Dixie Regional Tour Gardens | 2019

Cedarwood - The Garden of Jim Henry and Herb Burgess

This garden began taking form in the 1990s, when Alex Summers gifted Jim with divisions from his hostas in exchange for weeding duties. To those hostas--many of them originator's stock--have now been added a couple hundred other varieties. A front bed in heavy sun includes a Weeping Cherry, Redbud, and Stewartia for shade, and a 30-foot H. 'Feather Boa' collection wends its way among stepping stones. On the northern side of the house, a raised bed displays a mini collection with a planter of mouse ears that won Best in Category at AHS 2018. Elevated barrels at four corners of the house collect rain for watering.

The back bed, which can be viewed at ground level or from the deck of a 16x20-foot treehouse, includes a fern garden with several dozen varieties, anchored by a Magnolia macrophylla. Two side beds flank the path to a recently constructed greenhouse made from recycled windows and doors, which also serves as parlor for a glamping deck. One bed includes exclusively blue hostas mounded above ground cover, and the other provides a home to several larger hostas, including H. 'Gitchigumi,' H. 'Fortunei Gigantea,' H. 'Gentle Giant,' and H. 'Potomac Pride,' among others. Acer japonicum 'Ao jutan' anchors this bed along with a Magnolia acuminata Herb brought in from his native Georgia.

Hardscape in the Asian style figures throughout the garden, including details on buildings designed and built by the owners in the Japanese Shinto style. Numerous homemade shoji lanterns light up at twilight, extending the hours to appreciate the Friendship Plant.