Monday, September 14, 2026

Le Petit Matin and Dragon's Den, on the Buffalo Fling

Today's post covers the next two gardens we visited on Saturday morning of the Buffalo Fling in July; Le Petit Matin and Dragon's Den. 

Le Petit Matin (The Early Morning) is the garden belonging to YouTuber Jay Jinge Hu (he's also on Instagram) I believe this is Jay's second Fling, the first being last year's Memphis event—where I heard he made quite the impression with his enthusiasm. 

The garden's description: "This semi-formal garden pays homage to the temporal beauty of life, in appreciation of nature's transitions and transformations. Adjacent to Amherst State Park, the rustic-style home is surrounded by mixed borders, while casual seating and conversation spots create vignettes that invite one to pause and embrace solitude or the company of friends. Look for stylistic repetition and careful bursts of color."

This was my first time meeting Jay. His passion for his garden, and his excitement about sharing it with us was immediately evident. He met our Fling group in the driveway and gave a short introduction before setting us free to wander.

Jay's plant love spills over into that driveway...

I didn't see an agave, but there was an Opuntia.

Into the back garden...



Jay's garden style could not be more different than mine, but we both share a love of plants and a desire to connect people through that love. In fact Jay invited a few of us Flinger's over to his garden for a post-Fling gathering, it was such a wonderful time. Most of these photos from Jay's garden are from that visit, with the evening light rather than the harsher light under which we originally saw the garden.


Oh, another thing Jay and I share, a love for containers.


Such a healthy patch of Begonia grandis!

Looking across the back garden...

A trio of Buffalo Fling Co-Organizer Jim Charlier's art posts in the corner.

Jay seems to have a way with Clematis.

And even has a decorated compost pile!

Jay shared on Instagram that he was reported for not labeling a photo of his flowers as "AI generated," they were too perfect.


Love this, so nice unpainted (as many people do).

Jay grows several sweet bay Magnolia (Magnolia virginiana) and I was lucky enough to catch a bloom of one hanging on...

On to the next garden, that of Beth and Brian Kreutzer, called Dragon's Den...

"When you arrive at the front gardens, you will see interesting trees, a waterfall, and colorful annuals. As you enter the back garden through the gate, be sure to look up to be greeted by our friendly neighborhood dragon, who keeps a watchful eye over the garden. As you stroll along the pathways, you will see...sun and shade perennials, and whimsical garden art...Feel free to sit and relax on the pergola listening to the sounds of the babbling brook or watch the colorful koi from the deck."

Google images identified this as Taxus baccata 'Amersfoort'...

The description of the Taxus from Far Reaches Farm: "A bizarre antler-like sport of the common Yew found in France and moved to the grounds of the Insane Asylum in Holland for which it is named. This is one crazy plant. Open strikingly architectural growth habit with a tight attention to line and form. Very unYew-like and more like some oddly dendritic Podocarpus."

I would hate to navigate that wooden walkway in the dark after one too many glasses of wine...


Another dragon! We heard at least one of them was known to breathe fire after dark.

This was unexpected...

I love that they're experimenting.


More mossy rocks...

And back out to the front of the home.

Where there were colorful zinnia...

And a statuesque tree that I first thought was "Twisty Baby" black Locust (Robinia pseudoacacia 'Lace Lady'), but now I'm questioning that as I don't see any twisty foliage in this photo.


The Bit at the End
Jay is another of the Buffalo Fling gardeners that has appeared on PlantPop, check out the short (5 minute) video with Jay here.

—   —   —

To receive alerts of new danger garden posts by email, subscribe here. Please note: these are sent from a third party, their annoying ads are beyond my control. 

All material © 2009-2026 by Loree L Bohl. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Thank you for taking the time to comment. Comment moderation is on (because you know: spam), I will approve and post your comment as soon as possible!