04 March 2010
Photos of ideas 2: Rainlilies
This is a picture of yard of a house I walked past in Shikoku, Japan while visiting my friend Reiko's family:
Like so many Japanese gardens, this one is full of graceful, understated beauty. The rain lilies (Zephyranthes) dotted randomly in the grass, the simple stepping stones... I love it. This photo inspires me to rethink my "lawn" areas. I've never been a big lawn person, but this is the sort of lawn I do like -- simple green background to randomly dot flowers in. But how do you do that practically? What about mowing? I'm not sure how they manage it in this yard, but I'm trying to make a space for this sort of look by replacing part of my grass with moss. I'm also considering replacing my grass in sunnier areas with a dwarf blue grass, or maybe short "no mow" fine fescue both from High Country Gardens. Without the need for mowing, I could mix all sorts of bulbs and small perennials into my lawn...
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3 comments:
Very nice. Apparently those rain lilies are hard to zone 7. If I end up in Vancouver I'll definitely grab a few. I love lawns that burst into bloom.
Yeah, they aren't hardy for me here -- but there are lots of hardy alternatives.
I see the appeal to that garden as well, Joseph. It is so simple and very beautiful. We are also trying the flowers in the grass thing, beginning with spring bulbs that will show while the grass is still short, mowed on January 1 to about 4 inches. Then on to annuals that will self seed or just a mix of attractive grasses, no mowing. Still a work in progress, we are still waiting for the many bulbs to show that were planted last fall.
Frances
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