"Attack of the Gnomes, Dwarves, and Other Creatures"; or the "Garden Walk that Wasn't"

On Saturday, I did the Outagamie Master Gardeners' Garden Walk. Typically, this group puts on a good garden walk with great gardens, each with some unique flavor the home gardener is willing to share. I take lots of pictures and come home inspired to weed better, mulch, or change up my garden. 

This year, all I could say was, "Meh!" My mother who went with me was similarly unimpressed.

Only five gardens were offered, two of which were public properties. One of the others had text in the pamphlet stating the only parking was on the shoulder of the busy county highway, where I felt cars were zipping along at possibly 65 mph. After parking, a hike up a dirt trail possibly a quarter mile long was required. This was not difficult for me, but was quite taxing for my mother, and I would expect some of the other garden walkers, too. Each of the garden was probably five miles from the last. My GPS did not even properly locate one of the properties, because it used the fire number which was part of the address and came up with a township while the mailing address was Appleton. Having stopped for lunch and gotten away from the printed directions, and getting a couple "that address is invalid," responses out of Siri, frustration with being GPS-enabled and hunting far-flung addresses did not add to the charm of these gardens. (I navigated through Budapest in the 1980s long before GPS, reading road signs in some Cyrillic dialect just fine, thank you very much; I do not typically get lost, nor do I become frustrated when I do.)

So after finally arriving at my destination and touring the garden as I pasted this tree underplanted with ho-hum hostas infested with gnomes, I could not help but feel very witchy b.......,

"Mirror, mirror on the wall, whose garden is the fairest of all..."

Tomorrow, tomorrow I promise I will have recycled my ire and will post something more upbeat!

More pictures from the non-garden follow.

More from the Outagamie Garden Walk 2013

A very innocuous entrance...

I posted some pictures from the Master gardeners Walk on the garden ornamentation and containers, but I didn't say much about the actual gardens on the walk.  Having my own garden scheduled to be part of a walk has been an eye opener and impetus to finally get my actual garden to look like the space I see in my head., rather than the ongoing project(s) it really is.  So, let me say, I give it up to anyone who has the stuff to put their garden out there, whether as part of a walk, garden conservancy days, or just for nickel tours.

This blogpost is solely pictures from one of the gardens, in my mind the most impressive.

The gardener is also an award winning quilter, and you can see this in her subtle blending of colors, shapes, and types of plants.  The park-like setting and size of her garden also made me drool a bit, but I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

...opened up to this...

and this,

and this.

I got the impression this back deck was a newer area; it wasn't as finely honed and integrated into the back yard as the yard itself.  There was a lot of space and as all gardeners want to do, she was busy filling it.  Her garden was a surprisingly four years old, but she conceded she had brought some good sized hostas with her from her previous garden.

As I mentioned, though plant selection for color and texture was where she excelled.

Hosta Gunther's Prize

She also, in my opinion, had the best garden ornamentation.

It was an amazing garden in many ways.