Hollister House Garden: Study Weekend

Two weeks ago I attended a Garden Study Weekend, hosted by the Garden Conservancy and Hollister House Gardens. I went down for Saturday, though the event kicked off on Friday and finished with garden tours all day Sunday.  Saturday was packed full of incredible speakers, starting with William Cullina, director of the Maine Botanical Garden in Boothbay Harbor, Maine.  He gave a great tour of some of his favorite trees and shrubs, many he treats like perennials by hard pruning in spring. Some plants he will cut to the ground each year, such as Physocarpus, Salix, and Sambucus, and others he will cut every 3-5 years, such as Ilex verticillata (winterberry), Fothergilla major, and Rhus typhina. Still other shrubs he cuts to 6 inches in the early spring to encourage bushier growth and often larger leaves and/or flowers, such as Hydrangea (the arborescens and paniculata types) and Clethra.

Next came Edwina Von Gal, a landscape designer, who gave a very motivating talk about her process and approach to designing a garden and landscape. She had a very artistic approach, the way she talked about her work was similar to how an artist talks about a painting. A few key points that resonated with me: striking a balance between imperfection and perfection, what can we let go? "Designing" views that require nothing from the viewer. "Checking out even" by never removing biomass from the property. Leaving dying things (trees and plants) in place, as the decay and the architecture is interesting and provides good habitat. She did not talk much about plants, it was all about ideas, process, and intentions.

Then came a plant show and tell with Marco Polo Stefano, Paige Dickey, and Andrew Wheeler (from Arrowhead Nursery). They got on stage with many of their favorite plants and discussed their merits. A couple of promising stars: Caryopteris x clanodensis 'Sterling Silver,' Cercis 'Rising Sun,' Ptelea trifoliata 'Aurea,' Hydrangea involucrata opus 'Plena,' Lespedeza yakushima (low, spreading), and Albizia 'Black Chocolate' (dark leaf mimosa shrub, also good to cut to the ground annually). One of the most exciting plants I saw during the plant sale was Vernonia lettermannii, it has the fine, ferny foliage of Amsonia hubrichtii, but has deep purple- pink flowers and is in bloom now.

Later, Bill Noble spoke about the Garden Conservancy, projects and acquistions, Barbara Paul Robinson spoke about her new book, Rosemary Verey: The Life and Lessons of a Legendary Gardener, and then Eric T. Fleisher, horticulture director at the Battery Parks City Parks in New York City, gave a very engaging and informative talk on soil science, composting, and organic approaches to managing landscapes that receive high impact (such as Battery Park lawns in New York City, and the lawns at Harvard College). The last speaker was Bill Thomas, director of Chanticleer, who spoke about the garden and gave a photographic tour through the seasons. I have never been to Chanticleer, but I am really looking forward to it now. The day ended at the Hollister House Garden. See pictures below- it is stunning!

 

I am so appreciative of how the yew hedge sets off this Maclaeya. I wondered what the species name was and discovered that there are only 2 (or 3) species of Maclaeya and that as far as I can tell, the only real difference in the species is the number of stamens found in the flowers. M. cordata has 25-40 stamens, M. microcarpa has 8-15, and the third debatable species is M. kewensis (M. cordata x M. microcarpa) which has 12-18 stamens. So that should clear things up! I planted a M. kewensis 'Flamingo' one year which seems to have pinker buds and flowers. 

George Schoellkopf began creating Hollister House garden in 1979 and he was greatly influenced by the three great English gardens of Hidcote Manor, Sissinghurst and Great Dixter. You can feel these influences everywhere, especially the brick walls laden with plants and vines reminiscent of Sissinghurst.

This was the tallest Eupatorium I have ever seen, easily ten feet high. No one I asked seemed to know who exactly it was. I love it with Dahlia's skirting around.

The deep borders with the lovely red leafed annual popping up here and there. I thought I heard it called Red Orach (Atriplex hortensis), but my plant friend, Bobbi Angell, thinks it might be Perilla frutescens. After a little research I think she might be right! I thought this garden was beautiful in its annuals and self seeders running through perennial plantings.

Foliage of Viola 'Dancing Geisha'

Magnolia ashei with its big, fat, glossy leaves. This was one of the plants William Cullina uses as a foliage plant in his Maine borders, cutting it to the ground every few years.

The yellow garden, with its golden yellow foliage and lots of yellow flowers.

Crisp, clean lines of the kitchen garden.

This is a nice display of Verbena bonariensis and our wonderful, "weedy" Queen Ann's lace, Daucus carota. This is a no- nonsense solution to the Great Dixter combo, Verbena bonariensis with Ammi Majus (the more refined Queen Ann's Lace). The Daucus is a self seeding biennial and the verbena is a fairly reliable self-seeded annual, especially in a hot, gravelly site such as this one.

One of the largest Hydrangea specimens I have ever seen! I think it is H. 'Tardiva.'

These perfect plant combinations were everywhere- blue glossy green leaves of the holly, with the bright white stripped hosta, and the annual Perilla.

