Art in Bloom remembered

Angie (another docent with me last Friday) looks at some lovely ferns of Ann and Lee's garden.  Their house is pretty much shaded with giant trees, and is on a steep slope like lots of Black Mountain.

Ann made an actual moss garden on the stand in the background.  Do you know the plants in the foreground? Yes, I'm pretty sure they are a hosta.

A tub of what? Lentin Roses?

If it's not sunny enough to grow a sunflower, get some sculptural ones!

A lovely porch/sunroom offered a spot for the visitors to have some refreshments.

A nice stone wall helps level some of the hill, as well as with drainage of the back yard.

Ann is aware of invasive species, and is slowly cutting back this ivy which wants to choke the oak. (Sorry about the rhyme!)

A little ginger plant is marked by stones to make sure it's easily identified.

There were five birdbaths in the garden, but I think the birds took a day off while visitors walked through the grounds.

Though I keep saying it's Ann's garden, I'm sure her husband Lee has had lots of input as well.  She was hostess for the morning because Lee was out of town.

Across the street was a narrow forest, with an unseen creek. 

Now that the tour is finished, I have to go visit the gallery to see the work of the plein air artists at the Black Mountain Center for the Arts (free).

Thanks to fellow blogger from the UK, Terri Windling, for these words:

The transformation of despair into hope is alchemical work, creative work. And what all transformations have in common, writes Rebecca Solnit, is that they begin in the imagination.