Summer is a beautiful time at Willowwood as Sara reports below. The Cottage Garden is in full bloom, The Rosarie is just lovely on a hot summer day (look for the door to nowhere) and definitely plan to sit on the back porch and look at Pan’s Garden. Early morning or evening is a great time to walk on the meadow paths as it is approaching full bloom. Sara is returning to England so this is her last report. But look for new reports on the Willowwood Gardens towards the end of summer.
As we approach the middle of summer, the gardens at Willowwood are looking more lush and full by the day. Annuals planted out in late May and early June have settled themselves comfortably into the matrix of perennial plantings in the Cottage Garden, Rosarie, and elsewhere, and are now in full bloom. The Fall Open House is scheduled for Sunday September 18 Noon to 4 pm.
Drifts of white alyssum, purple petunias, and peach zinnias share billing in the Cottage Garden with bright red monarda, apricot achillea, and insistently pink echinacea. In the Rosarie, spires of yellow verbascum tower over the more modestly sized, but still brightly colored, red and yellow coreposis, pink phox, violet verbena, and purple alliums.
If you are feeling slightly dazzled by all of this intense color, stroll down to Pan’s Garden, where the sea of white astilbe, punctuated with drifts of cream colored aconitum and asters, will act as a soothing tonic. Take refuge from the sun and heat in the inviting shade of the back porch of the Tubbs House, where you can sit and survey the verdant scene surrounding you. It is entirely possible that you may never want to leave.
Sara Perzley, Plant Records Specialist & Propagator