One of the plants mentioned in the 'Show and Tell' was Ptelea trifoliata 'Aurea.' This is a new plant to me, commonly called Wafer Tree or Common Hoptree, it glows golden yellow. You can see it poking its leaves above the purple tops of the iron weed, Vernonia. To read more about the Ptelea and see more pictures, check out this post at the blog Hayefield.

http://hayefield.com/2009/01/24/three-neat-plants-3/#more-1043

Some nice plants spilling over the paving stones.

A terrific pot combination with silver leaves and purple stems of the Plectranthus argentea (Argenteus= silver coin from the Roman era), a salmon pink Agastache, and a dark purple leaf of a sweet potato vine.

This doorway felt like one at Sissinghurst.

Deb Shumlin's Garden

My favorite time of year is late summer through to the beginning of winter. The pace of work is slightly slower, gardens and plants don't need me quite as much, and this is the time when so many of my favorite plants are coming into their full glory. I particularly love the height and fullness of the plants, crashing into each other and filling all the available space.  Gardens can start to look "tired" this time of year, due in part that you start to see some of the ratty parts, spent foliage and gaping holes left from a spring time beauty that couldn't pull through. This is where the Great Dixter succession planting ideas and bedding out techniques help keep the garden vibrant through till frost. This year I ran annuals, bienniels, and tender plants (Salvias and Dalhias) through many of the perennial plantings and I haven't seen much bare earth since June. At Deb's house, the two of us have dug sod, made new beds, re-worked old beds, and brought in lots of new plants all over the property. The gardens are putting on a good show, but something tells us this is just the beginning...

The above photo is of the front walk. This garden has something happening in it through every season. Here it is in mid July showing off burgundy heads of the Drumstick Allium (A. sphaerocephalon), the gentle spindles of Sidalcea malviflora 'Party Girl,' and the pink hats of the Echinecea flowers.

The great thing about this giant Miscanthus sinensis 'Gracillimus' is seeing it from inside the house looking out. On a sunny day, the sunlight filters through the wispy grass, casting a limey green on the scene. It is such a beautiful vantage point to actually be inside the grass, looking out onto the world. 

Eryngium 'Blaukappe,' Helenium autumnale 'Morhiem Beauty,' tall Agastache 'Black Adder,' Verbena bonariensis, and a Cotinus.

The same scene highlighting the bronze fennel, Foeniculum vulgare 'Purpureum.'

Nicotiana sylvestris is coming into its own. The manure and freshly dug beds contributed to the size of this specimen. Nicotiana langsdorfii pokes its head into the picture, with structural, cut leaves of the artichoke. Echium 'Blue Bedder' was a terrific plant this summer and something I started from seeds brought home from England.

This photo gives some sense of the flow of the Deb's gardens. At the far end you can see the Yew hedge recently planted and thriving. I have dreams of slowly shaving away more and more of Deb's lawn.

In the late light we can see the first red flower on the Salvia confertiflora. These plants were extremely beautiful in October in England and I was so moved by them I wanted to have them in Vermont. I spoke to a plant genius friend and she told me it just does not get hot enough for these plants to flower here in Vermont. I did what every obsessed gardener does when they find a plant they completely love and cannot grow- they order plants from far away and try to grow them! These came in a truck from California and we planted them once the danger of frost had passed. We had a very hot summer and I have buds on most of the plants I put in. I will try my hand at propagating these plants and dig a few to see if I can get them to overwinter. I do like this photo with the dark purple flower heads of Angelica gigas and the white moppy head of Nicotiana sylvestris.

I particularly like this photo, especially seeing the emerging flower heads of the Actaea/Cimicifuga arching over and framing the windows, while the flower heads of the bronze fennel stand out like exclamations against the bright wall.

Michael Gordon's Garden

After a visit to Juniper Hill Farm, I went to see Michael Gordon's Garden in Peterborough, New Hampshire. Michael Gordon is gardener, a garden designer, a garden blogger (The Gardener's Eye), and he is one of the reasons Peterborough, New Hampshire is one of the most beautiful towns on the planet. Sure the town has some great New England architecture and a picturesque river running through it, but it also has incredibly beautiful gardens and public spaces- due in a large part to Michael's efforts. Michael has been one of the leading forces for gardening these public spaces. He has written grants, brought in garden designers such as Gordon Hayward, and has organized volunteer groups that maintain the gardens. On top of all this, Michael is also responsible for most of the plant design, particularly the herbaceous material. He was kind enough to show my friend Deb and I around all of these gardens a few weeks back.

Michael has a wonderful collection of plants. His trees and shrubs are carefully chosen and placed his herbaceous combinations are thoughtful and exciting. Michael gave a great tour, telling us about the evolution of the garden, his design decisions (and intentions), and he managed to tell us a great deal about plants and answer our many questions.

Above: Centaurea autopurpurea

I like this compositional slice, so many good things happening in the shapes, colors, and textures.

