The Cresson Garden at Hedgleigh Spring
Charles Cresson’s home in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, US.
As I contemplated three more winter “weather events” in the next three days, culminating in 3 to 5 more inches of snow, I thought what we all need is some photos of a beautiful, warm, flower-filled garden. I had visited Charles Cresson’s garden Hedgleigh Spring in May of 2014 but never posted the photos. Now seems like a perfect time. Enjoy
Nursery News: Carolyn’s Shade Gardens is a retail nursery located in Bryn Mawr, PA, specializing in showy, colorful, and unusual plants for shade. The only plants that we ship are snowdrops and miniature hostas. For catalogues and announcements of events, please send your full name, location, and phone number (for back up use only) to carolyn@carolynsshadegardens.com. Click here to get to the home page of our website for catalogues and information about our nursery and to subscribe to our blog.
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Charles has hosted hundreds of tours at Hedgleigh Spring, a garden begun by his grandfather a century ago.
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Every inch of the garden is packed with plants, and many are rare and unusual.
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Roses and honeysuckle climb the wall.
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roses and honeysuckle
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A striking combination of bletilla and azaleas.
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coralbells and bearded iris
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heirloom coralbells and nepeta
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A tree peony, what a gorgeous color.
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ajuga and hardy geranium
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The pond garden was breath-taking.
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Primroses along the wall in the pond area.
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another gorgeous tree peony
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My favorite combination, Japanese iris and ‘Caramel’ coralbells.
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Every nook and cranny has a plant!
It doesn’t seem like it, but our gardens will be flower-filled sometime soon.
Carolyn
Nursery Happenings: We will be selling snowdrops and hellebores at Winterthur on March 7, details here. We are now taking orders, for mail order or pick up in March, from the 2015 Snowdrop Catalogue, featuring snowdrops and other winter interest plants like cyclamen and hellebores. To access the catalogue, please click here.
Carolyn’s Shade Gardens is a local retail nursery in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, U.S., zone 7a. The only plants that we mail order are snowdrops and miniature hostas and only within the US.
If you are within visiting distance and would like to receive catalogues and information about customer events, please send your full name and phone number to carolynsshadegardens@verizon.net. Subscribing to my blog does not sign you up to receive this information.
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CAROLYN'S SHADE GARDENS 
March 3, 2015 at 11:05 am
Oh, this is exactly what I needed to see in order to restore my flagging faith in spring EVER returning — thank you! 🙂 (and I too cannot believe that we are in for yet more of this white stuff this week! Enough already!) 😉
March 3, 2015 at 11:10 am
CL, It really is hard to imagine as I look out my window that spring will come and flowers will bloom. Carolyn
March 3, 2015 at 11:06 am
Wow, his garden is magnificent. I would love to see it. When I first started to garden I used to take his book on perennial gardening out of the library all the time. Read it cover to cover. I visited your garden when coming to buy plants and your shady gardens are beautiful. Happy spring soon, Nancy
March 3, 2015 at 11:09 am
Nancy, Charles’s garden is beautiful at any time of year. It is often on tours so just look for it. My winter interest seminars are held there. Carolyn
March 3, 2015 at 11:06 am
What I love about this garden most is its history… the thought that future generations care enough to keep it going… if there was one dream that could be fullfilled after my passing, it would be that a family member would want to carry on… alas, it’s not looking likely and as with so many garden adventures, it is likely to be of a single generation only… enjoyed your photos very much… L
March 3, 2015 at 11:12 am
Larry, That is probably the most wonderful thing about this garden, and I am glad you pointed it out. I don’t know what will happen to my garden, but I console myself that it is really about the process and my enjoyment of it rather the product, the garden itself. Carolyn
March 3, 2015 at 11:16 am
Thank you!! This restores my gardening spirits!
March 3, 2015 at 11:41 am
Leslie, Glad to help. Carolyn
March 3, 2015 at 11:37 am
Dear Carolyn
Thank you very much for sharing your photos. It is a very special garden, that I have not seen for years. Perfect timing, as I itch for my “old” plants in my new garden to show through the snow, and tell me that spring is really coming.
( I have moved from 5 acres on Cherry Lane to a small “villa” at Waverly, but was able to bring some small “treasures” with me.)
Yesterday smelled like spring!
