Gilmore Gardens' Shade Path in Spring

Purple Crocus vernus 'Grand Maitre', light blue Iris histrioides 'Katharine Hodgkin' and white-winged snowdrop, Galanthus elwesii.

Even though we moved residence from Gilmore Gardens a year-and-a-half ago, the flowers there are carrying on through the seasons beautifully. Once the hard work of establishing plantings has taken place, it becomes much easier to maintain those areas, as this garden well shows.

Gardening in Pennsylvania ~ July 2014 GBBD

A bee sampling the nectar in the last foxglove, Digitalis purpurea, of the season in the Shade Path garden.

Welcome to Gilmore Gardens in July!

Work is in full swing still over at our new garden, Havenwood, as I try to prepare new beds to hold our flowers at Gilmore in the fall. There are a lot blooming over there, so here are just a few glimpses this month!

Clematis Up a Tree

Clematis 'Perle d' Azure' growing near the Shade Path garden at Gilmore Gardens.

This Clematis is the star in one of my most popular posts of all time: How to grow a Clematis on a tree trunk. If you like this look, that post is a great place to start looking at getting one going in your own garden!

It is also popular in our own family, each of us waiting to see how high it is going to bloom this year. It is still doing well! Even though we no longer see it out our windows during the day, we still drive by Gilmore Gardens to check on how things are going. Often, the children ooh and ahh louder than the adults, as they instinctively feel that this garden is still a part of them as well. We look forward to bringing some of our flowers over to Havenwood this fall!

Gilmore Gardens ~ GBBD June 2014

Catmint, Nepeta 'Walker's Low', and Geranium 'Orion' beside the road in the Curb strip this month.

Welcome to my little garden in Pennsylvania!

June is here, and we are enjoying it both at our new garden, Havenwood, and at our old garden, Gilmore Gardens. Here are some pretty shots from Gilmore just after the rain last evening...

Helleborus for the Spring Shade Garden

A pink Lenten Rose, Helleborus orientalis, at Gilmore Gardens this beautiful May week.

We stopped by Gilmore Gardens the other day to take a look around to see these shade garden beauties...

Gardening in Pennsylvania ~ GBBD April 2014

Crocus vernus 'King of the Striped' in a curb garden.

Welcome back to Gilmore Gardens for April GBBD!

Nice weather has finally arrived here in western Pennsylvania, and everyone I see around town has emerged from winter hibernation with a huge grin on their face. After such a long, cold winter, I think we all need some time to soak it all in. My family was able to spend a few hours at our old garden last weekend cleaning up the beds from excess leaves, putting out a bit of compost as mulch, and cutting back perennials and sticks.

I stopped over another evening, just after a rain. I was able to take these photos just as the evening golden hour began...

April showers bring March flowers...

Crocus tommasinianus at Gilmore Gardens April 1st

... at least that is how the song goes for us this year.

We are just now enjoying our crocuses and snowdrops during a few days of warm sun. I hope that those of you in more northern places in North America will feel encouraged to know that your flowers are coming soon as well!

Gardening in Pennsylvania ~ October 2013 GBBD

The Hill Garden with Canna 'King Humbert', Echinacea purpurea, Berberis purpurea, and glorious yellow maples (Acer) leaves for autumn.

Welcome to my small town Pennsylvania garden in October!

I would be delighted to show you around our corner here in US zone 5. The foliage colors are intensifying this month, though they have not yet reached their climax. Our first frost is still on its way this year. Hurray for a few more weeks with tender plants in the garden! The begonias, cannas, dahlias and annuals are still adding their pretty bit to the mix. Come talk a walk around...

Shade Path Garden in September

Begonias, northern sea oats, Japanese forest grass and Sedum 'Frosty Morn' front our Shade Path this week... and native flat-topped asters are a white haze down its length.

See more of our Shade Path garden on our map.
Have a great weekend!
~Julie

Fall is here, but all is still green...

Christmas fern (Polystichum acrostichoides) in the Shade Path.

