The Hill Garden - May, July & November 2011

May 2011

July 2011

November 2011

Read more about the Hill Garden Succession 2011

Map of Gilmore Gardens

I thought the readers of WMG might appreciate knowing that we now have a pretty little map of our place, complete with labeled gardens to help you make sense of it as a whole.

This will be located on the new "about the gardens" page under the header, which you may notice has also been spruced up for the new year. Thank you to my hubby!

Garden Blogger's Bloom Day ~ January 2012

Snowdrop, Galanthus elwesii, in the snow on December 17th

Welcome to chilly Pennsylvania and my beloved Gilmore Gardens.

Today we have "The Tale of the Snowdrop." It all began before GBBD December. One Galanthus elwesii bloomed unexpectedly in the beginning of December, though they usually bloom in March or even April in our area. It is situated in our Shade Path garden and therefore has a cool, sheltered position which has kept it from deteriorating too quickly.

Just two days after December's bloom day, a light snow fell over the garden but stayed less than a day (see photo above).  For the remainder of that month and the beginning of January, our snowdrop looked perfect in bloom, as though it really was not January at all (see photo below).

Galanthus elwesii just three days ago, January the 12th.

The weather in western PA has been as odd here as everywhere else in the northern hemisphere: snow laying on the ground for less than four days total. Usually we have had a month or even two by now which are thoroughly blanketed with a foot of snow and temps in the 20's or teens (-11 to 0 degrees C).  Our high temperature this month has been 52 degrees F (11 C) with it being 43 F for most of last week. The average high is usually 35 degrees (1.7 C).

But the cold and snow have made a comeback, returning just three days ago. And so today finds our dear little snowdrop under a pile of white. This was easily dusted away for its last portrait (below).

Today on January 15th

Thanks to Carol at May Dreams for hosting GBBD!
Perhaps there will be more snowdrops to show next month? We can always hope.
In the meantime I have been luxuriating in this wall of green.

Longwood's Green Wall

Longwood Garden's indoor Green Wall

Just over a year ago, Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, PA unveiled their new bathrooms. They are rather unusual bathrooms since they are surrounded by the largest "Green Wall" (also called a Vertical garden) in North America. Green walls are currently very popular in European countries, some of the most impressive examples being created in Paris, France by Patrick Blanc. When used on the exterior of buildings, they are helpful in greening urban areas.

Walking through this interior corridor gives you the feeling of being in an expansive greenhouse, as the ceiling lets in plenty of light.

The south-facing wall is quite filled in and full. The north-facing wall is still a bit thin in areas. I spoke to one of LG's gardeners and she said her job on the north-facing wall was to keep it from being taken over completely by the philodendron, a plant that thrives in low light.

North-facing wall: its bareness lets you see the panels of flat planting peat.

They have used panels of flat peat which are inserted into a wire frame fastened to the wall. Plant plugs are pressed into the holes in rows in the peat. A sprinkler system at the top of the wall keeps it evenly moist and extra water is caught by the drain grate at the bottom.

South-facing wall: you can see the metal drain grate at the bottom.

Several different types of ferns and various philodendrons make up the bulk of the planting

 A fun and unexpected experience for a bathroom break.

A thank you is in order for my guest photographer, Little Garden Girl, on shots 3 & 5. What a wonderful little girl I have! Such an eye for composition too, yes? Thanks, Grace!

See more from Longwood Gardens in my posts this past week:
Longwood Outdoors in Winter
Christmas in Longwood's Conservatory