Sunday, 31 May 2009
Open Garden Days: Jericho Mt Orchard
Onward to Jericho Mountain Orchards, also in New Hope and all of 5 minutes away from the previous garden. It's the second garden I'm off to visit on the Garden Conservancy's Open Days in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. The 110 acre property dates back to the 1680s, with a stone-and-timber farmhouse, barns, 18th century stone walls, a shaded stream and pond - and roses, roses, more roses, on tuteurs, arbors and trellises, in the ground and also planted in large urns. Many are fragrant, and their perfume scents the air.
The foundation of local stone and concrete supports the old barn, and roses.
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An island bed has a cedar log structure, barely able to support a tumble of roses.
A wonderful red rose, the type called a dog rose for its single set of petals,
scrambles upward using a crape myrtle as a trellis, festooning itself with flowers.
It's a thug, it's territorially aggressive, it's pretty. Bishop's goutweed,
Aegopodium podagraria 'Variegatum', makes an attractive groundcover
where's its need to cover ground is not a problem. I remember once, many years ago,
warning someone off it at a garden club plant sale. With some hauteur the woman
at the booth said, "We call it a good doer." I guess that depends on your terms.
Aggressive plants skillfully used is something I find impressive. Lily of the valley,
Convallaria majalis, either fails to grow or wants to take over. Here, in dense shade
and dry impoverished soil beneath a beech tree, lily of the valley is an elegant solution
to the "nothing will grow here" problem. And, it has the most delicious perfume.
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Another plant that easily runs away is Houttuynia cordata. It is usually
'Chameleon' (aka 'Tricolor' or 'Variegata') that's planted, the variegated
form with dark green leaves handsomely splashed with red and white.
Doesn't take much, apparently, to have it revert back to the more
vigorous all green. Attractive appearance, both in leaf & white flowers.
A fellow day-tripper sits at ease on a convenient bench, admiring the lovely garden landscape.