Wednesday, 28 April 2010
Mt. Cuba, Post Scriptum
Today, Mt. Cuba Center is noted for its focus on plants native to the Piedmont region. In the early days, when Mr. and Mrs. Copeland built their house and developed gardens on what had been a played out hilltop cornfield they took a less focused approach. The formal gardens around the house included the Round Garden with its Maltese cross swimming pool designed by Marian C. Coffin in 1949.
Renovated in 2006, the planting beds incorporate "exotics," non-native plants for seasonal display. Chrysanthemums in autumn, annuals in summer, and delphiniums and tulips timed for the period around Mother's Day. Though our group is here 10 days early the warm weather has brought the plants to peak performance. A wonderful effect, the soft intermingling of pink, blush, apricot tulips accentuated by deep purple black, and backed by the towering spires of delphinium. Their formality is perfect for the classical design of the Round garden, and antithesis of the naturalistic woodland brimming with native plants.
This year the carefully thought out blend includes ten different intermingled cultivars.
These include single late pinks: Dreamland, Dordogne, Menton and Pink Diamond.
Single late blues: Bleu Aimable, Cum laude, Queen of Night (not true blue, you know.)
Darwin hybrid and single late Pink Impression, Stunning Apricot, and Violet Beauty.