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Dear friend, how are you? I am thinking about you and hope you are enjoying the warmth and light of the first days of summer. I hope you enjoy this supportive quote from Robin Wall Kimmerer. I received Braiding Sweetgrass from a friend and client years ago upon completion of her project. She had a vision of a healing garden with native plantings and a backyard labyrinth. She lent me the book The Living Landscape, which links healthy ecology to plant choices. This was my first introduction to native plantings and was the beginning of a brand new journey into the healing heart of garden design. I learned so much from her, and a seed was planted in my heart that day. Gardens could be beautiful and beneficial, and heal our world. I believe that gardens are cultivated places of meaning and hope. I have dedicated the last 10 years of my life to connecting and collaborating with you to bring those visions of beauty and respite into your landscapes. Reflecting over the past 10 years, I have found that I need you, my friends and clients, so much more than you need me. I have learned from you, been inspired to create with you, and been moved by your thanks more than you know. Thank you so much for that privilege. Creating places of beauty and benefit for us and for nature has brought me so much joy. Hearing how they have brought beauty and meaning to your life is the greatest gift. I’m thinking about a dear friend and client who wrote me the most lovely letter of thanks. It moved me to tears to receive such a heartfelt note sharing how much it meant to her to receive the gift of a garden. And just yesterday, a client gave me a big hug and let me know how much she was enjoying seeing all the birds visit her yard and how much joy the blooms are bringing to her life. What a gift to share these moments with you. Your garden is a place for you to receive joy. The garden you are cultivating inspires hope in the future. All of us are cultivating these places of solace. Whether they are gardens of family, gardens of your business, gardens of your art, or gardens of plantings, they make life worth living. They are seeded with love, watered with hope, and nurtured with joy. In caring for your garden, you receive the most wonderful gift…The inner knowledge that our lives matter and that we together can lift each other up and move forward. Together in this spirit, I am so happy to introduce you to my new landscape design partner, Sarah Brazil. She is truly a human ray of sunshine, a gifted designer, and a lovely human being. When she saught me out, I felt an immediate connection. It was a wonderful surprise in my time in life to realize that I wasn’t looking for an assistant, I was looking for a partner. Sarah brings a new energy into WWLD, and I can’t wait to learn from her, too. I am feeling a renewed vision and excitement for bringing beautiful and beneficial gardens to our world. And I would love to hear if your garden has been helping and supporting you. Wishing for you this lovely month of June to feel the abundance that nature brings. -See you in the Garden, Wendell WWLD IS IN BLOOM!
I am so excited to introduce Sarah Brazil to our team. Sarah brings her expertise in creating harmonious landscapes that are beautiful and beneficial. She is open for Garden Assessments this Summer and will be assisting me on Immersive Design Projects to enhance our client experience. We are thrilled to have her extensive knowledge of native plants to create a fuller breadth of knowledge for our clients. Welcome Sarah!
RVA IMMERSE Celebrate Pollinator Week! Here’s a guide on making a pollinator garden. The James River Association is celebrating its 50th anniversary and invites you to explore the beauty of our watershed with a curated list of 50 top hikes. RVA’s Adventure Walkers Jim McCollough on why kids need logs, frogs, and freedom. Key Takeaway: “Risk is not the enemy. Children need space to try, pause, climb, wonder, and decide what feels possible.” Warner’s Top Summer Care Tree Tips from Bartletts (Spoiler alert…water!!) The new native garden expansion is open at Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens. Click here to learn more. River Water Quality Watch: Sign up here to get emailed water quality reports from the James River Association. The Best Bird App: If you would like a fun way to connect with the visitors in your garden, I love the Merlin Bird app that puts a face to birdsong. I take it out with me hiking and in the backyard. I love to see who stops by, and who stays all summer.
