Bright and early (VERY early for us West Coast residents) we Garden Blogging "Flingers" piled in the buses and headed out for our fist, of many, stops for the 2017 Capitol Region event. Destination Hillwood Estate...
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What's Hillwood? The home of one Marjorie Merriweather Post: "a leading American socialite and the owner of General Foods, Inc." (source) "When both of Marjorie’s parents died in the 1910s, she became, at the age of 27, the owner of the $20 million cereal company that would later become the General Foods Corporation." (souce) The Hillwood website is broken into sections on the Estate, Museum, and Gardens. While I would have loved to have toured them all I was only able to see the gardens...
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Onoclea sensibilis
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Here's our whole group heading for the steps at the back of the house where the group photo is to be taken. Surely you've heard the expression "herding cats"???...
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Post photo we all scrambled to the far edges of the garden. This is the Dacha..."Built in 1969 during the Cold War, the dacha represents a nostalgic view of Russian culture. Featuring some architectural elements of authentic Russian dachas, such as the whole-log construction and the intricate carvings, other details are American adaptations of Russian motifs—like the multiple bright colors or the onion-shaped domes on the roof, which are typical of Russian churches but not rustic homes." (source)
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Turning to the right I eventually came across the "Japanese Style Garden"...which certainly seemed very PNW in it's plantings.
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My friend Kathy (Gardenbook) was photographing these "millstone" inspired stepping stones (my interpretation) when I walked up next to her. "Are you going to cross them?" I asked. She replied in the negative and mentioned something about being a bit of a klutz. As I started out across them I replied that so was I, "but that wasn't going to stop me..."
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I also ventured across these...
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And then promptly stubbed my toe on another pathway and fell, tossing my camera a good 5ft. Nobody saw me though and I didn't tear my pants. It's like it never happened!
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Seasonal plantings...
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I do like this combination.
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We all have a Putting Green included in our gardens, right?
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This is the beginning of the Friendship Walk...
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The Rose Garden...
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With a lovely, blooming, Magnolia...
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What's that?
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A Daphniphyllum macropodum?
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Could it be?
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Next I passed through the French Parterre (I don't know about you, but all these names are exhausting me!)...
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And tried to get lost on the pathways.
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Only to end up in the spot where we would later be having lunch.
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The Cutting Garden...
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Wait just a minute! Our first stop of the day and I'm already seeing Agaves? But I was warned I'd be lucky to see even one during the entire 3-day event. Hmmm....
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They have the form of Agave desmettiana...
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But rather prominent teeth, whereas A. desmettiana usually has smooth margins. Any guesses?
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As I laid eyes on these treasures a staff person was passing by, I asked what the name of the tree was...
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"Cedrus deodara" she answered, "and those are nature's Fabergé eggs!"
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It wasn't until later that I learned Marjorie Merriweather Post was a collector of works by Fabergé.
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Hot and muggy as it was I couldn't not step inside the Greenhouse.
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No doubt a lot of things are grown in here and then planted out/rotated through the gardens.
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Finally there was a visit to the (air conditioned!) gift shop where I purchased an embroidered scarf, which I never got to wear during the Fling, because it was to hot to even think about another layer of clothing!
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Weather Diary, July 6: Hi 90, Low 57/ Precip 0
All material © 2009-2017 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.
What's Hillwood? The home of one Marjorie Merriweather Post: "a leading American socialite and the owner of General Foods, Inc." (source) "When both of Marjorie’s parents died in the 1910s, she became, at the age of 27, the owner of the $20 million cereal company that would later become the General Foods Corporation." (souce) The Hillwood website is broken into sections on the Estate, Museum, and Gardens. While I would have loved to have toured them all I was only able to see the gardens...
Onoclea sensibilis
Here's our whole group heading for the steps at the back of the house where the group photo is to be taken. Surely you've heard the expression "herding cats"???...
Post photo we all scrambled to the far edges of the garden. This is the Dacha..."Built in 1969 during the Cold War, the dacha represents a nostalgic view of Russian culture. Featuring some architectural elements of authentic Russian dachas, such as the whole-log construction and the intricate carvings, other details are American adaptations of Russian motifs—like the multiple bright colors or the onion-shaped domes on the roof, which are typical of Russian churches but not rustic homes." (source)
Turning to the right I eventually came across the "Japanese Style Garden"...which certainly seemed very PNW in it's plantings.
My friend Kathy (Gardenbook) was photographing these "millstone" inspired stepping stones (my interpretation) when I walked up next to her. "Are you going to cross them?" I asked. She replied in the negative and mentioned something about being a bit of a klutz. As I started out across them I replied that so was I, "but that wasn't going to stop me..."
I also ventured across these...
And then promptly stubbed my toe on another pathway and fell, tossing my camera a good 5ft. Nobody saw me though and I didn't tear my pants. It's like it never happened!
Seasonal plantings...
I do like this combination.
We all have a Putting Green included in our gardens, right?
This is the beginning of the Friendship Walk...
The Rose Garden...
With a lovely, blooming, Magnolia...
What's that?
A Daphniphyllum macropodum?
Could it be?
Next I passed through the French Parterre (I don't know about you, but all these names are exhausting me!)...
And tried to get lost on the pathways.
Only to end up in the spot where we would later be having lunch.
The Cutting Garden...
Wait just a minute! Our first stop of the day and I'm already seeing Agaves? But I was warned I'd be lucky to see even one during the entire 3-day event. Hmmm....
They have the form of Agave desmettiana...
But rather prominent teeth, whereas A. desmettiana usually has smooth margins. Any guesses?
As I laid eyes on these treasures a staff person was passing by, I asked what the name of the tree was...
"Cedrus deodara" she answered, "and those are nature's Fabergé eggs!"
It wasn't until later that I learned Marjorie Merriweather Post was a collector of works by Fabergé.
Hot and muggy as it was I couldn't not step inside the Greenhouse.
No doubt a lot of things are grown in here and then planted out/rotated through the gardens.
Finally there was a visit to the (air conditioned!) gift shop where I purchased an embroidered scarf, which I never got to wear during the Fling, because it was to hot to even think about another layer of clothing!
Weather Diary, July 6: Hi 90, Low 57/ Precip 0
All material © 2009-2017 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.