(The false rue anemone is the top picture, the bottom is Corylopsis.)On the way to Jim's Pamela Harper soiree yesterday, we stopped by Cleveland Park to pick up Sally Boasberg. Sally, a garden designer, is also an indefatigable advocate for "green" in Washington. I first met her through the Friend of the National Arboretum board; she's a board member. Sally generously offered, post non subtle hints on my part, to show us her garden. It's a spectacular 3/4 acre property including quite a deep ravine. The house sits high on one corner of the property so there are wonder views of the garden from two terraces and a large bay window. Trails wind down and throughout the plantings.
It's a shade garden with a bit less shade now, minus a 52 inch 100 year old white oak that went down this winter. I was overwhelmed by both the beauty of the garden and the variety of the plant materials. She has to have the largest collection of Osmanthus on the east coast. We've just pulled out of winter here, but there were cyclamen galore, and trilliums, corydalis, hepaticas amongst swarms of more usual spring flowers. We walked through quickly so I know I missed a lot.
The clumps of false rue anemone were impressive. It occurs naturally in moist woodland setting at our latitude but a bit west. It certainly does well here. I remember planting very small plants in Fern Valley a few years back but haven't checked on them recently. I'll do that Monday afternoon. Sally, an excellent plantsperson, is an enthusiastic proponent. One of the things she admires is it's easy recovery from heavy snowfall; when the snow melts, the plants pop up, in flower, none the worse for wear. The flowers are pleasant and the colonies are a nice textural addition to the late winter/early spring shade garden.
1 comment:
I'm not familiar with the false rue anemone. It looks lovely, as does Sally's garden. Springtime is such a delight with its daily changes.
Post a Comment