Looking from my front porch you can see my rock garden.  When our house was built the huge rocks left from glaciers where piled in this spot.  It is now my special place with my special plants.  In the spring it is covered in blue and purple, with the scent of irises in the air.

   As you walk around the corner you can see the pond with it's three koi and water lilly.  We just put it in last year.  I still am trying to deside what plants to put aroundthe pond.  I love to sit on the rocks and try to catch an occasional glimpse of a fish.

   Just past the pond you can see the entrance to the "secret garden".  Last summer my girls dug holes for experiments and other play and named the fish.  They seemed to like being in the area and seemed the perfect place for their garden.

   Here I will put up a green iron arch with japanesse yams planted at it's base.  I had bought the arch for my wedding, but we got married at Mt. Rainier in April at a campground that no longer exists.  With the Nisqually river as a back drop we didn't need much else.

   There are two standing dead trees that will be removed in a couple of weeks.  I will then be able to see what else needs to be moved or transplantedelsewhere to allow more light into the garden.  In the back of the picture there is a fence that divides our property from our neighbors'.  I will plant raspberries and grapes along the fence, with strawberries and blueberries nearby.

   During my time at my volunteer garden last quarter I was given some peony roots (Paeonia lactiflora) from Marilee Peterson.  I had meet Marilee back in 1991.  When our class went to visit her garden we recognized each other and I knew I wanted to work in her garden.  I have planted them in my own garden and in the fall I will divide them and put some of the roots in the "Secret Garden".

   Here are some raspberry, blueberry and iris starts waiting to go into the ground.  The raspberries are from my mother, the blueberries from Maleka's Uncle Kurty and the iris' from my Nana.

  Here is a Hellaboris "blue lady" and a Heuchera "marmalade".  They both like shade and will look great in the garden.  They were a gift from an elderly client of my husband whom my children and I like very much.

  I also want non-plant item for my children to find.  Maleka bought the winged gentleman at the Olympia Farmers Market last fall.  She was given the plaque by Marilee Peterson.  I will put them in the garden.  I also want to find or make a swing, bench, and balance beam.

   This is my grandmother's flour canister.  She used it in her restuant and later in her home.  I was allowed to measure flour from it during holiday baking as a child.  When my grandmother died it moved to my counter and my daughters learned to measure form it.  I broke a hole in it last year and couldn't bear to throw it away.  My husband came up with the idea of using it for a planter.  I love the idea, but haven't desided what to plant in it yet.

                          As much as possible I want to fill this space with plants and items that have much meaning.  Plants and items from people or places or memories I love.  I want to pass on the feelings of joy these bring me to my children, to create a place of discovery and wonder.  A place they can work on and make their own.  When I think of what to put in this spot so many wonderful memories come to mind.  Memories of my aunt, mother, grandmothers and great-grandmother digging in their gardens with me beside them.  Of being allowed to pick flowers or food for the table.  I want that for my children and grandson.  A place inspired by those who walked, and gardened, before.

SPRING

The McDuff Secret Garden

 Looking from my front porch you can see my rock garden.  When our house was built the huge rocks left from glaciers where piled in this spot.  It is now my special place with my special plants.  In the spring it is covered in blue and purple, with the scent of irises in the air.As you walk around the corner you can see the pond with it's three koi and water lily.  I love to sit on the rocks and try to catch an occasional glimpse of a fish.  Just past the pond you can see the one of the entrances to the McDuff Secret Garden.  There are two more ways to enter the forest playground.  Each will be marked with the vision and smell of flowers.As much as possible I want to fill this space with plants and items that have much meaning.  Plants and items from people or places or memories I love.  I want to pass on the feelings of joy these bring me to my children, to create a place of discovery and wonder.  A place where they can work and make it their own.  When I think of what to put in this spot so many wonderful memories come to mind.  Memories of my aunt, mothers, grandmothers and great-grandmother digging in their gardens with me beside them.  Of being allowed to pick flowers or food for the table.  I want that for my children and grandson.  A place inspired by those who walked, and gardened, before. Lady McDuff   The McDuff Secret Garden Site Guide

A.-C. Garden entrances

1. House
2. Shed
3. Swing set
4. Container First-Aid garden
5. Koi pond
6. Rock garden
7. Chicken-of-the-woods
8. Blue berry bushes
9. Grape vines
10. Raspberry bushes
11. Plum trees
12. Wild flowers
13. Roman chamomile carpet
14. Daylily bed
15. Shade bed
16. Shade bed
17. Shade bed
18. Barbed wire fence at property line
19. Where “Mr. Rodger” lives.  His property is clear cut, allowing much sun.
20. Rhododendron
21. Various trees, shrubs, and plants
22. “American” Rose
23. “Radiance” Rose

   Italics represent work to be started. Plant wish list1.       Foam Flower, Tiarella cordifolia, Saxifagaceae (Saxifrage), “eco red velvet”, “dark eyes”2.       Fringe Cup, Tellima grandiflora, Saxifagaceae (Saxifrage), “forest frost”3.       Bleeding Heart, Dicentra spectabilis, Fumariaceae (Fumitory), “pacific”, “margery fish”

1. Corydalis flexuosa, Fumariaceae [1] (Fumitory), “blue panda”, “china blue”
2. Toad Lily, Tricyrtis,  Liliaceae (Lily), “togan”
3. Rose, Rosaceae (Rose), “American”, “radiance”
4. Daylilies, Hemerocallis, Hemerocallidaceae (Daylily)
5. Roman Chamomile, Anthemis nobilis, Asteraceae (Aster)
6. Geraniums, Geraniaceae (Geranium)
7. Phlox, Polemoniaceae (Phlox)
8. Bell flowesr, Campanula, Campanulaceae
9. Marigolds, Tagetes tenulfolia
10. Raspberry, Rubus
11. Chicken-of-the-woods
12. Grapes
13. Plums
14. Rhododendron,

Plants already in yard to be introduced to Secret Garden 

1. Hellebore “blue lady”, Ranunculaceae (Buttercup)
2. Heuchera “marmalade”, Saxifragaceae (Saxifrage)
3. Iris, Iridaceae (Iris)

Seeds ready to be planted 

1. Wildflower mix

   Decorative plant beds Site guide #’s 14-17, 20, plant list #’s in green Daylily bed 14.   7, 12  Shade beds 15.   18, 2, 10 16.   20, 3, 1 17.   17, 5, 4 20.  9, 19, 11Sequence Activities  

1. Cut and remove dead tree from entrance B.

1. Prune to create trails.

1. Prepare site for and plant blueberry bush.

1. Continue garden development (restating intensions, pruning, etc.)

1. Plant wild flowers

1. Prepare plant beds.

1. Transplant plants in yard to Secret Garden.

1. Prepare Roman Chamomile field

1. Obtain and plant plants from wish list.

1. I.D./transplant volunteer plants.

  Italics represent work to be started. Sources 

1. Martin, Deb.  The best perennials for shade, Organic Gardening April, 1997 pgs. 39-51
2. Mattern, Vicki.  Discover daylilies, Organic Gardening, February, 1992 pgs.41-45
3. Organic Gardening, January, 1997 p.57
4. Rombough, Lon.  34 non-grass ground covers, Organic Gardening, April, 1994 pgs.38-48
5. Chaplin, Lois Trigg.  Grow the right rose for your region, Organic Gardening, April, 1994 pgs.55-64
6. http://en.wikipedia.org [2], Visited on-line
7. McDuff, Maleka.  Personal Communication