The Grounds of Redwall
There's a lot more to Redwall than just the house and lawn. Over the past few years Bob has worked hard at establishing trees, removing old barbed wire fences, starting an orchard and defining other landscaped areas of the property. Now, after five years, his work and persistence have paid off in making the whole property around the house as attractive as its original owners intended.
Bob grew up with a Japanese Red Maple in his front yard. When we moved to our first home in Germantown in 1984 we planted a red maple twig in the back yard, which grew to about 15 feet high by the time we sold the house. We are making it a tradition for us to have a Japanese Red Maple somewhere near any house we live in.
This red maple was planted shortly after we moved to Redwall in 1997. It was a little twig and had a rough start as the deer found it irresistible.
There is a triangle of property across from the driveway that hasn't really been tended to yet. The line of bushes on the left are all Autumn Olives, which Bob planted to mark the property line.
We haven't decided what exactly we will do with this corner of the property, as it abuts a county park where there will be a baseball field and playground. Luckily, there's no rush!
There is a fork in our driveway; the left road leads to the garage and the right road circles around back near the garden. At the fork we put in a compass post, and it is guarded by a gargoyle statue (partially visible at right). To soften the fork even more there is a butterfly bush just behind the compass post, and behind it are two Rose of Sharon bushes flanking a lilac bush. Once these reach maturity this will be a gloriously colorful wedge!
If you follow the right path of the driveway you will go by the Orchard. Here, Bob has planted several varieties of apple, cherry and pear trees. They are all hybrid 5-in-one graft varieties. The white hoops hold netting to discourage the deer, which are a real problem in this area. Actually, the problem has gotten better for us as neighbors have started landscaping the new houses around us. Now the deer have more to choose from, so they don't depend on our yard anymore!
Our first strawberry bed was destroyed by the deer and rabbits. This year Bob put up a better protection system, which seems to be working. We actually got to eat our own strawberries this year!
Behind the strawberries is the garden shed, which also houses the control system for the electric fence surrounding the garden.
Raspberries! Oh boy, did we get raspberries. There are two different varieties planted here and we invited all the neighbors to please come pick some because there were simply far too many for us!
The garden itself is about 100 feet long and 60 feet wide, and the wooden fence is supplemented by an electric wire to keep the deer out.
The black landscape cloth really helps keep the weeds down. This year we have planted lettuce, tomatoes, hot peppers, eggplant, cantaloupe and watermelon. There is also a new asparagus patch, which we won't be able to harvest from until next year. There are also two red currant bushes.
At the right of the picture is the original ground level. You can see just how much was removed for the development! The back hill is planted with blue rug juniper and bordered at the bottom with a mounding juniper and at the top with crimson barberry. There are more red maples, as well as some dogwoods, cedars and holly trees. The whole area is supported by a drip irrigation system, which is fed from the second well on the property.
At the top of the hill is the entrance to the Wilding. This is a patch of our property that we have maintained in its natural state. It used to be a horse paddock, back when the first owners kept horses. Over fifty years of disuse it has been taken over by trees and undergrowth.
Bob started the idea of making a "nature trail" through the wilding, and over the past few years has diligently carved it out of the undergrowth with the tractor. He has created a meandering path that leads through different areas of the Wilding.
It's hard to believe that this isn't deep in the heart of some state park somewhere, but nestled in the corner of suburbia! (To get an idea of the location of the Wilding, take a look at the aerial photographs.)
The path leads you deeper into the woods until you reach...
...a door! Or, more accurately, a door frame. This is the "Wilding Room", an art installation designed by Bob and currently a work in progress.
If you look closely, you will see there is a brass doorknob floating in the invisible door.
Bob hopes to complete this work in the next year.
Welmoed's contribution to the Wilding has been to collect pieces of statuary that are placed along the path to be discovered by visitors.
This is a "contemplative Buddha", done in a Balinese style.
The other end of the Wilding Path opens up onto the Wilding Circle. This is an area canopied by Russian Elm trees that Bob has planted with an exceptionally soft grass. It's pretty brown in this picture because it hadn't rained in quite a while when it was taken. We come here in the evening and watch the hundreds of fireflies, and it's also a great picnic spot.
This line of bushes marks the boundary of the Wilding area. It is comprised of many different kinds of flowering bush, and is a favorite hangout for rabbits.
In the background you can see the raspberry patch and the garden fence.
Eventually these trees and bushes will grow up and provide a bit of shielding between us and the neighborhood.
This is the view from the street looking up the side hill. The line of hemlock trees in the background mark the boundary between the front yard and the side yard.
This is the feature that greets you when you come to our driveway. The Sword in the Stone was the first sculpture we commissioned from Doug McGiffin, the same artist who created Falameezar the Dragon. Yes, it is a real sword and yes, it is embedded in a real rock! Eventually the green bushes behind it will grow up to form a solid green backdrop for the sword.
The new driveway curves past what will become the "White Garden" -- a hill with plants that flower with white blossoms. At least, that's the intent. We're not sure it gets enough sun to bloom properly. But, time will tell.
Another aspect of the grounds is aquaculture: growing the water plants. The water lilies at right have done wonderfully this year, and the water hyacinths have outgrown their floating corral; time to make a new one!
To find out more about the pond, you can visit the Pond Page.
These beds used to be in heavy shade from the hemlock trees. Now there are fewer trees and more light, and the front beds are planted with azaleas, mums and some mounding evergreen bushes. Behind the bed you can see the enormous boxwood bushes that flank the front walk. They are incredibly aromatic!
If you're searching for some peaceful contemplation, you may find it by walking the paths of the labyrinth in the side yard. This is a 52-foot-diameter Chartres-style labyrinth, built in 2001 by a group of friends. Its paths are now filled in with grass, making it unobtrusive and nearly invisible.
Last but not least, we are close enough to Germantown to make everything accessible and convenient, yet still far enough into the heart of the country to make interesting encounters a regular part of our lives! Here is a shot of Diana in a face-to-face encounter with one of the deer who browse on the fringes of the property.
