The Garden in Spring

This year, the sculpture garden is more beautiful than ever.
Shall we take a tour?

The 6 foot tall carving is dwarfed by the giant sequoia, the axis mundi of this garden.

After 9 years of Oregon growth, I spent the winter pruning and editing and re-landscaping.

The other reason it's so beautiful is that I've been outside in the garden, all winter and spring, carving. Not just watching the seasons change, but experiencing them physically.

While carving I notice moments of warm sun before the heavens open up with hail and pouring rain.
Pausing to look up from my work to watch geese and crows fly overhead, hear the jays tugging fibers off the palm tree for their nest. Standing in one place during the day you can feel the the air change during the course of the day.

At the entrance to the garden, Rhododendron loderi, Venus is intensely fragrant.

Welsh poppies, Meconopsis cambrica, are spreading along the Buddha's path.

The newly re-landscaped front of the studio, dwarf apple trees to grow on the new trellis.

The tree peony Boreas.
Good thing I built a trellis and tied it up, or weight of the blossoms would break the branches.

A chorus of viburnums run the width of the garden.

 

Another fragrant Rhododendron, King George, at the turn of the path.
Thank god for green because all the blossoms in this section of the garden are red, white and blue.

Which means this tree peony lutea ludlowii is on the other side of the yard.
Not a lot of blooms this year but the bees are happy.