Sunday, 31 May 2009
Open Garden Days: Greenwood
Day Two of the Garden Conservancy's Open Days in Bucks County, Pennsylvania.
Greenwood is another new-to-me garden, even though not so very far away. Pleasant sense of anticipation on this, the second day of garden visitations. Off I go on another morning of sunshine, puffy white clouds, and gentle breezes.
Greenwood, notes the Open Days Directory, "consists of a maze of pathways leading to various garden rooms . . . . many varieties of trees and shrubs, mostly evergreen . . . . The prior owner of this property created the garden, encompassing twelve years of design and plantings."
Longish driveway lined with big bamboo looking for an escape. Front garden undergoing some renovation. Through an arbor, pass behind the house, and the concealed garden stretches into the distance. How can a concealed garden stretch away? Greenwood is a garden of mature conifers. Keep in mind that "dwarf" is a relative term when it comes to conifers. If the type is a tree reaching 60, 70, 80 feet tall at maturity, then 20 feet at maturity is dwarf. But that is in relative terms. The conifers in this garden are mature, and many are crowding on their neighbors.
This golden yew, Taxus cuspidata (possibly 'Aurescens' but plants are not labeled
makes an interwoven tapestry with holly and juniper. It is only new growth in Spring
that displays this luminous color on the shrub's tender immature needles. Lovely.
Abies koreana 'Horstmann's Silberlocke' is a choice and slow-growing cultivar
of Korean fir. Definitely not a plant for those who demand instant gratification
from their garden plants as it is slow-growing. No question, a real show-stopper,
with recurved dark green needles showing their bright, silvery-white underside.
The view from just behind the house, looking across the lawn to the koi pond,
set off by the diversity of conifers that create the interweaving paths. There are
paths down each long dimension of the garden, and paths that angle from side
to side. I walked, perhaps, on all of them, but wouldn't take any bets. Sizeable
to begin with, the clever use of strolling paths that go from here-to-there create
the sense that there's even more space than there is in actuality.
There's an attractive and inviting swimming pool is landscaped with local stone
tucked away in a sunny opening. I think it is behind / beyond the koi pond but
again, there's such a plethora of pathways, each invisible behind the screening conifers.
I'm sure that familiarity breeds direction, but I can't tell you what's adjacent to what.
Secluded by giant bamboo, a sheltered nook
provides an intimate setting for two.
Referred to by the current owner as a meditation shelter,
this secluded structure is another of the garden's unexpected
quiet surprises. Were it mine, I'd use cedar shingles to roof it,
adding a Bucks County touch to meld the styles of East and West.
There is a definite Asian flair to Greenwood, without false imitation.
For example - there is a very useful, functional path along the perimeter,
no doubt providing access for delivery of stones & mulch & such,
& removal of garden debris. The addition of a lantern, some stones,
and a hosta creates a pleasing vignette of working path & giant bamboo.
An excellent edging to many of the paths, stones laid out down
to follow the planting beds in an informal, curving manner, forming
both boundary and frame for path and plants.
Greenwood is what's often referred to as a green garden, one that
relies of foliage colors and textures rather than the transient effects
of come-and-go flowers. There were daffodils, and someone thought
to tidy up by bundling up their leaves. I do wish people wouldn't do this.
Bulbs, spring flowering bulbs, are in active growth for such a short time.
They need their leaves to capture sunlight and store in their buried bulbs
as much as possible in the way of nutrients. Please, do not fold, braid, or
crumple up the leaves. You wouldn't cut them off. This is not much better.
And then there is this pretty thing. Any ideas? Someone said crabapple
but that's clearly not correct because Malus flower on spurs carried on
older growth, not with terminal panicles. Euonymus was also suggested, but
somehow doesn't seem quite right to me. I'd surely like to know its name.