Visit to Carolyn's Shade Gardens in Bryn Mawr, PA

View of Carolyn's Shade Gardens

Pam and I had a wonderful visit to see Carolyn at her gardens in April. What a beautiful garden! And certainly a plant lover's delight.

One of the defining characteristics of Carolyn's garden are all of the amazing, old trees around her property. No wonder she has found a love for shade gardening! The trees act as a luxuriant setting for everything else. Other people may have cut trees down for more sun exposure, but I am thankful that she instead created gardens that fit her surroundings and even added many more beautiful trees. Creativity is sometimes best displayed when we learn to work with a seeming "garden challenge." 


I hope that this photo tour does some justice to Carolyn's garden and shows how it stands up to both the long view test and also closer examination. It is a truly wonderful garden!

A humorous garden sign: "Danger: Men Gardening" was one of the first things I noticed near the driveway. Very soon, however, my fears were put to rest at meeting Carolyn's very friendly and competent husband. He clearly is a wonderful gardener too!

After a short walk down the steps (top of post), we stepped into Carolyn's kitchen. This is the view from the window at the sink! It does not translate as well here, but let's just say that I might volunteer to do the dishes by hand more often if this were my view! I think that we just missed seeing the garden fairies fly by with their tea trays.

Back outside, I snatch a photo of the Chinese wisteria (Wisteria sinensis) blooming on the porch of the house.

View from the middle terrace by the house to the bottom of the property with Carolyn's iconic bird house. The follow photos are taken on the terraces, then in the dry shade bed (just behind the bird house) and in her production beds (past the second lawn near the woods).

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The Terrace

When I saw this pot, I just had to take my own photo, as I have seen it so many times on Carolyn's blog. It is painted a fun teal shade that contrasts its miniature Hosta planting. The hosta on top is Carolyn's own selection, H. 'Carolyn's Malex II'.

Ruffly deep pink tree peony (Paeonia suffruticosa) on the terrace... 

... paired with plain and variegated honesty (Lunaria annua) looking up toward the garage.

Sunlight through the maple tree on the terrace, looking to the wisteria and pink dogwood (Cornus florida) in bloom.

A variegated lily-of-the-valley, Convallaria majalis 'Albostriata'. Beautiful in the shade of the middle terrace!

A pretty combination near the steps: Heuchera villosa 'Caramel', Italian arum (Arum italicum) and Spirea japonica 'Magic Carpet'.

Another view before descending the steps to the dry shade garden and the production beds.

The lower terrace is home to these orange Geums...

... And these dark geraniums and yellow-blooming Corydalis lutea.

View back up the steps to the house...

View from the bottom terrace. Carolyn said that these terraces were installed before her arrival, though I would guess they have done much to maintain them. Such beautiful stone work!

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The Dry Shade Bed

At the bottom of the terraces is Carolyn's dry shade garden, staring Golden groundsel (Senecio aureus) and Japanese woodland primroses (Primula sieboldii) at the end of April. All this luscious foliage keeps this bed looking nice into summer, as I just saw in Carolyn' post this week.

I was captivated by the large planting of light and dark pink Japanese woodland primroses (Primula sieboldii).

Dark pink Japanese woodland primrose (Primula sieboldii) looking lovely threaded through Japanese painted ferns (Athyrium niponicum).

Japanese woodland primrose (Primula sieboldii) with lungwort (Pulmonaria).

The dry shade bed in full bloom. This view looks back to the house. Notice the foam of blue flowers in the middle of this photo below the wall...

... And you will see the location of this nice little sitting spot.

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Lower Garden & Production Beds

Her golden variegated Pagoda Dogwood (Cornus alternifolia 'Golden Shadows') was really striking in the lower gardens...

... and especially paired with the vivid blue Casmassia Leichtlinii 'Caerulea'.

A beautiful display of plants in her productions beds... just a tapestry of color. Primulas fill out the front in yellow and pinks.

Here is a very large stand of red heritage primrose, Primula x polyantha 'Old Brick Reds'.

