this month's flower
Edgworth and District Horticultural Society
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SUMMER EVENING VISIT  - 15 JULY 2009



EDGWORTH GARDENS



In a complete departure from tradition, this year we decided to stay local for our Summer evening visit and enjoy the hospitality of three of our members who had agreed to open up their gardens.

On a beautiful warm, sunny evening (a novelty for our evening visits, which in recent years had been gloomy and wet!) about 70 members met up at the Barlow Institute before setting off on the short distance to our hosts' gardens. With so many people it was necessary to split the party into three and rotate members around the gardens to enable everyone to make the best of the evening.

All the gardens were very individual and quite different in their styles and sizes. There were many admiring comments about all three gardens, as well as much appreciation for the work that had gone into making them  immaculate for the invasion of  garden enthusiasts.

Barry
                    & Judith's back garden





At Barry and Judith's we were treated to displays of numerous colourful Begonias as well as hardy perennials, with a shady wooded area in the back garden complemented by a manicured lawn and flowing borders.

The front garden included a dry gravel bed with grasses and other drought resistant plants, together with more lawn and a curved herbaceous border.

Pauline and John's garden was the smallest of the three with lawns at the front and a formal paved area at the rear, with lots of interesting plants in the borders between the paths.

The Summerhouse overlooks the whole garden and provides a quiet relaxing arbour from which to enjoy the view and perhaps enjoy a welcome glass of wine.

View from the patio at Barry & Judith's



David & Amanda's garden was the largest of the three and contains the widest variety of plants and shrubs. Set on a slope, there are several distinct terraced areas, each with their own individual themes. A warm orange, then a pink & white bed contrast with the lawn and main patio, with the garden path leading to a cobbled middle patio, past a prairie bed resplendant with tall grasses and Verbena bonariensis. 

The smaller patio is surrounded by a number of themed herbaceous beds with the path leading down the garden to a shady area with a Pergola, surrounded by woodland plants. On the way down we passed a tropical bed full of architectural plants including a large, central Gunnera mannicata. The oriental bed has numerous Acers, dwarf connifers and several stunning clumps of black bamboo.

After a really enjoyable evening, we all retreated to the Barlow for tea and cakes.

Relaxing in the Summerhouse at Pauline
                    & John's




Herbaceous bed at David & Amanda's Members enjoying the beautiful summer
                    evening on the middle patio at David & Amanda's




Oreiental and Tropical beds at David &
                    Amanda's
View from middle patio over
                    Tropical & Oriental beds to Pergola at David
                    & Amanda's