With all best wishes
Elizabeth
Sent from my iPhone
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March 3, 2015 at 11:43 am
Elizabeth, That must have been a hard move, but I am glad some plants came with you. when spring finally does arrive it will be all the more appreciated. Carolyn
March 3, 2015 at 12:46 pm
Hi Carolyn, Loved your blog especially as I look out on 4 feet of snow but Thursday we leave for St. John and I am so ready to get out of town. John is all set to start seeds the day after we get back. I have a tray of verbena bonariensis stratifying in the frig..and will move it to the heating mat when we get back. I’m growing stuff for pollinators this year. We have so much winter pruning to do but the raspberries and blackberries must be cut to the ground so I have to wait on them. Cheryl
Sent from my iPad
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March 3, 2015 at 4:31 pm
Cheryl, Boston is like it was around here last year, waiting for the many feet of snow to melt. What we need is some warm days, but instead more snow on Thursday and down to 9 degrees. Carolyn
March 3, 2015 at 1:48 pm
Thank you, Carolyn, those pictures are a sight for winter-sore eyes! I have taken several of Charles’ classes at Longwood and have enjoyed his teaching and enthusiasm. I would love to tour his garden!
March 3, 2015 at 4:27 pm
Ann, I first met Charles during his Bulbs class at Longwood in the early 1990s. He is very generous in sharing his garden. It is often on tours for PHS, HPS, and other horticultural organizations. Carolyn
March 3, 2015 at 4:34 pm
Nice try….and I was even lucky enough to miss a month of this!
I’ll be in New Orleans (where I hope it doesn’t snow!) from March 11-23. Will this be a problem for picking up my winter plants?
Best, Bonnie
On Tue, Mar 3, 2015 at 10:50 AM, CAROLYN’S SHADE GARDENS wrote:
> Carolyn @ Carolyns Shade Gardens posted: “Charles Cresson’s home in > Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, US. As I contemplated three more winter “weather > events” in the next three days, culminating in 3 to 5 more inches of snow, > I thought what we all need is some photos of a beautiful, warm, > flower-fille”
March 3, 2015 at 4:36 pm
Bonnie, Yes, it just goes on and on. You can pick up your plants when you get back. Safe travels. Carolyn
March 4, 2015 at 1:03 am
Hi….you were spot on! A colourful and thoughtful garden on what is here, in South west France, a bleak and rainy day again…we’ve had about 6 weeks of this. So thanks, Carolyn. Paeonia delavayi? Maybe? Fabulous colour…
March 4, 2015 at 8:48 am
Alison, Not sure which peony it is. Here we have now had a couple of inches of ice, it is raining now, and tomorrow we get 6 to 10 inches of snow. It is hard to imagine spring is anywhere in sight. Carolyn
March 4, 2015 at 6:00 pm
I remember his beautiful garden and these views so well. Nice to see it again.
March 4, 2015 at 8:19 pm
Donna, I really enjoyed visiting Charles’s garden with you because you appreciated it as a designer. Aside from having amazing plants, the garden is very sophisticated from a design standpoint. It is hard to imagine those flowers now with snow on the way. Carolyn
March 6, 2015 at 8:03 pm
I can see why you like the Iris and Heuchera combo, the colors are striking.
March 7, 2015 at 8:04 pm
Les, As you noticed, the center of the iris picks up the exact color of the leaves of the ‘Caramel’ heuchera. The combination was in the back corner of the vegetable garden, and it was my favorite of any, although it had some spectacular rivals. Carolyn
March 6, 2015 at 9:19 pm
These plant combinations are beautiful.
The mid-Atlantic seems to be in the kind of weather pattern we were in last month, storm after storm. Now that February is over, I’m glad to have that weather behind us and to be enjoying sunshine and warmer temperatures (although still considerably below normal for this time of year). I hope you get spring weather and melting soon.
March 7, 2015 at 8:02 pm
Jean, Seven degrees or less last night but into the 40s and 50s this week so maybe there’s hope. Carolyn
March 8, 2015 at 11:08 am
Thanks Carolyn as I needed this…still cold and snowing here today.
March 8, 2015 at 1:43 pm
Donna, Finally today, after 12″ more snow and two nights around 7 degrees, we have a beautiful sunny day in the 40s. Spring is in sight!!! Carolyn
March 8, 2015 at 1:13 pm
Completely charming! I would not have thought to combine roses and honeysuckle, but I love it. My garden is just about to burst open with spring blooms…any day, I can’t wait!
March 8, 2015 at 1:42 pm
Deb, This is a traditional English cottage garden combination which I have read about many times but not seen. I wish I had more sun! Carolyn
March 10, 2015 at 1:26 pm
Every picture is breathtaking, Carolyn! I love the symmetry of the house — ours is also symmetrical, but not nearly so interesting. Perennial geranium and ajuga? Wish I had thought of putting them together. Very inspiring on this snowy day! P. x
March 10, 2015 at 3:47 pm
Pam, That combination really caught my eye because it makes too fairly ordinary plants very special. Carolyn
March 17, 2015 at 10:31 am
I saw Donna’s posts on this garden as well. Interestingly enough, you both focused on different things. I love some of the aspects of the garden you have shown here like the pond. I must say it’s a really beautiful garden.
March 18, 2015 at 10:26 am
Jennifer, beautiful in every season and in every detail. Carolyn