Hello gpoders!
Back in Black Mountain, North Carolina, you can see more of Gale Bromer’s spring gardens, filled with colour and life, despite the devastating end of last year’s growing season. If you missed yesterday’s post, please see here. And below is a review of Hurricane Helen’s impact on her community in western North Carolina.
There were 14 landslides in a small community of 47 homes. Three houses have been completely destroyed. Another five have been declared uninhabitable. The house and nutritional fragments are still lying to where they landed over six months ago. And we are all still waiting for a world of encouragement from FEMA.
We are one of the lucky people. No one is dead here. Our community has been united in ways never before. We, whose homes don’t spare, suffer from the guilt of the survivors, but are blessed by the complete devastation of our lives.
In it, all of my gardens survived and flourished. Yes, the trees and shrubs have been lost, but the colors of spring have arrived, reminding us that life will continue. My wish for my neighbors that have lost so much is that they can reconstruct their lives and feel the hope that spring has to offer. My hope for my country is to remember that we all support each other.
Starting with the opposite view of the sloping bed, we concluded yesterday. I was forever impressed with the beauty gale created with all her sloping beds, and even more so now that all her plantings have survived Hurricane Helen so well.
On the shaded corners of Gale’s garden, a variety of Solomon seals (polygonatum odoratumvar. pluriflorum ‘variegatum’, zones 3-8) are sprouting violently, already covered with buds.
Peonies here in Connecticut are just beginning to send stems and buds, but in North Carolina, Gale is already blooming incredible flowers from her Japanese forest peonies (Paeonia obovatavar. Alba, Zones 3-8).
Gail’s Garden already has plenty of flowers, so early bees have a wealth of options. This looks like a completely round snowman-shaped bloom cluster of Burkwood’s Vabrenum (Vabrenum x Burkwood Odge, Zones 4-8).
The leaves and flowers are perfectly effective. It’s also nice to see Gale’s incredible rusty frog sculpture (from behind some plants on the right side of this photo to the peak) was kept safely during the storm and not wiped out.
Another great instance of bright purple and bright green in the garden. Wild Blue Phlox (Phlox divaricata, zones 4-8) adds a glorious spring color to the bright green leaves above.
This is part of the steep hill in front of our house. The rest of the parts are full of wild flowers introduced previously. (Check out submissions here: Replace your lawn with wild flowers)
Thank you for sharing all these beautiful photos, and your inspiring story of resilience and community, Gale! What your neighbours have experienced is unimaginable and you’re happy to see your garden thrive against all possibilities.
No matter what your fall and winter look like, there is never a guarantee that all your plants will be happy and healthy in spring, like last year. All uneasy expectations are part of the excitement of the season. How are your plants fairing up until this spring? Follow the instructions below to send photos by email or DM on Instagram @girlherdogandtheroad to share your successes and failures in the spring.
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