Evolution - Word for Wednesday - October 19, 2011

Today's "Word for Wednesday" theme is Evolution, or Evolve.   

"Word for Wednesday" is a biweekly meme hosted by Donna at Garden Walk Garden Talk . Donna proposes a  word for participants to express in some way in photographs of things in our gardens.  Most of the words are concepts with multiple related definitions that can be interpreted and expressed in many widely disparate ways.  Evolution is no exception.

From a scientific perspective, evolution refers to the process of change over time in inherited traits in any living thing... birds, bees, butterflies, and begonias included (as well as human beings).

As someone fluent in Mendelian inheritance, I am intimately familiar with the concept as it applies to biology.  From a strictly biologic perspective, the metamorphosis experienced by Monarchs and other butterflies and moths, the pollination (and cross-pollination) of flowers to produce seeds, and the development of hybrid cultivars all demonstrate different aspects of evolution.  

Evolution as a process of growth, development, metamorphosis and change can be applied to anything - a point of view, a fashion trend, even technology.  We recently showed the evolution of the Masonic Center Garden.

I pondered how best to portray the evolution our garden is undergoing.  For those who attribute evolution to the effects of Mother Nature, she has certainly been the impetus for change here, although not quite in the way that Charles Darwin would have envisioned it.  A series of  Nor'Easters in February - March, 2010 and this summer's Hurricane Irene that have had a huge impact on our garden beds that will affect what we are able to grow in each bed for years to come.

In this photograph, you can see a very large pine tree in the left rear of our property that shaded several garden beds in that area of the yard.

One of the 2010 Nor'easters brought severe flooding and sustained winds at 90 mph that toppled this pine and another similarly sized pine which stood on the opposite side of the yard.

 

Each of the two pine trees were at least 40-50 feet tall, with trunks that were almost 2 feet in diameter.  We never appreciated just how much they contributed to the shade of some of the beds until they were gone.

Likewise, several beds on the north side of the yard were in deep shade from willows growing on the neighbor's property.

One of two willows that stood just over the property line in the neighbors' yard. Last summer they removed one of them that had become diseased. This summer, Hurricane Irene destroyed this tree as well. Three other trees in the middle of their yard have also been removed. The trees completely concealed the sights and sounds of the street beyond, and along with a large maple tree that is still standing,  cast that entire quadrant of our yard in deep shade.

 

Hurricane Irene destroyed this tree and several others were also diseased, so the property opwners had all of the trees removed, a decision we completely support even though our deep shade gardens are now in full sun for much of the day.

This view was completely shielded by the two large willows shown in the photo immediately above this one.

We can now see the street as it curves past the neighbor's home. This photograph looks out over the area where the willows (there were a total of 5 that have been removed) formerly stood. For reference, you can see the top of the sun clock in the lower right edge of the photograph.

As luck would have it, we have been blessed with three tuliptrees that recently sprouted on our property (we'll be posting about them soon!).  In the spring, two of them will be moved to the side yard near where the willows were removed.  In a few years, we hope that some of the privacy and shade that we lost will be restored.  Until that happens, some of the shade gardens are now going to be in bright sun for the foreseeable future, so it will be interesting to see how the plants in the shade beds will fare next summer.

As for our full shade foliage garden, it is still going to be in partial shade, but our plan for that bed is currently evolving. It will remain a dedicated foliage garden, but our plant choices will have to be modified to fit with the changing landscape and lightscape.

Evolution.... we have chosen to embrace the changes taking place in and around our garden. In the spring, we will rebuild several of our beds as we move trees and perennials to parts of the yard that best suit their needs.