Sunday, July 13 Open Day at Tranquil Refuge

A thousand-foot unpaved driveway through the woods leads to my passive solar home and gardens in a clearing that was once farmland long ago. Because the front yard is unprotected deer candy, this area is made up of mostly ornamental grasses, shrubs, perennials, and annuals deemed not especially tasty to deer. Of course, even these plants are sometimes chosen as treats by the more adventurous critters. The backyard, protected by a 700-foot fence hidden among the trees, includes a butterfly garden, woodland gardens, an herb bed, a ‘tropical dreams’ circle, and multiple paths through mostly sun/shade beds. Stone walls built from the remains of old stone walls on the property enclose the area. Usually by mid-July, I enjoy blooms from (among others) Agastache, Astilbe, Aruncus, Buddleia, Coreopsis, Crocosmia, Echinacea, Heuchera, lace cap and oak leaf Hydrangea, Monarda, Platycodon, Rodgersia, Rudbeckia, Spigelia, Salvia, speedwell, Stachys, as well as assorted lilies annuals.