A SMALL GEM OF A GARDEN
Just north of the John F. Kennedy Bridge at 52 Sandusky Street is a small brown house with a garden which is a delightful arrangement of different foliage textures. Eugene McClellan has been collecting “hen and chickens” since l961 when he became captivated by the collection of his uncle, Charlie Dish. Eugene now has some “hen and chickens” which are only one half inch in diameter and many of larger sizes and colors. He found Mr. McPherson in Swanton, Ohio who specialized in these plants and had a mail order business which supplied them.
Eugene’s little golden haired granddaughter with her ball accompanied us around the garden and he had to carefully extract the ball several times when it fell among plants too far from the edge of the border for her to reach without stepping on the border plants. She gave me a kiss when she left, another bonus for my garden viewing.
Besides “hen and chickens”, his border is filled with other succulents including euphorbias, and sedums, Tyme, Blue Star juniper, tunica and santolina all help form a low foreground. There isn’t an inch anywhere for a weed to take hold. Grasses of various sizes form vertical accents. Tall zebra grass and a small cedar make a strong statement in the background, along with Joe Pye weed. Clumps of fescue grasses and Mysocanthus add interesting foliage . In all these shades of green, a large, brilliant orange butterfly weed blooms in all its glory . Behind a bench, tall pink and yellow lilies also provide color.
Eugene says that succulents have a tendency to “heave” in the winter and he has lost some plants that way. If there is snow cover, there is no problem, but alternating freezing and thawing does the damage. He has placed some of the smaller “hen and chickens” in pots surrounded by gravel to prevent this problem.
Stepping stones and a small arched bridge lead the visitor to the shady part of the garden. A dry “stream” of stones and gravel wanders through low growing saxifrage, Cotoneaster, sedums, Silver Beacon lamium and sweet woodruff. Purple leafed oxalis and bridal veil grace a large stone urn. These plants are not hardy, but Eugene says that cuttings are easily kept in the house in water to be rooted the following spring. He even allows a little Virginia creeper to grow because of its brilliant red fall color. In the far corner is the compost bin which collects cuttings from the neighborhood.
He prefers Meidiland roses because they require little care and bloom all summer. As we pass the rose hedge, we find sweet autumn clematis and another white clematis trained against the back of the garage. Beside this building in partial shade are the huge, round (3 feet across) leaves of pedicles. Now in June, the large glossy leaves of bergenia are most attractive. In the early spring it has pink flowers and the leaves are green all winter. At the corner of the garage is the surprise of horsetails, Equisetum, These plants appear to be only stems. Their leaves are reduced to a fringe around the nodes.
Near the front of the garage are other tall grasses, many of them variegated like Mona grass which is green alternating with white stripes. Another interesting plant is houtonia which is variegated with pink and yellow.
Out in front of the house in the narrow boulevard by the street, Eugene has planted a sedum which withstands the salt which is put on the road in the winter. Verbena and tyme also thrive there.
Mr. McClellan has taken a small lot and over the years with a great deal of work and patience has created a very special garden. He is happy to show visitors around.
-- Mary