Greg Graves
Apr 12, 20163 min
I have been ‘Retired’ for 5 years, but for those 13 years at the garden I looked at it with different eyes. I was always on a schedule so would look to see what needed to be done next and kept this constant list not only in my head but also on paper. I did appreciate the state of the garden but since a garden is a living thing it needed constant care and that was my responsibility.
Alpine staircase
For the first few years after I retired, when I would return to the garden I was looking at it that same way. I would see what needed to be done and always had a hard time not handing my former co-workers a list at the end of my visit. I know that would have gone over like a lead balloon so resisted, but the list was still in my head.
Because of the distance, over 100 miles round trip, I rarely get there anymore and the last few times have been in the evening. It has been about a year since my last trip there. I don’t know if it just took me awhile to let go of thinking of it as my garden or just the passing of time. I don’t feel like it is my garden anymore and can appreciate it for what a beautiful garden it is.
This means my old garden is changing and I’m not a part of it, which is a good thing. It is changing while maintaining the character of the original gardener who was there for 45 years before me. It was always a struggle to change, which gardens need to do, while maintaining the character. We would often get flack from friends of the original gardener who thought they knew how it should be. That often meant no change at all. Being involved with several other non-profit gardens I see the same thing happen repeatedly. It takes a staff that is just as passionate about the garden as the original gardener to keep that vision alive.
cones from Pinus sabiniana
Going back in the spring is the best time for me to visit the garden since that was an area we worked hard on was making the garden better in the spring. The original gardener focused on fall interest. All those years at the garden taught me lessons I now use in my own garden to keep it changing and getting better. I’m sure my own garden is more beautiful because of my time at the Miller Garden.
Primroses from Old Goat Farm
It was a real pleasure to walk the garden with my former co-worker Richie Steffen and just talk about the garden like we used to. He was showing me what they were doing and pointing out some of the things that we had done. I didn’t feel the need to give advice (which if you know me is a real change). I was just able to look at it through fresh eyes and enjoy it. To walk the garden with Richie is a special treat because he is one of the best plantsmen I know. He is very generous with his knowledge and stories which we shared many. To have this garden in common with him is very special.
What’s with those Hebe’s? Oops.
Primroses from Old Goat Farm
Dodocatheon
Epimedium
tree fern
spring
Gentiana
Container of Shortia
Stewartia pseudocamillia
Camassia
logs in the garden
upper woodland path
Cedar rounds path
new stone walk
Rhododendron augustinii
front walk
containers by front door