Some bloggers cover a garden like an impartial reporter. Show it all, cover it with an even eye. Others filter their coverage, showing the things that spoke to them. I'm in that second camp. My tastes filter what I show you. Sure, it's not the garden as the owner created it, instead it's the parts of the garden that appeal to my sensibilities. Does that matter? Of course it does. I'm not giving you the complete picture. Then again, you're here for my aesthetic, right?
I was reminded of all this when I read Pam Penick's posts on Jenny Rose Carey's Northview (Pam's Part One, Part Two). Of course, the conditions under which you see a garden also influence how you see it. Pam and I saw this garden on the same day, but Pam's group (we were on two different buses) went first to the Carriage House at the far end of the garden to eat lunch, then explored back towards the front. My group set out to explore as soon as we arrived, ending at the Carriage House for lunch. Reverse views. Whatever the route we took, both Pam and I enjoyed what Jenny Rose Carey created, and her hospitality in opening for the Fling group. On to my view of her garden on a stormy day in September...
The Carey's house. Pam's group went straight down that drive, mine split off to wander.
The first of many mushrooms I would stop to admire.
I had no idea what to expect from this garden, as I'd missed the brief introduction by the front gate (top photo).
The rock garden was looking very promising though...
Oh, and water!
Looking back over my shoulder...
Remnants of trees that once were.
I've never been one to post garden tour visits in the order I saw them in, and here's why I chose to jump to this garden and post about it today...
The fungus was off the charts!
After my two posts earlier this week I wanted to continue the theme of enjoying the beauty nature offers up via fungus, lichen and moss.
This bench, so geometrically and colorfully interesting.
This garden provided a great balance of enclosed and open spaces to explore.
And a lot of different seating options. Had the day not been rainy (including torrential downpours) I am sure every one of these seats would have been occupied by chatting Flingers.
I missed this watering can when I did my can-centric post back on in October.
More inviting chairs we weren't able to use.
Everyone loved the conical planters outside the she-shed (me too!)
I was also envious of the potting/storage area.
And greenhouse!
Pam identified this private seating area as the Castle Garden, pointing out that it was enclosed by a crenellated evergreen hedge—a fine point that I completely missed.
She also used the word "corncrib" to describe the wooden building here. Who knew!? (not I, obviously).
On such a wet day it was helpful to know this was actually the dry garden.
I wasn't able to get a great shot of the elevated platform built atop a huge old tree.
But it certainly looked like a fun place for the littles that visit to hang out.
Pull up a chair friend, let's talk about this fabulous garden!
Doesn't it just kill you to see so many empty chairs? I feel for our garden hosts that no doubt wanted to see us spending time in the great spaces they've created, rather than just walking thru them.
It was getting close to my group's lunch time, but I had to check out the area behind the home.
There were more mushrooms!
These really did have a purple border!
In the (dry, warm) space we sat down to eat there were copies of Jenny Rose Carey's books available for purchase: Glorious Shade...
And The Ultimate Flower Gardener’s Guide. Jenny Rose Carey is a renowned gardener, educator, historian, and author. She is also the former senior director at the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society’s Meadowbrook Farm in Jenkintown. She previously worked at Temple University...first as an adjunct professor in the Department of Landscape Architecture and Horticulture, and then as director of the Ambler Arboretum. You can follow her on Instagram.
Even better if you stopped to peer into the center.
Complete with great patina.
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I think I've had her books out of the library but did not recognize her name. Her house and property are wonderful which I finally could see with your eyes. She has too much brightly colored furniture and objects and too much manmade distraction for me.
ReplyDeleteThe garden a definite focus on fun for kids, which must be wonderful for her grandkids (I'm assuming) when they visit. I didn't share that side of things as it's not where my interest is.
DeleteNot a 'flinger' myself, I wait with anticipation for multiple posts on from different bloggers of the same garden. Its fun to see what folks notice and what they bring to the attention of their readers.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you focused on mushrooms: they are very cool and fleeting. Had the fling took place during the summer, you'd have missed them.
Chavli
Who could imagine that we'd be identifying ourselves as Flingers and non-Flingers!? Since this area gets summer rain I don't imagine the mushrooms all disappear.
DeleteI love your fancy fungi and lichen views! I like seeing the Fling gardens from different perspectives, just as I enjoy seeing bloggers' gardens through different lenses. People who visit my garden (or see it in photos) often focus on the back garden's view of the port, which I rarely look at or even think about. Okay, I just glanced out the window at the harbor. There's a cruise ship in port. Yawn...
ReplyDeleteI imagine even the most enticing view (like yours) can become ordinary when you're exposed to it every day...
DeleteGorgeous images of all those different mushrooms. Such beautiful shapes and frills. It is interesting how individuals see the same garden differently. After reading both your's and Pam's posts on Jenny's garden I have a much broader idea of the garden as a whole. It really is too bad the weather did not cooperate for the Fling.
ReplyDeleteOh that damn tropical storm, it really did change how we experienced the gardens.
DeleteWe all have our own way of seeing a garden, and our own experiences/tastes that we bring to it, and so I think we are all -- bloggers or not -- filtering a garden through our own unique gaze when we visit it. And that's what's so fun about reading multiple blogs about any one garden. After all, if gardens are a form of autobiography, so are blogs. So yes, I'm definitely here for your aesthetic and viewpoint! Thanks for the shoutout and giving me food for thought on this Saturday morning.
ReplyDeleteAnd I confess I didn't know that was a corncrib either until I was reading Jenny's website later. :)
Thanks for confessing! But still, kudos to you for visiting her website and passing on the knowledge.
DeleteDang, the fungus is so cool! I love the rock garden, and those conical planters like ice cream cones. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteYou should think about joining us on a future Fling!
DeleteI would love that! I wasn't even aware of "flings" until reading your blog.
DeleteKeep an eye out here *https://www.gardenfling.org/* for word on when the Puget Sound Fling registration opens. If you're on Facebook or Instagram you might consider following the Fling there too.
DeleteSo different than here in the Sonoran Desert! I love it!
ReplyDeleteSeriously... very very different. Hey, when are you gonna host a desert Fling? ;)
DeleteThat shelf fungus with the purple edge might be Trichaptum biforme, the violet-toothed polypore. It's a common wood decomposer in eastern N.America.
ReplyDelete