The Secret Garden’s Shadowy Allure & Mysterious Prince Pickerel’s Charms…

Prince Pickerel at the Edge of the Water Bowl in the Secret Garden – Image â“’ Michaela at TGE

Cool, quiet and calm; a shady oasis whispers seductively on hot summer days. While blazing orange and yellow hues burn bright as wildfire in the meadow, my Secret Garden shimmers like an emerald in the dappled light beneath a steel balcony. High walls, constructed seven years ago by artist Dan Snow, are now veiled with verdant moss and delicate, lacy vines. In mid-summer, emerging as if from a fairytale, the reigning prince of the Secret Garden is the beautiful, copper-tinted pickerel frog (Lithobates palustris), who resides in and around the water bowl at the foot of the entry wall. Although he is usually quite shy, I have been catching glimpses of him now and again, as he basks in the late afternoon light.  Yesterday, just before sunset, he paused long enough for me to snap a quick photo. And isn’t he just enchanting? I am absolutely fascinated by frogs. Their gorgeous colors and soothing voices are charming of course, but I also value the frogs’ beneficial role in controlling insects and slugs in my garden.

The pickerel frog —commonly found in the United States from the midwest on east to the coast— is a particularly interesting species. After a bit of research, I discovered that this is the only poisonous frog native to the US. But don’t worry, the pickerel frog isn’t harmful, he simply produces a skin-secretion to protect himself from predatory birds, reptiles and mammals. This toxic substance is quite poisonous to many small animals —including other frogs, which will die if kept in captivity with pickerel frogs— but it is only mildly irritating to a human’s skin (it’s always wise to wash your hands after examining a pickerel frog, or any wildlife for that matter). The pickerel’s surprising defense mechanism might explain why he is able to survive in my garden alongside the ribbon and garter snakes, as they are both well-known predators of both frogs and toads.

Welcome to my Secret Garden, Prince Pickerel…

A Peek Inside the Secret Garden – Image â“’ Michaela at TGE  (Foreground plantings: Daphne ‘Carol Mackie’ and Acer palmatum x dissectum ‘Seiryu’)

The Hidden Secret Garden Door – Image â“’ Michaela at TGE  (Foreground plantings include Daphne ‘Carol Mackie” and at the wall: Viburnum bodnantense ‘Dawn’ and Galium odoratum)

The Water Bowl at the Secret Garden Door – Image â“’ Michaela at TGE  (Plantings include foreground: Glaucidium palmatum, Heuchera ‘Stormy Seas’, and to the background: Euphorbia, Hosta ‘August Moon’ and Fothergilla gardenii)

Glossy Bergenia ‘Bressingham Ruby’ at the Foot of the Secret Garden Wall – Image â“’ Michaela at TGE

The Secret Garden Shady Oasis from the August Sun – Image â“’ Michaela at TGE  (Plants from left to right Lamium maculatum ‘White Nancy’, Cimicifuga racemosa ‘Hillside Black Beauty’, Helleborus x hybridus, Hakonechloa macra ‘Aureola’, Paeonia suffruticosa ‘High Noon’)

The Secret Garden, Viewed from the Balcony Above â“’ Michaela at TGE  (Plantings: Background Paeonia suffruticosa ‘High Noon’, Foreground: Hakonechloa macra ‘Aureola’ and Heuchera ‘Palace Purple’)

Secret Garden Vignette – Image â“’ Michaela at TGE  (Plantings: Foreground Persicaria virginiana ‘Painter’s Palette’ and Lamium maculatum ‘White Nancy’, Background: Matteuccia pensylvanica. Potted is Hedera helix ‘Variegata’)

Colors and Patterns Carpet the Secret Garden Floor – Image â“’ Michaela at TGE  (Plantings: Lamium macuatum ‘Orchid Frost’, Hosta ‘August Moon’, and Cryptotaenia japonica ‘Atropurpurea’)

A Glimpse of the Garden from the Balcony – Image â“’ Michaela at TGE  (Plantings left to right: Paeonia suffruticosa ‘High Noon”, Hakonechloa macra ‘Aurea’, Heuchera ‘Palace Purple’, Stewartia pseudocamillia, Matteccia pensylvanica)

Persicaria virginiana ‘Painter’s Palette’ in the Secret Garden â“’ Michaela at TGE