Rain and the golden hour do beautiful things for the garden...

Gardening in Pennsylvania ~ September 2013 GBBD

Blooms and foliage in my zone 5 garden for September.

Welcome to Pennsylvania in September!

We have had quite a variety of weather in the past weeks. One day it is unbearably hot and dry with the temperature over 86 degrees F (30 C). The next day we are all in winter coats at the damp morning soccer game in 40 degrees F (4 C). Despite all of that drama, the garden is still blooming on...

How to Train a Clematis on a Tree Trunk

Clematis 'Perle d'Azur' on our maple tree in the Shade Path garden.

A few years ago, I planted Clematis 'Perle d'Azur' at the base of an old maple tree. It has become one of the most original elements in our gardens.

Here are some tips to get a Clematis started up your own tree!

Color for the Weekend

Oakleaf Hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia) in our Shade Path Garden this week.

The summer flowers are really coming out this week in our garden: asiatic lilies, daylilies (Hemerocallis) and now the oakleaf hydrangeas. This one is planted by some white streaked hosta, which work as supporting cast for the hydrangea blooms. We have several other white-variegated plants in this garden (see a few here).

Gardening in Pennsylvania ~ GBBD June 2013

Our Shade Path Garden full of yellow perennial foxgloves, Digitalis grandiflora.

Welcome to Pennsylvania for Garden Blogger Bloom Day!
There are lots of flowers to see this weekend around our small, town garden. Come take a walk around...

Yellow foxgloves in the Shade Path Garden

Digitalis grandiflora and Clematis 'William Kennett' in our garden this week.

Along the Shade Path garden this week, the perennial yellow foxgloves (Digitalis grandiflora) are in bloom. They are a favorite every year, and seed themselves happily around our dry shade garden.  After they have bloomed for about a month, I trim back their spent blooms to the first set of leaves. This deadheading helps them to re-bloom again in September, which is a real treat!

The Shade Path succession planting started out in January with snowdrops and a few Hellebores in February. It was a really cold spring, so things did not really get going until the Iris reticulata 'Katherine Hodgkin' covered the path in April, followed by many more Hellebores orientalis. Then, the shade garden was covered in blue and white for May. Oh, and there was quite a display of pink columbine in there too.

Color for the Weekend: Pink

Pink flower of Geranium macrorrhizum 'Bevan's Variety' scattered in the Shade Path Garden. White variegated Sedum 'Frosty Morn' stands out among the blue Hosta and palmated Geranium foliage.

 A few combinations from around our garden this weekend, all with a little pink...

Scenes from the Shade Path Garden

The Shade Path garden: Variegated Solomon Seal (Polygonatum odoratum 'Variegatum') in front of the blue flowers of Brunnera 'Jack Frost'.

Here are some views of our Shade Path garden from the past couple of weeks. I love when it turns to this blue and white phase... so peaceful...

Hellebores in the Shade Path Garden

Pink and spotted Hellebores orientalis hybrid in our Shade Path this week.

I was out with an umbrella yesterday afternoon to get a few photos of the Lenten Roses (Hellebores) blooming in our Pennsylvania,  zone 5 garden. These may be nothing new to the blogging world, but they are are real and beautiful to us!

Color for the Weekend

Iris reticulata 'Katherine Hodgkin' in our Shade Path garden this weekend.

A few years ago I fell in love with these spring gems, the rock irises. I planted 50 in our shade garden last year and they have come up again this year! Here it is with the evergreen Christmas fern, Polystichum acrostichoides.

Flowers in the Cold! ~ GBBD February 2013

Hellebores orientalis in the Shade Path Garden

February is here at Gilmore Gardens in Pennsylvania! There are a few early signs of spring today, though they are shivering at the moment in 32 F (0 C) and will be even colder tonight as it is supposed to get down to 17 F (-8 C). We had snow flurries for Valentine's Day yesterday instead of the 40 F that was predicted. But it is warmer inside with all of the heart garlands hanging about thanks to my daughter Grace.