Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, May 20, 1993 TAG: 9305200037
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: BECKY HEPLER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG LENGTH: Long
The perennial and herb bed has a faintly Victorian design to match the period of the house, though historical accuracy was not a goal.
"We wanted plants that would look good together and were hardy," said Linda Powers, master gardener in charge of the project.
At the left entrance path are the herbs. A big triangle of lavender starts the walk with a faint whiff. Edging the walkway are alternating clumps of sage and tansy, punctuated by several rosemary plants.
In the back corner are various representatives of the thyme family - English, lemon and mother-of-thyme. Contrasting with these ground-huggers are tall fronds of sorrel and lemon balm.
A long patch of hyssop stands in front of a line of iris. The path then circles around beds of sun-loving flowers, including stokesia, chrysanthemums, purple coneflowers, rudbeckia, candy tuft, dianthus, soapwort and snowcaps.
In the middle of the circle is a small bed of asters and Russian sage. This eventually will be the site a small sundial.
The path then wends its way past Oriental poppies, veronica and a bed of pale-green sedum. Achillea rounds the back corner and more veronicas lead to a day-lily section. African daisies and false sunflowers finish out the front corner.
A long bed of wormwood stripes across the front of the garden to the bed that offsets the right entrance path, a combination of dianthus and violets.
This is only the second year for the project, so the look is a long way from an orderly profusion of blooms. In fact, there is lots of space around the plants so that the perennials will have room to grow.
Around the edges of the garden, the weeds form an impromptu border, proving once again how much nature abhors a vacuum.
Nevertheless, it's much better than the disorderly profusion of weeds that preceded it. Powers said the first order of business was chopping the weeds, then plowing the section.
A load of manure and some clippings helped to offset soil that was woefully poor in organic elements.
"It's a testament to how much plants want to live that they survived," Powers said.
The garden was covered in black plastic to forestall the return of the weeds. Then the gardeners cut out the beds for planting and covered the pathways with mulch.
"That first year, there were only four of us, and it nearly ran us ragged to do so much," Powers said. "Luckily, this year we have a lot more people who are very interested in helping."
The group will continue adding plants to the bed this year, spreading mulch and maintaining the plants surviving from last year. The volunteers also will install the sundial and some concrete benches along the path. Eventually, a split-rail fence will mark the boundaries.
The original plan for the garden was devised by Jerry Pike and Aileen Walker of The Plant Plant in 1989. Some of the museum volunteers had tried to implement the plans, but it wasn't until the master gardeners joined the effort that there was major progress.
The Master Gardener program originated in the Virginia Tech horticulture department, although now it is administered by the Montgomery County Extension Service. In exchange for 50 hours of horticultural training, participants give 50 hours of volunteer time to such projects as working in the gardens and greenhouses at Tech or giving gardening advice at Laurel Creek Nursery on Saturdays during the planting season.
Smithfield Plantation gardens are another beneficiary of the Master Gardener program. Volunteers even help in the extension office, doing routine chores.
"Several of us from Christiansburg were getting tired of the drive to Blacksburg to do our work, so when we found out that the museum needed help, we were very glad to work with them," Powers said.
Actually, the museum's entire landscape is a tribute to the willingness of people to give of their time and expertise for a good cause.
In 1984, Paul Munu, a Tech student in landscape design, came up with a historically accurate plan for the property as part of his class-work, museum Director Ann Bailey said.
In 1989, Laurel Creek Nursery donated some maple trees, shrubs and foundation plants. Other gifts have included the rails for the fence, mulch, the benches and sundial and some of the day lilies and iris in the bed.
The list of things that are still needed doesn't end.
"We're looking for a good source of grass clippings to use as a mulch for the plants," Powers said. "The grass as mulch will offer a contrast to the pathway mulch.
"But the clippings must be organic," she said. "No herbicides, nothing used to kill the dandelions. Otherwise, it negates all our work. We hope we can eventually get a place for people to drop them off, a bin or something, but we don't have it yet."
Given the garden's evolution and the karma surrounding it, Powers needn't worry whether the clippings will materialize.
It's just a matter of time.
by CNB