Schizophragma hydrangeoides ‘Roseum’ clamoring up the Secret Garden Wall – Image â“’ Michaela at TGE (Other plantings include Cimicifuga racemosa, Hosta ‘August Moon’, and in pots: Agapanthus, Hosta ‘Remember Me’ and Asparagus densiflorus)

Secrets within the Secret Garden – Streptocarpus ‘Black Panther’ Image â“’ Michaela at TGE  (Read more about the ‘Black Panther’ in the post “Hello Lover” here…)

A Glimpse at the Sunlight Beyond the Secret Garden Door â“’ Michaela at TGE

Two Worlds, Divided by a Moss-Coverd Wall – Standing at the Secret Garden Threshold â“’ Michaela at TGE (Plantings to the edge of the walk include, to the left: Euphorbia and Bergenia ‘Bressingham Ruby”, and to the right, again B. ‘Bressingham Ruby’, and Filix femina ‘Lady in Red’

Rosa ‘Bibi Maizoon’ Blooming at the Secret Garden Door â“’ Michaela at TGE

View to the Wildflower Walk from the Secret Garden Steps â“’ Michaela at TGE (Wildflowers in bloom: Rudbeckia hirta ‘Becky Mixed’ and Adenephora confusa)

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Inspiration from my childhood: “Der Froschkönig” from Grimms Märchen

The Secret Garden – Frances Hodgson Burnett and Inga Moore

The Secret Garden on DVD in Keep Case

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Image excerpts from reviewed publications and/or products are copyright as noted and linked.

All other images and article © 2010 Michaela at The Gardener’s Eden.

The Secret Garden at Fercliff is the author’s design and installation.

For more images of my Secret Garden (throughout the seasons) see the Ferncliff page at left – or type Ferncliff into the search box. All images here, (with three noted exceptions) are copyright Michaela at The Gardener’s Eden. Except in the case of critical and editorial review and/or notation, photographs and text on this site may not be reproduced without written consent. If you would like to use an image online, please contact me before posting! With proper attribution, I am usually happy to share (See ‘contact’ at left). Thank you for respecting my work and copyrights.

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7 Replies to “The Secret Garden’s Shadowy Allure & Mysterious Prince Pickerel’s Charms…”

  1. Laurrie

    Oh, for a shady oasis, as I fry in my too-sunny immature gardens with little shade or water. Yours are lovely, and I can feel the cool. The wall around the secret garden makes it, of course. Damp, mossy rocks enclosing the space and framing the sunny beyond— beautiful!

  2. Dinnie

    I love following your blog, but often wish that pictures of the garden had the plants’ names tagged. Especially today, as I am creating a shade garden at home. Any chance of that? Thank you for the weekly inspiration.

  3. Michaela

    Hi Dinnie, I’m sorry, I know I wasn’t as attentive to the horticultural details in this post… I was a bit focused on Prince Pickerel. ( I also was a bit short on time). There is a link within this post, however, which does take you back to the post about the creation of the Secret Garden, where most of individual plants are named. I will try and fill in more of the plant names here this evening. Check back a bit later, and always feel free to ask me here in comments if you have a specific question. I’m not able to tag within the photo, but I can write the cultivars at the bottom of the photo, (which I usually try to do).Thanks for commenting and for following the blog! Michaela

  4. dinnie

    Thank you!! I was looking at the pictures again this evening and thought…….hey, the names are there! I must have somehow missed it earlier. But, no. You responded! Thank you. And, in the background of the first picture, is that the Rodgersia you wrote about a while back?

  5. Michaela

    Yes, looking through the Acer palmatum x dissectum ‘Seiryu’, you can see the Ostrich fern (Matteuccia pensylvanic aka M. struthiopteris) and the Rodgersia aesculifolia, which I wrote about last month (link here). If you go onto the page ‘Ferncliff’ you can see more photos of the Secret Garden with plant names (most anyway), and also there are some photos of the plantings in other seasons.
    Have fun planting your new garden. Shade gardens are my favorite projects. xo M

  6. Michaela

    @ Laurie, I do love the Secret Garden. It was the first thing I designed and planted here, because —like you— I was in a hot, dry spot. I moved from a mostly-shady garden to my new home here… And it was a little traumatic. Thanks for stopping by, and for your encouraging words. I hope to spend more time exploring your site when the rains return. Nice to hear from you, as always. xo Michaela

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