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The Sherwin Family's Gardens

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This Garden Tour has been Provided exclusively for the AVS by Gary W. Sherwin


             I and my wife Cindy would like to welcome you to our home. It is situated in a tiny mining village in southwestern Pennsylvania, between Pittsburgh and the Laurel Highlands.  At one time, our community was a growing commercial center, with banks, department and grocery stores, and many other of the amenities associated with an industrial town.  We read a number of  "big town" newspaper articles from the mid 1900s describing the thriving and growing nature of the community.  The basis for that growth was coal and many of the homes were built by the coal company.  The economic boom that mining payrolls generated, attracted retail businesses and services to meet the growing consumer demand.  This was the reason my wife's Grandfather, a barber and machinist, moved to our town.  He was a part-time barber and full time Westinghouse worker.  The suburban rail system (Street Cars) provided reliable transportation to Pittsburgh, for his number one job.  A corner of a local store, provided opportunity for his second job, that of a barber.  He met his wife here and raised three sons, living in several homes along the way.  Not long after their third son was born, (My wife's father) he and his wife bought and moved into the house next to the blacksmith's shop, and across the street from her brother's Service Station and  Ford Car dealership.

             The blacksmith shop turned into a fire-truck garage which was latter torn down and now is our driveway.  The  dealership became an independent garage, and passed to the next generations.  Surrounding stores turned into houses.  Now the service station is gone, (the victim of government tank regulations) and the garage is closed and resurrected as a seamless aluminum gutter company.  Cindy's grandparents died, before I met her.  The house was rented out for a while, to various individuals.  Cindy and I, and our oldest son Matthew moved in about 20 years ago.  Like everyone else who has lived in our house, we have left our mark on the place.   Our penchant for holiday decorations and flowers have earned us such a reputation in the community that we can direct most people to our house by just saying "The place with the flowers".  Since it's on the main drag,  everyone knows where it is.

             So, welcome to our home, "The Place With The Flowers"!  Regardless the weather, it's beautiful outside.  If it's raining bring your umbrella or just get wet.  If it's snowing dress warm.  If it's a sunny day, kick off your shoes and take a walk with me through the ankle deep green "grass".  I'll give you a tour of our place.  For you violet lovers, you will find Viola species planted in several of our gardens.  Sorry, that the tour is not just about violets, but perhaps you can suggest prime locations for us to plant  additional native violet specimens around our home, while you enjoy the totality of our garden, including violets and their neighbors.

Western Corner Of Our House

             One of the first things you may notice, when you leave your car, is the green, deep turf lawn.  We keep it cut at about three inch height, so that it is easier to care for and so that the various naturally occurring flowers growing there have a chance to bloom.  In the grass, you will find Tyme leaf speedwell, Clingman's Hedge Nettle, Dandelions, White Clover, Oxalis and of course, Viola adunca and Viola conspersa.  The lawn is green because it is tall and has a diverse species mix, not because of fertilization.  I am to lazy for that.  Besides, the medium height grass requires less cutting than short shorn turf.

             The house sits only about 10 feet from the road, surrounded by the grass, and flowers.  We have a large front porch that is a great place to sit and watch the world go by or the breakup of the annual firemen's parade.  There is a banner hanging from a pole that changes for every season and holiday.  Cindy and I love to look for new ones that no one else has.  Every year, we plant hanging baskets of Petunias - Petunia hybriden to hang on our front and back porches.  When they appear on the porch, winter is officially over as far as we are concerned.  They remain till Cindy wins the argument to throw them on the compost pile.  That usually happens when the cool days of fall approach and the flowers become dormant.  I never want to take them down and always try to delay the inevitable till it is obvious that they are through for the year.  Then, when I do acquiesce, I flip them out of their baskets and onto the top of the compost pile, so that I still get to see their last few blooms till fall's frost comes and turns them into dead brown sticks.  We used to have petunias planted beside the porch and along the side of the house, but, we have found that the hot afternoon sun tends to cook them on this southwestern exposure.  The baskets do well, thanks to the partial shade offered by the porch roof.  They still get the late afternoon sun but take it in stride, as long as we make sure that they have adequate water for the afternoon heat.

             The brick bordered area beside the porch now is home to rosebay and miniature rhododendrons, variegated-dwarf juniper, variegated grass, coral-red geraniums and a pink azalea.  A tin silhouette angel watches over the plantings.  The lattice work at the base of the front porch and the plantings in the front garden are illuminated at night with low-voltage spot-lamps.  At the corner of the house there is a stand of blue-oriental-irises.  They provide lovely blue , white and yellow blooms in the early summer, interesting green foliage from then till frost and a fascinating brown, desert like backdrop for our Christmas Crèche.  The brick border continues around the corner and along the side of the house, which hosts dwarf spruce, miniature rhododendron, variegated-dwarf arbor-vitae, red geraniums and the occasional volunteer gladiolas.  At the south corner of the house, another blue iris and a wire fence form the end of this garden bed.  The entire brick bordered flower bed, both at the front and side of the house,  is mulched with natural colored pine bark nuggets.

             The primary entrance to our back yard is along the southwest side of the house.  A wide flagstone walk winds from the limestone gravel driveway, past the flag pole,  post light and wishing well, through the garden gate, to the back porch steps.  The walk is lined with low-voltage tier lamps.  Variegated hosta bloom at the base of the post lamp.  There is a cement planter of desert daisies at each side of the missing gate.  These too have replaced previous plantings of petunias because they are very tolerant of the heat generated by the combination of afternoon sun and reflection off of the white aluminum siding on the side of the house.  The daisies are also quite cold tolerant, often blooming well into December.

   
The Entrance To Our Back Yard
   
Desert Daisies Take Heat And Cold

© Gary W. Sherwin American Violet Society 2000

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