Archive for Scott Arboretum

Unusual Garden Art

Posted in garden to visit, Garden Tour, How to, landscape design with tags , , , , on October 1, 2015 by Carolyn @ Carolyns Shade Gardens

DSCN6570Temporary art in a bowl of water at Chanticleer

In June, Michael and I went on the annual Scott Arboretum Associates’ Garden Day.  This tour is one of the many wonderful events planned by the arboretum free of charge for its members.   The tour was followed by a reception at world famous Chanticleer featuring delicious food and drink and providing an opportunity to stroll around the lovely gardens after hours.

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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DSCN6561Unfortunately, I didn’t record the name of this arresting sculpture.

One of the homes on the tour featured a collection of very unusual sculptures or installations.  I didn’t count them, but it seemed like there could have been at least 100 and maybe more.  Most of them were not what for want of a better term I will call “pretty art”; in fact, some of them were quite disturbing.   Would you want the boxer above greeting you every time you entered your driveway?  It really got me thinking about the age old question of what is art?

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DSCN6551There were many of these installations, if that is the right term, in the woodlands surrounding the house.

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DSCN6559untitled, Will Dexter, cast glass and steel

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DSCN6557untitled, Bob Harrington, mahogany

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DSCN6553

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DSCN6555“Sleeping Beauty”, Debra Rosenblum

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DSCN6549“Arboreal Timbre”, Greg Leavitt, copper and steel.  This life size metal tree was right outside the front door.

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DSCN6552.

DSCN6556“Throne”, Peter Diepenbrock, metal washers

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DSCN6554“Emergence”, Debra Rosenblum, bronze and slate

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This is not the accumulation of an eccentric included on the tour for some obscure reason, but the well-respected collection of an art connoisseur frequently visited by groups from prominent area art institutions.  I am definitely of the opinion that beauty (or if not beauty, then interest) is in the eye of the beholder, and everyone is entitled to design their garden in the way most pleasing to them.  I found the garden thought provoking, and maybe that’s part of the owner’s intention.   It is still hard for me to think of some of this as art.  What do you think?

Carolyn

Nursery Happenings: You can sign up to receive catalogues and emails about nursery events by sending your full name and phone number to carolynsshadegardens@verizon.net.  Subscribing to my blog does not sign you up to receive this information.

Carolyn’s Shade Gardens is a local retail nursery in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, U.S., zone 6b/7a. The only plants that we mail order are snowdrops and miniature hostas and only within the US.

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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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.

21 Comments »

The Scott Arboretum of Swarthmore College

Posted in container gardening, evergreen, garden to visit, winter, winter interest with tags , , , , on February 15, 2014 by Carolyn @ Carolyns Shade Gardens

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.

Mahonia x media 'Charity'A gorgeous specimen of the mahonia ‘Charity’ in full bloom in front of the Scott Arboretum offices.

Every year since I started this blog I have chosen a mid-Atlantic U.S. garden to profile through the seasons.  In 2011 I covered Chanticleer, in 2012 Longwood Gardens, and in 2013 Winterthur.  You can click on the name of the garden to access the last post in each series.  This year I have selected the Scott Arboretum of Swarthmore College in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania.

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Scott Arboretum at Swarthmore College 12-1-2013 3-23-03 PMCunningham House, the Scott Arboretum offices and library, is the former college observatory and was named for Swarthmore’s first astronomer, Susan Cunningham.

I have been visiting the Scott Arboretum on a regular basis for over 20 years and have been very impressed with their use of plants through out the Swarthmore campus, which is beautiful in its own right.  Cutting edge is an overused term, but I usually see newly introduced plants at Scott first and always displayed in unique and beautiful settings with excellent labels.  In addition, admission to the arboretum is free, and parking is available next to Cunningham House.

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Scott Arboretum at Swarthmore College 12-1-2013 2-13-41 PMThe Cunningham House entrance is flanked by ‘Charity’ mahonia.

My first visit to Scott for this series took place at the beginning of December.  The arboretum has always been very good at highlighting winter interest plants, and I wanted to see what would be peaking in the “off season”.  The answer is plenty, and I had a hard time selecting photos to use here.  I am glad that I visited then because ever since my visit we have had ice and snow and freezing temperatures.

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Scott Arboretum at Swarthmore College 12-1-2013 2-16-04 PMThe courtyard in front of Cunningham House is packed with containers planted for winter interest.