Primula x polyantha 'Old Brick Reds' fades into a salmon Pulmonaria and Golden groundsel (Senecio aureus).

This yellow beauty is known as cucumber magnolia, Magnolia acuminata 'Yellow Bird'. They flowers do look like a flock of tropical songbirds roosting in the sunlight.

Doublefile Viburnum (Viburnum plicatum var. tomentosum) and a variegated dogwood on the far side of the bottom lawn, moving up around the other side of the house.

On the back porch railing is pink anemone clematis, Clematis montana var. rubens.

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The Shade Garden

View of the path and plantings on the east side of Carolyn's house. There is a thicker canopy on this side of the house that creates a wonderful dappled shade.

Tiarella, geraniums, ferns, Brunnera, hosta and every good thing, each neatly marked with their full name.

Golden groundsel (Senecio aureus) under the tree and the floating red blooms of the hybrid sweetshrub, Calycanthus x raulstonii (C floridus x C sinensis)' Hartlage Wine'. More on that one below!

One pretty area in the shade garden is given over to blue and yellow for spring. Spanish bluebells and Celandine poppies (Stylophorum diphyllum) are scattered here and there.

Love that golden groundsel (Senecio aureus)!

One of my favorites: little white Anemone nemorosa 'Alba Plena'.

Blue hosta with the golden groundsel (Senecio aureus).

This sweetshrub is perfect for the woodland garden. It is a hybrid between our eastern native (Calycanthus florida ) and the Chinese sweetshrub which as large white flowers (Calycanthus chinensis ). Together they have produced larger red flowers and named it Calycanthus 'Hartlage Wine'.  It was definitely a favorite and I am kicking myself a bit for not bring one home!

Calycanthus 'Hartlage Wine' up close. I found a wonderfully thorough article from NC State University if you are interested in the development of this and other Calycanthus hybrids, including the even larger white flowered Calycanthus 'Venus'.

Carolyn's deck with a creamy maple tree (Acer 'Butterfly') and a perfect spring under-planting...

... including Sapnish bluebells (Scilla campanulata 'Excelsior'), variegated Solomon's seal (Polygonatum odoratum 'Cariegatum') and bleeding hearts, Lamprocapnos spectabilis 'Alba' which have received a Latin update (they used to be Dicentra spectabilis 'Alba').

Pretty little rue anemones in a single pink form, Anemonella thalictroides.

Brunnera 'Jack Frost' with a blue glass jug... so cute.

Another view up the shade garden. The chartreuse lights up the shade so well!

Chartreuse hosta with white and yellow epimedium (Epimedium stellulatum, long leaf form).

Pretty view to the house which is dotted with chartreuse in the hostas and red in the wild columbine (Aquilegia canadensis) and the azalea.

This was an utterly captivating combination in the dappled shade: chartreuse hosta with red and yellow spurred columbine, Aquilegia canadensis.

Close-up of red and yellow spurred columbine, Aquilegia canadensis.

One more of Aquilegia canadensis, this time with Corydalis lutea.

Her miniature hosta bed, which does not include her mouse ears hosta which she has in a trough.

Corydalis nobilis

View from the back of the shade garden of the deck. There is that kitchen window in the corner by the door.

At the back of her garage, Carolyn had this elegant metal planter filled with a chartreuse bleeding heart, which I assume was Lamprocapnos spectabilis 'Gold Heart'.

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The Selling Yard

aka. the driveway

Lovely line-up of shade plants...

Pasque flower, Pulsatilla vulgaris 'Papageno', was one of my purchases.

More plants between the house (right) and garage (left).

More plants and the view back to the terraces.

 Pretty spring flower display for sale.

The lady herself...

This walk was canopied by the white blooms of a native dogwood (Cornus florida)  and a Carolina silverbell (Halesia caroliniana).

Thanks to Carolyn for the wonderful tour of her gardens! They were truly worth the visit and made a nice day trip when combined with Chanticleer. If you enjoyed seeing all of her plants, be sure to stop at her wonderful garden blog as well, Carolyn's Shade Gardens.