Hobbit Garden

We call it the Hobbit Garden because it only includes small plants, and they grow on a low stone wall that presumably would be the right height for a hobbit to work on. It is actually part of the entrance way to the house and garden.

It all started with a bell we bought at least 15 years ago. We had never found a place to put it, so we built a gate to the garden that would include the bell. The gate was very much needed to indicate to people which way to go. When they came to the parking area at the end of the driveway, it was very confusing for those who did not know the place. They naturally headed towards the house and ended up in a cul-de-sac, with no way to get to the house, unless they climbed a retaining wall and walked through a flower bed, which a few did.

 With the gate, it is much more obvious where you are supposed to go, even if it is not foolproof. Last week, a delivery man rang the bell, but he did  not open the gate and did not walk in and go to the house to knock at the door as we expected him to. He left without making the delivery because no one had answered the bell!!! So the system does not work for the very literally minded, even if it does for all others.

 Most of the plants are mosses and sedums. There is even a few dianthus and a very small mint. They grow on the top of a stone and concrete wall, with a few more plants growing  at the base of the wall. Some beautiful maidenhair spleenworts (Asplenicum trichomanes) have settled at the base of the shady side. These are native to the area. More than many other plants, these miniature ferns seem hobbit-like.