Archive for Hardy Plant Society Mid-Atlantic Group

Two Fall Gardens

Posted in annuals, Fall, Fall Color, garden to visit, Garden Tour, How to, landscape design with tags , , , , , , on October 12, 2014 by Carolyn @ Carolyns Shade Gardens

Cresson Garden Fall 2014 9-6-2014 4-32-08 PMCharles Cresson’s flower garden peaks in fall.

Although I have many beautiful fall-blooming plants at Carolyn’s Shade Gardens and the gardens are quite pretty in fall, there is no area of the garden that peaks then.  Recently I visited two gardens specifically designed to be at their height in fall, and I want to show you the plants they used.  The first is the garden of Dru and Maurie Kring, which I visited during the Scott Associates’ Garden Day on October 5.  The second is the garden of Charles Cresson, which I visited during the Hardy Plant Society’s Fall Members’ Garden Tour, which took place September 6.

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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Kring Garden fall 2014 10-5-2014 3-55-30 PMThe main border on the terrace of the Kring property is backed by a stone wall and lines a beautiful terrace on the top of a hill overlooking three ponds—quite a setting.

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Kring Garden fall 2014 10-5-2014 3-55-46 PMA close up the bed featuring dahlias, phlox, and coreopsis.

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Kring Garden fall 2014 10-5-2014 3-56-32 PMThe other end of the bed with white phlox, re-bloomimg white iris, salvia, and sedum.

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Kring Garden fall 2014 10-5-2014 3-58-01 PMThe flagstone terrace interplanted with six varieties of thyme features a riot of salvias purchased at the herb society’s annual sale.

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Kring Garden fall 2014 10-5-2014 3-57-24 PMThe color combination in the salvia border is stunning.

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Charles Cresson’s garden is a joy to visit at any time of year, but I was especially impressed with his flower garden this fall.  While other gardens are fading, Charles has created an area that reaches perfection in September and October.  Although I visited towards the beginning of September, Charles assures me that the garden looked glorious this week when a garden tour from England visited, led by the British garden designer, lecturer, and author Noel Kingsbury.  They were impressed, and I am sure you will be too.

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Cresson flower garden 8-24-14This photo shows the full length of the Cresson flower garden from above on August 24 (photo provided by Charles Cresson).

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Cresson flower garden10-2-14Here you see the same view on October 2.  Although some of the featured plants have gone by, others have taken center stage to keep the display fresh and beautiful (photo provided by Charles Cresson).

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Cresson Garden Fall 2014 9-6-2014 4-18-50 PMThe fall flower garden forms a semicircle backed by a white picket fence.  The bed is eight feet deep, and the part I am showing, which is to the left of the green ceramic urn in the panoramic shots, is forty feet long.

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Cresson Garden Fall 2014 9-6-2014 4-23-16 PMPlants are carefully chosen not only for the color and bloom time of their flowers but also for their height, leaf color, texture, and habit—nothing is left to chance.  This garden is a lot of work, but Charles says it is worth it for the fresh look at a time when gardens are going by for the year.

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Cresson Garden Fall 2014 9-6-2014 4-22-05 PMAlthough cannas, dahlias, and tender salvias are very important to the design, perennials like phlox, rudbeckia, and helenium (sneezeweed) play a prominent role.

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Cresson Garden Fall 2014 9-6-2014 4-22-13 PMThe lespedeza on the back right is actually in a garden behind the fence and looks gorgeous there too.

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Cresson Garden Fall 2014 9-6-2014 4-32-25 PMorange salvia, dahlias, cannas, and helenium

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Cresson Garden Fall 2014 9-6-2014 4-32-35 PMrudbeckia, phlox, and salvia

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It was fun to visit these two well-designed gardens and realize that the gardening season is not over after all.

Carolyn

 

Nursery Happenings:   You can sign up to receive notifications of sales and events at the nursery by sending your full name and phone number to carolynsshadegardens@verizon.net.

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.

Facebook: Carolyn’s Shade Gardens has a Facebook Page where I post single photos, garden tips, and other information that doesn’t fit into a blog post. You can look at my Facebook page here or click the Like button on my right sidebar here.

Notes: Every word that appears in orange on my blog is a link that you can click for more information. If you want to return to my blog’s homepage to access the sidebar information (catalogues, previous articles, etc.) or to subscribe to my blog, just click here.

