last week there was sort of a lull in the garden. Once growing season starts these lulls are few and far between and seriously last a couple of days at most, although they feel like eons to me.

Well, I left here for  3 days and came back to a bloom-splosion! Columbines, azaleas, clematis, daisies, calycanthus, lilacs, lilacs, and more lilacs, , the red horse chestnut tree, catmint, bearded iris all over the place, geraniums, honeysuckle, verbena,  moss phlox, the many ajuga varieties, baptisias , lupines;the list goes on and on

the garden looks amazing and the fragrance is divine wherever you go.

these are the times i am glad t be a gardener

 

 

Wil and I visit a lot of gardens, it is his favorite activity 😉

This weekend I dragged brought him to Trade Secrets in Northwestern CT , which is often described as the “Northeast’s garden event of the season” to shop at all the vendor booths on Saturday and view the four gardens on tour Sunday.  The vendors are usually quite high end with unusual garden antiques and plants and the gardens are most certainly not your typical suburban plots to say the least.

In the 6 years of this blog I think I have yet to  write a post describing another garden , although in the course of that time I have seen probably hundreds. I seldom take pictures when on tours either. I think that it is because I know that these places are meant to be enjoyed in the moment, and most certainly the one thing they all have in common is that with each passing day they will look quite different than they did today.

having your garden on tour always brings up the fact that, if you are public in anyway, either in books, a website, or via  Open Days , your visitors have set images in their mind of what they will be looking for. That can make you crazy as the flowers grow, bloom and sometimes disappear altogether on their own course and you can control none of it. Add in the fact that we gardeners are always changing things up, shuffling things around and re-staging areas  and no garden ever looks the same year to year. If, for instance you see my presentation on vines and then come looking for the scene of one of the photos/combinations that may have inspired you, chances are very good you will not see it. Every year I change the vines I grow, mostly to trail new things to keep my presentations fresh and updated, but also out of boredom.

That is a very long-winded into to the original point of this post…..to see the “Moments” I captured in the gardens we toured Sunday. If you want to read about their history origin, planting schemes, and owners you can read the many books by the owners who are designers and writers or use google 🙂

The first garden was that of Michael Trapp, a dealer in hefty imported garden accents/statuary etc whose formal gardens were intended to enhance the  incredible views on the property. My favorite moments

-This little scene where the tips of the alliums where touching the bottom branches of the carefully espaliered apple tees

-the Montana like big sky , here broken by the barn , silo and cupola

-this little nook near the reflecting pool to sit and chill

 

On Carolyne Roehms’ Weatherstone estate , there was much to take in and it was all very spread out. My favorite moments

– In the willow edged parterre there were  what I assume are flowers for cutting (peonies, roses, alliums, and tulips were prominent now) These tulips just happened to be catching the sun behind them during our visit

 

– a very formal and striking veranda by the pool

-and my favorite of all, the white pine and other seedlings trying to grow atop a moss covered cement pillar that was anchoring a gate 

At Bunny Williams, this pretty pink trillium caught my eye

her property is incredible….new design studio perched on a hill overlooking  the world below

( drool), a to die for pool house with just a big enough kitchen and bathroom area to avoid being ostentatious (double drool)  , a converted barn with a huge hearth and attached sunroom ( triple drool)

but those things , although beautiful, are not in my future.

A stand of copper beeches under-planted with a huchera of  the same foliage color may be though

I adore white tulips, and these planted in the box parterre  (anyone who is anyone in northwestern CT has a parterre) were dreamy.

Our last stop was Lion Rock Farm, where we could have spent a million dollars on their  garden ornamnents, stakes and planters. Cool stuff indeed.. It had a pool enclosure that was , to me, just perfect.  One side was a stone wall that looked like a ruin , the back was a pool house  and covered sitting area and the last two sides  were vine covered pergolas…..just…..wow

So, there were my “Moments” of this past weekend. Now I am off to create some here in the Burrow

 

Wil and I just got back from the northwestern part of CT where we attended the Trade Secrets  show. Trade Secrets is a two day event with fantastic plants and gardenalia for sale by many niche tradespeople,  dealers and plant growers , followed by a tour of four very high end gardens located in the vicinity. I fully intend to write a little something about our visit, but due to the fact that we stayed at an Inn that conveniently forgot to mention the fact that a large wedding would be happening in a tent outside our room  and that ad the ensuing after-party would prevent any rest from happening, we are exhausted and  i am unable to think clearly.

We were actually supposed to stay through Monday, but bailed , and I am glad because the weather is forecast to be 35 tonight and there was lots to cover and bring in which i just did .

Now I give you photos of some of the tulips that were in bloom in a few of the gardens and at White Flower Farm ( where we took a little side trip) before I head to my yoga pants and the couch to watch Gardener’s World then hit the hay.

last fall I planted some new tulip bulbs. I rarely add more than a few hybrid tulips  here and there because I am kinda meh about them usually,

I mostly stick to the little species tulips in the garden  because they are more  apt to return year after year and also have much less of that ugly dying foliage to try to cover up as they fade. But on a whim I guess , I threw a few bigger bulbs in. I know for a certain I planted ‘White purissima’ . They belong to  the fosteriana group which is typically  better at  persisting ( at least for a few years )after planting. Beyond that I can’t remember a thing about the tulips I added.

Yet blooming now is the one of the most delightful tulips  I have ever encountered.

It starts out  with just hints of green and pink on the petals

When it is opening  streaks of dark pinky- red  appear and deepen , so  lovely against the creamy white

As it opens further the bloom is spectacular , the streaks fading to a  more muted  color and the bloom ruffly and sweet

I cut one to bring inside and placed it in  a bud vase , it makes a  wonderful and long lasting cut flower

the scent is the clincher though, it is delightful and presently filling the air in the whole garden  area where it is growing

can we talk about how I lost the label??  can we talk about how I may never get to grow the hundreds of these I would most definitely add to the garden?

I guess I should get over it and just get to enjoy this beauty in it’s one great moment .sigh