Heaven on a Mountain

I visited the home and garden of Peter Gentling this past week and saw what a garden can be. He has 20 acres of the most pristene mountain garden I've ever seen. The garden path stretches down the mountain in little curves and cut-backs, creating nooks and surprise beds all the way down the slope. There were too many amazing plants for me to even go into detail, but suffice to say, there was nothing lacking. Unfortunately, this late frost hit him hard. Nearly all of his Japanese Maples were killed back to the trunk and a couple may have been destroyed completely. Although he said he hadn't checked yet, he was afraid that his 120 ft., 60 year old Dawn Redwoods might have suffered a fatal blow, as well. Hostas were turned to mush. Not a single azalea blossom survived the extened 16 degree F freeze or the 40mph winds. A fatal combination. It was the worst late frost damage he'd seen in his 40 years on the mountain.
Peter's native flower garden was not what you would call spectacular, but to a hortophyte, like myself, it was heavenly. Many of the flowers were dead or wilting or were not open, or had just opened. But he had Mayapples, at least four different species of Trillium, bloodroot, a double petaled bloodroot, Oconee bells, wild ginger, and so many more I can't remember them all. It was a beautiful sight.