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The Bunting Garden in Swarthmore, PA

Posted in container gardening, Fall Color, garden to visit, Garden Tour, landscape design, Shade Gardening with tags , , , , , , , on September 30, 2014 by Carolyn @ Carolyns Shade Gardens

Bunting Garden Sept 2014 9-6-2014 1-49-53 PMTerra cotta urns in Andrew Bunting’s vegetable garden.

Michael and I are longtime members of the Hardy Plant Society Mid-Atlantic Group, a wonderful organization, which you can join for only $25 per year.  One tremendous benefit is the chance to go on the Fall Members’ Garden Tour, which took place this year on September 6 in Swarthmore and Media, Pennsylvania, US.  We toured six lovely and interesting gardens and then enjoyed a sumptuous feast with excellent wine at the Swarthmore Fire Company.  In this post, I will profile Belvidere, the home garden of Andrew Bunting, Curator of Plants at the Scott Arboretum of Swarthmore College.

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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Bunting Garden Sept 2014 9-6-2014 1-39-29 PMThe front of the Bunting house is lushly planted with grasses, unusual shrubs, and vines.

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Bunting Garden Sept 2014 9-6-2014 2-07-36 PMThe path from the front to the back features this lovely, healthy edgeworthia.  It seems that most established edgeworthias were not fazed by the horrendous winter.  For more on edgeworthias, read my post by clicking here.

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Bunting Garden Sept 2014 9-6-2014 2-06-42 PMBehind the house is a large bluestone patio filled with tropical plants.  It was very sunny the day of the tour, nice for viewing gardens but not so great for photographing them.  There are many areas of this garden that I would like to show you but can’t because the photos didn’t turn out.

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Bunting Garden Sept 2014 9-6-2014 1-42-44 PMOne of the containers on the bluestone patio, great color combination.

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Bunting Garden Sept 2014 9-6-2014 1-43-21 PMAndrew converted the detached stone garage into a summerhouse.  This is a seating area out front.

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Bunting Garden Sept 2014 9-6-2014 1-43-59 PMInside the summerhouse—I want this room!

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Bunting Garden Sept 2014 9-6-2014 1-44-22 PMAnother room in the summerhouse where the outside comes indoors.

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Bunting Garden Sept 2014 9-6-2014 2-06-57 PMAndrew is an expert on tropical plants, and they are all over his garden and also well represented at Scott Arboretum, which you should visit if you get a chance.  The banana tree in the background started as a very small plant this spring.  Andrew will cut it back and bring it in for the next two winters, but then it will get too big to store, and he will start over with a little one.

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Bunting Garden Sept 2014 9-6-2014 1-47-22 PMAndrew’s garden has expanded onto his neighbor’s property where he maintains a miniature polyculture farm complete with vegetables, fruit, cut flowers, chickens, and an immaculate composting operation.

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Bunting Garden Sept 2014 9-6-2014 1-49-34 PMFarm-to-table is easy when you have a beautiful handmade table set in the middle of your edible garden.  Notice the tree trunk supporting the table top.

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Bunting Garden Sept 2014 9-6-2014 1-58-48 PMA striking red door leads from the vegetable garden to the densely planted woodland garden.  The door has peep holes to create a secret garden effect for visitors of all ages and sizes.

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Bunting Garden Sept 2014 9-6-2014 2-00-26 PMA pond in the woodland garden.  Although Belvidere is only 1/3 of an acre, the various garden rooms make it seem much larger.  There is a surprise around every turn.

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Bunting Garden Sept 2014 9-6-2014 1-46-35 PMA seating area in the woodland garden.  Almost all the chairs in Andrew’s garden were created by Dan Benarcik, who when he isn’t making gorgeous gardens as a horticulturist at Chanticleer in Wayne, PA (have you seen the Teacup Garden this year?), designs garden furniture.  To access his website, click here.  The chairs are very elegant and surprisingly comfortable.

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This is an exceptionally beautiful and extraordinarily well maintained garden packed with plants, containers, furniture, hardscape, paths, and unusual garden features.  This led Michael and I to question whether Andrew ever actually sits down in his chairs, we know we never do :-).

Carolyn

 

Nursery Happenings:   You can sign up to receive notifications of sales and events at the nursery by sending your full name and phone number to carolynsshadegardens@verizon.net.

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.

Facebook: Carolyn’s Shade Gardens has a Facebook Page where I post single photos, garden tips, and other information that doesn’t fit into a blog post. You can look at my Facebook page here or click the Like button on my right sidebar here.

Notes: Every word that appears in orange on my blog is a link that you can click for more information. If you want to return to my blog’s homepage to access the sidebar information (catalogues, previous articles, etc.) or to subscribe to my blog, just click here.

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