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Tuesday, August 18, 2009

The English garden

The English garden: Who hasn't had the fantasy? Whether visiting Hampton Court outside London or tootling along a country road, what traveling gardener hasn't had the fantasy of living in a place with a classic English garden? Of course, I run the risk here that I did around the time of the Flower Show, when I ran around asking professional garden designers and horticultural scholars to tell me about the "classic Italian garden." Dumb me. There is no such thing in Italy, just as there's no such thing in Britain. But there are certain ideas and designs that we associate with those places. That's good enough for me. This garden isn't in England; it's in West Mount Airy, designed and carried out by Linda Fahy Newman, who was born and raised in central England and didn't discover her inner gardener till she and her husband bought this house 25 years ago. Here you can see her beautiful mixed border, done mostly in reds and purples with white accents. It's flowery and full and very pleasant - and you can read all about it and see lots more pictures in Friday's Home & Garden section. No wonder the Newmans often sit outside on a patio near this garden, one of many "outdoor rooms" Linda created on their one-acre parcel, and watch silently as clouds of bees and hummingbirds enjoy these plants. Can't think of a better way to pass a summer evening, no matter where your garden is. 
Posted by virginia smith @ 9:29 AM  Permalink | 1 comment
Comments   
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 5:33 PM, 08/29/2009
    I remember seeing my first real English garden when I visited Stradford Upon Avon. I'd love to have half the flowers those gardens have but I don't have nearly enough room.
    — Ilmare


1 comments
About Virginia A. Smith
Ginny Smith, a Philadelphia native, worked as a reporter at newspapers in New York, Connecticut and Ohio – with six short months at the end of the Bulletin tossed in – before returning to Philadelphia in 1985 to join the Inquirer. Her favorite beats here have included Center City, roving around Pennsylvania (and getting paid for it!) and alternative medicine. She’s also been City Editor and Pennsylvania Editor. Ginny has been happily writing – and learning - about gardening fulltime since 2006. She’s won two silver medals of achievement from the national Garden Writers Association and in 2011, Bartram’s Garden honored her with its Green Exemplar award for her stories about “the region’s deeply rooted horticultural history, cultural attractions and bountiful gardens.”
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