On Saturday, January 28, 2012, I had the pleasure and privilege of visiting with Margaret Moseley in her Georgia garden.  A keen gardener, her passion inspires me now as much as it did over 14 years ago when we first featured her garden on “A Gardener’s Diary.”  Her enthusiasm is contagious and you can’t help but get caught up in it, especially the way she talks about her garden and her plans.  I find myself wondering, what’s her secret?     Oh, did I mention that Margaret will turn 96 on her next birthday in May of this year?  So, it’s not surprising that there is history here too.  As we ( Martha, Kathryn and I  ) walk  around her  garden she points out a Styrax japonicus that she thinks is in the wrong place and talks about how she needs to “take it out.” There’s also a vine that is not long for this world.   Although I am not a camellia fanatic, it was hard not to be charmed by the camellias in Margaret’s garden, in particular Camellia ‘Fragrant Pink.”   Covered in blooms it is a theme at this time of year.   She reflects on how excited she was the first time she saw this plant.  She used to drive “down to the country” as she calls it to get her hair done and spotted this camellia blooming when she drove up to her stop.  She knew (as plant lovers know) that she had to have it.  When she finally acquired the plant she got 15 more to give to various garden friends.  I comment that I don’t have one and she tells me I really need to get one.  ( I plan to add one to my garden as soon as I find a source ).

Margaret Moseley in her garden, January 2012

 Also blooming on the day of my visit is a tree that is new to me, Michelia maudiae. ( also known as Magnolia maudiae, just in case you are looking for a source ).  A relative of the banana shrub, Michelia figo, an old fashioned plant that you find in many old southern gardens;  this species  has large luscious fragrant white flowers.  The foliage makes me think of Magnolia virginiana with silvery green leaves.  A  large shrub or small tree, it  appears to be hardy to Zone 7.   Margaret got her plant from her friend Lyndy Broder.  ( Lyndy is a clematis expert with a large garden in Stockbridge, Georgia ).  When Margaret received the plant, she realized she didn’t like where it had been placed and decided to move it to another spot.  Because the rootball was so big, she dragged the plant to its current location where it thrives today.  I don’t think she ever really planted it, it just decided to grow.

Michelia maudiae in full bloom, Jan. 28, 2012

Part of what makes visiting with Margaret in her garden so special is the way she evokes pictures with her stories about her plants and the people who have visited her garden.  I admire the form of a bare Japanese maple and she says “oh you should see it when the foliage comes out.”  And then directs me to a clump of hellebores that I must see. 

Camellia 'Fragrant Pink'

Margaret has been gardening in the same place for over 50 years and she says the hardest thing about getting older is that she can’t do the work herself.  You can only point out so much to someone doing the work, when it comes to what needs to be done.  Then, in the next breath, she says “Oh, you need to come back and see the garden in a few weeks, a month, etc.  I leave and know that my next visit, whenever it is promises to be inspiring too.

Japanese maple and hellebores in January