The Rose Garden in May at Havenwood

Tulips in the Rose Garden this week with Magnolia stellata.

Welcome to the first year for our new gardens at Havenwood!

I have been working very hard lately getting all of our these new beds weeded and mulched for their first spring show, working on new garden designs for local clients, as well as finishing up my studies for the RHS Level 2 tests this June.  We have been having a hot, hot spring. So there has also been need for lots of watering and the plants are shooting ahead in growth... And there were 13 roses, 6 boxwood, 6 fruit trees, 6 birch trees and a hornbeam hedge that went in too!

While I put my feet up & have some mint ice cream, I hope you enjoy having a look around... :)

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...

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).

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...

Chanticleer ~ Oak Bed Woodland

Chanticleer's Oak Bed filled with spring delights!

I had lovely weather and lovely company on the day I visited Chanticleer last April. The sunny, warm spring excited hundreds of plants into bloom on the estate grounds all at once. It was a beautiful time to visit!

Here are my photos of the Oak Bed. I found the planting in this area captivating; so many woodland treasures were all nestled together. It had the effect of a patchwork quilt which the gardeners had been knitting together these past years.  Each plant so quietly beautiful, supporting one another. I hope you enjoy the view!

Rain!

White meadow rue (Thalictrum pubescens) in our Back Woodland with raindrops.

We finally had rain yesterday, which all of the flowers and foliage have been yearning for weeks, not to mention the gardeners. It started with a cloud burst and ended with a nice slow rain for the rest of the day well into the evening. Here are a few wet scenes after our downpour in the afternoon...

Hosta, a Christmas fern and Brunnera 'Jack Frost' around a maple on the Shade Path.

Views from the Shade Path Garden

Shade Path Garden at Gilmore Gardens, May 2012.

The Shade Path Garden is in our side yard. It is 32 feet in length with the left border being 5 1/2 feet wide at the widest point, and the right border being 7 feet wide.  The grass path is wider at the Circle Lawn to create a longer looking perspective down the length of the path to the gate.

Campanula 'Tinkerbell'

Garden Blogger's Bloom Day - August 2011

 I am happy with the gains I have made this year in our summer season at Gilmore Gardens.
(A look back at August 2010.) Not satisfied yet, but happy with the progress.  I have had little time to write about it (I have started five posts on the subject!), but I am in the middle of figuring out what tricks I need to add to my bag to make the gardens be show-stopping at this time of year.

The Shade Path in July

See the bee on the right?

July was for savoring. 
We had a wonderful July here in PA. Pretty hot, but with a good rain at the end. Here are some ethereal moments captured by the shutter in mid-July on the Shade Path.

This is the fourth flush of flowers to fill this area this year. The bloom in the Shade Path started with the crocus, iris reticulata and helleborus in April; then the river of forget-me-nots (Myosotis) and Narcissus 'Thalia' in May; the bright and full display of foxgloves (Digitalis) in June (which I missed posting on as of yet!); and now to the stalwarts of summer: hosta, impatients and begonias.

Looking toward the Circle Lawn

 In the past, I would have snubbed my nose at these dwarf-bred begonias. And they certainly are nothing like the ones that I marvel at in humid tropical conservatory gardens, but I really like them at the edge of the Shade Path this year. I love adding some dark foliage to the mostly green hostas that remain. And I like their pastel pink blooms for this area of the garden; they help make it a restful stroll down the length of the house.

Looking toward the gate

Another angle to marvel at our mature maples; I like them a little bit. I am thinking about adding an ornamental tree on the right to be seen out side of our bay window, but also thinking about our need to plant new young shade trees soon.

And one more ethereal glimpse of our Shade Path from July...

Looking toward the Circle Lawn

 Grace, my daughter, is learning how to get the best angles. :) She is growing so fast. Some days I am starting to feel that childhood is as fleeting as those hot July days... which as of this week, are gone.

The Shade Path throughout May 2011

It still has its cloud of forget-me-nots, 
      but is wearing more pink these days.
Here is some of what cam be seen in this side garden at Gilmore Gardens in mid to late May...

These photos were taken May 10th. Narcissus 'Thalia' is still looking elegant and scenting the path (more so as they age, I noticed). Everything is still looking pretty prim and proper, not too much sprawling going on. 

N. 'Thalia' nods along over the forget-me-nots (Mysotis) with white bleeding hearts (Dicentra spectabilis alba) on the left side...

and the right (which is street-side)...

 Lily of the valley (Convallaria majalis) running by the foundation wall.

 Just days later, on May 19th, and everything has jumped ahead. The daffodils are long gone, the forget-me-nots billowing, and everywhere foxgloves are shooting up getting ready for their June show. The scented Geranium macrorrhizum 'Bevan's Variety' is spread through out the Shade Path.  I love its show of rich pink flowers at this time of year. They used to bloom with my red/pink rhododendrons, which were miserable with the extreme dryness of this area, at least that is my assumption. They were removed this spring and replaced by a shrub, for which I have long wanted to find a spot. Keep reading :)...

Purple foxgloves (Digitalis purpurea) are shooting up by the maple tree, not minding the dry shade.  The yellow foxglove (Digitalis grandiflora) are also scattered everywhere in this area. This photo shows the climbing hydrangea (Hydrangea anomala petiolaris) that has a good start up the right of the maple tree... with Clematis 'Perle de Azur' climbing along with it.  It will be a few years till these are looking pretty together. More to look forward to! The classic Japanese forest grass (Hakonechloa 'Aureola') is still my favorite, though many new colored varieties are on the market.  It is seen here in the lower right corner. Sometimes restraint in color is better I think than having every this wildly variegated.

That said, here is my new favorite variegated plant (sigh smile).  Jacob's ladder (Polemonium 'Touch of Class'), is just a pretty little plant, and that is before it has even flowered! I love it here with the blue and white.

Here is the classic woodland version of Jacob's ladder (just plain Polemonium), which I love for its delicate beauty also. I usually end up ripping off extra hosta leaves at this time of year to make sure that it is not overwhelmed. Later it goes dormant, so the hosta makes other leaves to cover its neighbor's weaknesses. 

Geranium macrorrhizum 'Bevan's Variety' dancing with the forget-me-nots (Mysotis). A single flower below.

And my new shrub is...

The Oakleaf hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia). I am excited to have room for it here by the foundation.  It already fits the spot so well and I look forward to it maturing the next few years.

An foliage tapestry... white streaked hostas, geraniums, a small rhododendron in the center and some Japanese anemone foliage in the top left.

Columbine (Aquilegia vulgaris 'Nora Barlow') gracing the path. Several other varieties are along the Shade Path, some still waiting to make their appearance. 

A dark purple variety...

And lastly, the euphorbia adds a hit of charteruse (one of my favorites!) to the right of the path. I like it next to the blue hosta.