Good morning! The summer is flying by and daylily days are here. You can see their colors as you travel country roads. Here in Turner, the tiger lilies are also putting up their displays in ditches and round and about.

I’m always amazed by nature’s ability to withstand what it does and by how ingeniously people adapt to challenges in ways that complement Mother Nature.

Speaking of ingenious, I want to tell you about the chipmunks at my house.

We have lots and lots of little fat ones — and that is because we feed them, however inadvertently. We have a half-barrel in our garage where we store sunflower seed for the birds. It is right by the door leading from the kitchen into the garage. To the left is a woodpile and to the right is an outer wall with a garden directly on the other side.

Well, our chipmunks have chewed an entry into the top of the barrel. They feed and come and go as they please. Frequently we open the barrel and are greeted by chirping as if they are saying, “I am busy right now!”

When roused from the barrel, they jump out, run for the woodpile where they sit and chatter at us or run for the wall and into the exit hole leading into the garden.

Quite ingenious of them, and we truly enjoy their antics.

My friend Joyce and I recently visited Paris Hill for its Founder’s Day celebration and thoroughly enjoyed the gardens open to the public. Throughout our miles of walking from one garden to another, I was amazed at the ingenuity displayed all around that wonderful and historic village.

There are several historic public buildings that have found new uses, and they do not languish for lack of attention. All around are beautiful historic houses, from 150 to almost 200 years old, that have been refurbished and are home to new families. The gardens at these homes reflect not only their owners’ choices, but also the natural landscape and the problems inherent with the topography. The solutions to some of these problems are quite creative and gave me pause at the amount of thought and time they must have required.

At the lovely Morin/Rideout gardens on Paris Hill Road, two homes where mother and daughter share a circular driveway, we came across a little chipmunk presented with a problem it solved quite well.

Standing between it and a statue with a bowl containing tasty sunflower seeds were lots of people on the garden tour. The little guy streaked across the driveway, ran an obstacle course darting in and around plants and bushes, and then climbed into the bowl to partake. It looked back at all the visitors watching him as if to say, “Think you could stop me from eating. Well, think again.” I was told the small bowl had already been refilled several times and it was not yet noon, so the chipmunk was obviously enjoying the tour — and the tourists were equally enthralled.

The gardens around these two houses are wonderful, but not simply because of the plants. Behind the Morin house are terraces with lovely stonewalls and just a touch of whimsy. On the lowest terrace and farthest from the house stands a garden shed. Since this is in full sight, it could have been an eyesore for anyone taking in the spectacular mountain views.

It isn’t. Instead, the shed was made to look like a barn — a lovely tiny barn complete with a cupola, weathervane and colorful window flower boxes. When I complimented Mrs. Morin on the shed, she gave full credit to her husband, Mike.

Also on the property is a hand-painted mailbox. When you open it, however, you won’t find mail but rather gardening tools. No running to the shed or to the garage when spent blossoms need to be tended.

Ingenuity apparently comes in many forms and is sometimes quite surprising.

While on the garden tour, we passed a lovely home with a huge expanse of green lawn, flower beds and a spectacular little waterway that crosses the entire property from the road frontage to the rear stonewall that marks the Paris Hill golf course. A culvert under the roadway empties at the top of that long sloping lawn. Obviously, water drains off the hill across the road, is directed through the culvert and dumps onto the property.

But instead of accepting a muddy, forlorn and probably ugly looking drainage area, the property owners got creative. They built a winding, rock-lined stream bed from the culvert to the back stonewall and, even when no water is traversing, it complements the landscaping.

I would love to give the builders credit, but this particular house wasn’t on the tour and there was no name on the mailbox.

While walking from one garden to another, I also got a lesson in longevity.

At a historical home called Crossroads, owned by Tony Kleitz, I saw one of the most amazing hostas. It is quite literally as big around and as tall as a VW Beetle. Really! I have never seen a hosta so big or so tall. I didn’t get a chance to ask, but I would guess it must be several decades old or even more. The gardens were designed by Katherine Kleitz early in the 20th century so perhaps that hosta has been there way longer than even I think.

Seeing creative solutions always inspires me, and I hope it encourages you to think a bit outside of the box when grappling with specific problems at your house. And if you want some inspiration, take a ride to Paris Hill and wander around about a bit. You’ll find it worth the trip.

Until next time, enjoy the daylilies, summer weather and blueberries. And open yourself to creative solutions — you just might add to your garden’s beauty in the process.

Happy gardening.

Jody Goodwin has been gardening for more than 25 years. She lives in Turner with her husband, Ike, her dog and two cats. She may be reached by writing to her in care of the Sun Journal, 104 Park St., Lewiston, Maine, 04243-4400 or by e-mail at [email protected].