GARDEN GUIDANCE Well, folks, we are still experiencing drought in Virginia. Here are some strategies to employ to help. RETAIN MOISTURE WITH MULCH: When coping with drought, get the water into the ground, hold it there, and keep it in the soil for as long as possible. DELIVER WATER TO ROOTS: Most plants love an inch of water per week. Without rain, you can help water your garden with your garden hose or irrigation system. Aim your hose at the base of the plant rather than sprinkling the foliage. Give it a nice, long drink. You can add soaker hoses (buried up to 3 inches deep in mulch ) to deliver moisture directly to the roots where it is needed. Or you can leave a dripping hose on the base of a vulnerable tree or shrub to deeply hydrate in the morning and turn off in a few hours. PRIORITIZE YOUR TREES! PROTECT YOUR TREES: At the Winter Symposium this Year at Lewis Ginter, the head of Bartletts Trees spoke about watering prevention being the number one strategy to prevent tree decline. If you have mature trees that are struggling, be sure to mulch around the base to cool the roots and add a method of soaking in water. Capital Trees uses tree diapers to protect and preserve new trees planted in public spaces. They come in different sizes and are easy to use. Simply soak the mat in water to get it started, then place it around your plants. If you prefer a natural look, just add mulch on top of the mat.
JUNE GARDEN CARE Care: Summer is here, and your garden is calling you to care. Pollinators are out and about, so please don’t use pesticides. A little bit of mulch cools off the soil, prevents weeds, and helps retain moisture for your established and newly planted trees, shrubs, and perennials. Weeding: A weekly ramble through your garden and you will find weeds trying to take over your beds. Pull and compost your weeds, or put them in brown leaf bags for pick up. Watch out for Poison Ivy… Leaves of three, let them be. From experience, I REALLY encourage you to read this article about identifying poison ivy. It looks a lot like Virginia Creeper and will really ruin your week if you are allergic to it. Be sure to never let your skin come into contact with it. If you think you have, wash with Tecnu, and this really works to remove the Urishol from your skin. Dawn soap and a good scrub will also help. Trees and Shrubs: See any dead limbs or branches? Now is the time to remove dead wood above before a storm hits. Call your arborist if you spot dead limbs. You can prune out dead branches anytime, but wait until Fall to prune shrubs. Perennials: Keep those beds weeded and empty spots covered with mulch. Your mulch can be shredded pine bark or green mulch (groundcover). Here is a fantastic article on the advantages of green mulch in the garden. You can plant now but without a watering strategy in place, it’s a fool’s errand. I would love for you to plant native plants if you are thinking of adding some new friends to the garden. NATIVE PLANT LOVE I feel compelled to write an ode to one of my favorite shrubs in all the world…Oakleaf Hydrangea or HYDRANGEA QUERCIFOLIA. She glows, she shines, she shimmers in every season. In the Spring, bright green shoots emerge from the tips of branches. These first leaves look like green flowers! In the Summer, the blooms last for a month. The blooms are huge—bigger than your hand, and provide lots of space for multiple pollinators to land. In the Fall, Oakleaf Hydrangea leaves turn into fiery shades of copper and red. Because their leaves are so large, the effect is stunning. The exfoliating cinnamon colored bark highlights the shape of the shrub during Winter. Truly a four-season shrub for most every garden in the South. In the wild, Oakleaf hydrangeas are often found along streams. They like moist, rich soil as you’d find in a woodland, but once they’re established, they’re very hardy and surprisingly drought-tolerant. They can grow in many soil types, including sand and clay, but they do not like to be waterlogged and will struggle in very wet spots. In the South, they appreciate morning sun and afternoon shade, or partial shade, and can light up dark corners of the garden. It’s hard to pick, but my favorite Oakleaf Hydrangeas include Snow Queen, Snowflake, and a chartreuse foliage of Little Honey. Plant one and you will absolutely love the easy care, full-leaf Oakleaf Hydrangea. The blooms also dry beautifully for everlasting arrangements. Here’s a great article on how to dry hydrangea blossoms. Here’s an article about how to plant and care for your Oakleaf Hydrangeas. CLIENT PROJECT Beautiful and beneficial gardens are rooted in gratitude. I am so thankful for the truly wonderful clients and friends who trust me to create gardens together. This month, I am reflecting on clients who called me to help transform their river home into a welcoming family gathering space. We added gardens to their guest house, a new driveway and entry garden, and gorgeous new front foundation gardens to their property. I am now designing for their neighbors! I love seeing them enjoy their new landscaping that functions so well for their extended family.
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