Winter Progress in the Gardens

Arendelle Garden, the largest garden honoring our daughter, Corrie, on almost 10 acres in zone 8a North Carolina.

The gardens, a doctorate, career, family commitments, and a general disinterest in writing have kept from Corrie’s Season lately. Throughout the winter, I have focused on the Winter Garden of Arendelle, while adding evergreens, conifers, and winter interest plants in other gardens, too. When I look at the gardens, I want to see color year round.

The tree in the picture above is one from the farm that I had moved two years ago. It sits on the current border of Arendelle, but my husband and I have discussed Arendelle continuing beyond it’s current border. It might swallow smaller gardens, like the Lily Garden. I will not know until I finish no dig gardening the current areas.

No Dig Gardening

I started no dig gardening one year ago as a way to ensure healthy soil and deal with red clay. Our land has been described as difficult and barren for plants. John’s mother tried different plants through the years, and she was the most successful with day lilies.

I started reading about no dig, or no till, gardening online. There are different versions, so you’ll need to research about it. All but three of the eleven gardens are no dig.

Use cardboard without tape, staples, and plastic.
Use 3 to 4 layers of cardboard over the area.
Use cardboard because it suppresses weeds. If you see weeds, then they are easy to pull out.
Add leaf mulch, fall to winter, or dirt.
Add layers of dirt and compost. Worm castings are also great.
Top soil and then mulch

This is the third section of Arendelle in which I have called the “Winter Garden,” “Christmas Garden,” and Corrie’s “Birthday Garden” signifying her birthday in December.

This garden is now two years old, and I didn’t know what I was doing then. One year ago, I added many golden green conifers and evergreen because they reminded me of candles during winter. It was pleasant to see a color besides grass green from November to February. I’ve added blue green, beginning with the Fat Albert (center).

I have used no dig gardening for one year now. I can say that plants show healthier results than my no dig gardens. I have sometimes moved plants from the Butterfly Garden, a traditional garden with a lot of heavy clay, to the other no dig gardens. As a result, those plants have been saved.

The mixture of blue green and golden green conifers adds contrast with the forsythias. I plan to add irises to this section, too, and at least 2 to 3 shrubs with light pink flowers.

I have completed two sections of no dig gardening around the current areas in Arendelle, while working on the third and largest throughout the winter. The fourth section was completed last July. This third area is made up of mostly evergreens, conifers, and winter interest plants, such as Arctic Fire Dogwood.

The conifers, evergreens, and winter interest plants in this garden include: Golden Globe Arborvitae, Fat Albert, White Pine, Danica Arborvitae, Blue Juniper, Radiance Abelia, Arctic Fire Dogwood, and Gold Mop False Cypress.

The Arendelle Garden is now two years old, and I had started planting certain plants directly in the red clay. I’d never do that now. In the Winter Garden (the third section), I have planted mostly evergreens. This season I’ve added blue green conifers to contrast the golden greens, such as Gold Mop False Cypress and Forever Goldy.

The forsythias now add a new dimension as they bloom.

The front of the Arendelle Garden, where I added a garden art bike in front of Corrie’s statue.

From September through October, I completed no dig gardening in the front. I created a no dig tractor pathway in the first and second section giving each layer more definition. It also makes it easier to enter the garden with my Cinderella carriage (my tractor.)

The Lily Garden is the smallest garden on the property and loosely connects to Arendelle. it is meant to be a garden where our lilies may spread out.

The Lily Garden will eventually become a section of the Arendelle Garden. Right now, it is the smallest one on the property, and it is also no dig. It will have gladoilas, alliums, candy tuft, thrift, tulips, hyacinths, and other flowers besides lilies, but it gives lilies a space to spread.