balls.  Here is one of my creations.  This week I am working on three lady bugs to add to my lady bug garden and will post pictures when I am done.  The lady bugs require three to four coats of paint so it may take a while to complete.   

Bowling Ball Art

Japanese Maples are a great addition to any garden with their attractive leaf shapes and colors.  I found the perfect spot in a protected area on the west side of my home for them.  I selected on the right the Acer shirasawanum 'Autumn Moon' for it's leaf shape & fall colors of electric shades of yellow, orange and red, in the middle Acer palmantum 'Tamukeyama' for it's feathery leaf texture & color and on the left Acer palmatum 'Peaches and Cream' for the leaves that emerge cream to peach then rosy light green and again peach and cream in fall.  The largest selection of Japanese Maples I've seen at a garden center so far this year has been at..........you guessed it "The Wreath Factory."  What's your favorite Japanese Maple?

Japanese Maple Collection

I can't wait for my hydrangeas to start blooming so I can share my collection with you. As of right now, I have 8 different cultivars totaling 18 hydrangeas.  Remember "gardening isn't a hobby, it's an obsession."  

- Posted by Cheryl