I was pretty enamored with this burgundy shrub. In this photo it looks a bit like a Japanese maple, but it is actually a thornless honeylocust, Gleditsia tricanthos var. inermis 'Ruby Lace.' I think if left to its own devices, it would be a gangly tree, but Michael cuts his back to form a shrub. Those lacy, small leaves cast a coppery glow on the scene. It brilliantly sets off the pale flower heads of Eryngium giganteum 'Miss Wilmott's Ghost.'

There are very exciting plants in the mix here, with interesting contrasts in texture and form, but the whole is unified by a delightful color palette of grays, blues, and pale pinks.

Argemone grandiflora, a prickly poppy.

Here is a wonderful example of one of Michael's carefully chosen and expertly placed trees. This is an Acer griseum x Acer nikoense. It has a beautiful bark and a gorgeous overarching canopy. It sits in the middle of Michael's steep hillside, providing shade to a sitting area and helping to frame the view out to distant mountains.

The sitting areas with brilliant blue benches with the light perfectly illuminating this coleus.

After the tour of his garden, Michael showed us four gardens he has helped develop in Peterborough. This is the newest project called the Ruin garden. To read more on Michael's gardens, at home and in town, click here! Thanks Michael for such a great tour!

Juniper Hill Farm

I recently visited Juniper Hill Farm, Joe Valentine and Paula Hunter's garden in Francistown, New Hampshire.  Joe is a fellow blogger (click here!) and is interested in all things garden related: garden history, different gardening styles, England, and, of course, plants. Joe and Paula together have created a beautiful garden in the rolling and rocky hills of rural New Hampshire. They have traveled all over England and America visiting the best gardens, attending lectures and symposiums, buying plants, and bringing many of these ideas home to their garden. There are English style hedges, Japanese inspired garden rooms, and American meadows. Through these different ideas, Joe and Paula have developed their own style, while always incorporating the natural landscape- not always an easy task.

Their garden has the most wonderful collection of conifers and evergreens, designed beautifully to create lines and layers of hedges and undulating forms.

One of Paula's container displays. Euphorbia 'Diamond Frost,' Aparagus densiflorus 'Meyersii,' and a Japanese maple.

And now, the Verbascum conundrum. I LOVE these things every time I see them, from the roadside ditches to the formal topiary garden, their gangly spires make a statement. The trouble for me is figuring out who is who. The one pictured above is Verbascum 'High Noon,' which looks a bit like the one pictured below, Verbascum 'Yellow Lightening' (one, I believe, was named by Fergus Garrett) I would love to line up all the Verbascums, side by side, and really study their differences.

A newly designed pool garden, already full of frogs!

Looking from the lower pool garden up to the house. I love the vase- like sprays of brightly colored grasses against the tight, dark green box and lilac topiary.

The New Spring Garden

In May, I mentioned a new project at Gordon and Mary Hayward's garden, I am calling it the New Spring Garden as it is a re-design of the old Spring Garden. This spot used to be full of plum trees and spring flowering bulbs and it was beautiful, but difficult to maintain. Gordon and Mary called for a re-do and the entire garden was dug over. All the dying and suckering plums were removed and they build an axial path shown here, dividing the garden into four quadrants. This spring they ordered a slew of new perennials to create a meadow-inspired garden in the spirit of Piet Oudolf. When I returned from Great Dixter I was brimming over with new plant ideas and annual planting techniques and so Gordon and Mary charged me with the task of weaving annuals through their perennial plantings. We moved in some teasel that Gordon and Mary overwintered in their vegetable garden and this photo shows how well they have grown. This post is dedicated to what has happened in just two short months. I think we are all very excited about this garden and it does feel different from other areas of the garden- it is untamed and wild and packed to the brim with plants. See what you think.
(The above photo was taken by Gordon Hayward)

A quick "before shot" just after the new perennials were planted in mid-May

The annuals were all planted by late May and the entire garden has filled in to look like this by mid-July.

A slice of happy plants. The magenta pink is Oregano is 'Rosenkuppel,' with an Eryngium from the vegetable garden, and the small flurry of seeds are from the flower heads of the grass Sporobolus heterolepsis (see upper left). The annuals include white stems of Gaura in the front, tall feathery Ammi visnaga 'Green Mist, with bright spots of red from Emilia javanica, and the tall bright pink of Persicaria orientalis brought home as seeds from Great Dixter.

The fine mist of Sporobolus with the Oregano, plus Persicaria amplexicaulis 'Firetail,' with a mighty teasel lingering in the back ground.

A lively corner with that Oregano, a Coreopsis Mary started from seed a few years back, plus Gaura and nasturtium.

A snaking garnet sea of Sanguisorba officinalis 'Tanna' with Ammi majus and Verbena bonariensis. The Ammi and Verbena was a combination directly quoted from pictures I saw of Great Dixter last year. The bright red spots come from that great Emilia plant.

More sprays of Sporobolus with the Verbena, Ammi and Persicaria.

Even though it is a very new garden, there are still many of the old self-seeders representing a piece of the garden's former life. Here are the native tiger lilies and some of Mary's poppies.

A quieter shot of this pot display I helped assemble earlier this year.

(Photo taken by Gordon Hayward)