GREAT GARDEN A - 2008

“The Harmony of GREEN”

By Hong’s Landscape and Nursery, Inc.

You can have it all, says Il Sik Hong, Hong’s Landscape and Nursery. Each garden that is designed or has evolved over years under the loving touch of a gardener provides beauty to the world and that in itself is contributing to the need for GREEN. However, if you can create a garden that is in balance with Nature, while creating balance in your life through tranquility, relaxation and stress relief that is an added benefit to being GREEN. It isn’t just the beauty of a garden that brings balance, it is the harmony of Man and Nature complementing each other through choice of structures, plant selection and placement- soothing colors in some spots with exhilarating ones in other areas and practices that respect Nature. As you enter the wooden Asian gate to this garden, you immediately sense that all is well as your feet touch the smooth stone walkway, drawing you in. You are impressed by the stunning white flowers on the Red Jade Crabapple trees as you make a note to ask someone why the tree was named “Red Jade”. Dozens of delicate lacy Japanese Maples are everywhere creating an artist pallet of soft rusts, reds and light corals. You notice one in particular that you have never seen before. It is an Emerald Lace Weeping Japanese Maple. Soon you are at the garden’s center and are thrilled as you see an interesting gray/black 5 feet-tall stone fountain that looks like marble but is actually Basalt Stone from Viet Nam. It proudly sits in the middle of the pathway as water bubbles over the top and cascades down the sides to disappear into beach pebbles. You discover that, this stone that looks like it was cut with a saw, is actually a wonder of Nature’s hand, not Man’s. To your right, the low roar of a waterfall calls out to you and you enjoy a mystery as you notice the water flowing over the boulders disappears under the ground. There is no pond. The motion and song of the water pulls at the tension in your life and you feel the need to sit awhile on the stone bench, hugged by a cozy stone wall, to let Nature do a mental massage on your tired spirit. As you become quiet, you notice things you would have missed before—there seems to be a hundred shades of green around you – with bold greens in pines and blue/green tints in junipers, the powerful dark green hues of cedar and the light spirited green of Cypress. A quaint Asian stone lantern provides dramatic contrast among the delicate lavender/pink flowers of the Karen Azaleas while the small Chinese Avondale Redbud infuses hot pink into the picture. In one area of the garden you see striking gold variegated shrubs in a shaded area with foliage so heavily speckled with gold it projects an overall yellow-green appearance. It adds a light enhancing effect to a rather dark area. This is the new Mr. Goldstrike Aucuba. A fork in the path takes you to the whimsical blues of the Serpentine Blue Atlas Cedar. This garden is a feast for the senses and the spirit. You realize that it is the diversity of color and texture in plants and structure that brings harmony to the garden, as well as the ability to embrace elements of Nature. It is also a place of quiet soothing color and tranquility that brings harmony to the spirit.

It is our goal in 2008 to introduce new varieties and cultivar of shrubs and trees that are new to the market in this area, continues Il Sik Hong. Ask us about the Emerald Lace Weeping Japanese Maple, Mr. Goldstrike Aucuba, Chinese Avondale Redbud and other plants you see in this garden that you may not have experienced before. They will be a welcomed addition to your garden and will add to the Harmony of Green in your yard.

 

 

2007 Garden By Hong's Landscape and Nursery “Room For Meditation”