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Scott Arboretum at Swarthmore College 12-1-2013 2-19-37 PM.

Scott Arboretum at Swarthmore College 12-1-2013 2-16-56 PMAttention to detail is shown with this creative use of pine cones as mulch in another winter container.

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Scott Arboretum at Swarthmore College 12-1-2013 2-29-27 PMThe back of Cunningham House is as interesting as the front, and the gardens there should not be missed.

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Scott Arboretum at Swarthmore College 12-1-2013 2-30-02 PMA shady pergola behind Cunningham House, much appreciated in summer. 

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Scott Arboretum at Swarthmore College 12-1-2013 2-27-18 PM.

Scott Arboretum at Swarthmore College 12-1-2013 2-28-32 PMThis close up of the pond shows that it was quite cold that day.

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Fatsia japonica 'Spider's Web' & Helleborus x hybridusThe evergreen leaves of Fatsia japonica ‘Spider’s Web’ and hybrid hellbores both look great in the winter.

Although the plantings around Cunningham House are lovely, the Scott Arboretum encompasses the whole 425 acre campus of Swarthmore College.  The college was founded in 1864 by Quakers and is one of the oldest coeducational colleges in the U.S.  It is a small and highly ranked liberal arts college with a current enrollment of around 1,500 students.  On future visits, I hope to show the full diversity of the arboretum, but during this visit I stuck to the center of campus.

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Scott Arboretum at Swarthmore College 12-1-2013 2-34-58 PMA beautiful allée of trees extends gracefully from the center of campus towards the village of Swarthmore below.

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Parrish HallParrish Hall, named after the first president of the college.

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Parrish Hall, Swarthmore CollegeAnother view of Parrish Hall.  Every building on campus is surrounded by beautiful plantings.

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Scott Arboretum at Swarthmore College 12-1-2013 2-38-10 PMA typical scene from the campus where dried hydrangeas, winterberry, and a variety of evergreens enhance the setting.

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Metasequoia glyptostroboides & Arum italicumAnother allée, this time of dawn redwoods underplanted with Italian arum.

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Scott Arboretum at Swarthmore College 12-1-2013 2-41-47 PMA close up of this beautiful combination. 

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Betula nigra 'Heritage'‘Heritage’ river birch

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Betula nigra 'Dura Heat'A close up of the wonderful bark of another river birch called ‘Dura Heat’.

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Scott Arboretum at Swarthmore College 12-1-2013 2-57-38 PM Containers planted for winter interest are found through out the campus.

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Scott Arboretum at Swarthmore College 12-1-2013 3-07-19 PMAll types of ornamental interest are represented from bark to evergreen leaves to berries, here winterberry holly.

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Ilex verticillata 'Winter Gold'‘Winter Gold’ winterberry holly

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Photinia serrulata, Chinese photiniaChinese photinia, P. serrulata

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Stewartia pseudocamellia var. koreana, Korean stewartiaKorean stewartia

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Scott Arboretum at Swarthmore College 12-1-2013 2-51-27 PMThe Scott Arboretum was one of the first public gardens to try the shrub edgeworthia, E. chrysantha, and there are several beautiful specimens on the campus.

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Scott Arboretum at Swarthmore College 12-1-2013 2-47-32 PMPerennials are not neglected, here a gorgeous yucca.

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Scott Arboretum at Swarthmore College 12-1-2013 2-48-21 PMA great combination of evergreen gold-leafed yucca and ornamental grasses.

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Scott Arboretum at Swarthmore College 12-1-2013 2-58-20 PMA great way to use this aggressively spreading, evergreen bamboo.

This is just a small sampling of the winter delights that await you at the Scott Arboretum.  If you are local, I highly encourage you to join the arboretum so you can attend all their horticultural events.  These range from staff led tours of the arboretum during all seasons, an excellent biennial plant sale with very hard-to-find offerings, smaller talks featuring garden travels through out the U.S. and the world, lectures by well known national and international horticulturists, garden tours, classes, and much more.

Carolyn

Nursery Happenings: To register for Charles Cresson’s Winter Interest Plants Seminar click here.  We are now taking orders, for mail order or pick up in late February or March, from the 2014 Snowdrop Catalogue, featuring snowdrops and other winter interest plants like cyclamen and hellebores.  To access the catalogue, please click here.  Please visit my Etsy Shop to purchase beautiful photo note cards suitable for all occasions, including a new set of snowdrop cards, by clicking 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.

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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