Happy Monday, GPODers!
Summer might be well underway, but we still have fabulous spring gardens to celebrate! Today we’re heading to Lambertville, New Jersey, for an incredible introduction to Ann Gilmour’s garden oasis. Ann fits a lot of garden beauty and two lovely seating areas into a small space, giving ample opportunity to linger in the landscape and enjoy the multitude of blooms that fill her garden with color. Weather and wildlife challenges meant some of her flowers had a delayed start this year, but her photos still show a lively spring landscape.
Hi,
I live in Lambertville, New Jersey, a small city on the Delaware River bordering Pennsylvania. Due to it being a city with many buildings and fences, we have somewhat of a microclimate here. I’ve developed the garden over the 20 years we’ve lived here, adding more each year as time and money allow. I’ve been gardening most of my adult life, learning largely from my mother, who was an avid gardener, and through trial and error and reading about plants. I also took a garden-design class 30 or so years ago, which gave me a solid foundation. I have been a decorative painter and dabble in botanical illustration, both pursuits adding to my color sense, texture, and design.
We planted everything, with the exception of a couple of shrubs. Some years some things do better than others, and we’re always discovering new plants to try. For the most part, the garden is comprised of bulbs, perennials, and shrubs. Because this is a small urban garden, it didn’t take long to run out of space horizontally, so I’ve learned to incorporate vertical design as well. Last year with the drought, colder temps this winter, and the excavating expertise of neighborhood squirrels and rabbits, several of my clematis and rose varieties suffered and are only now starting to bloom, a good three weeks later than normal.
Last year we added a gate and arch to form a visual entrance to the garden from the house, and this spring I started a Ramona clematis (Clematis ‘Ramona’, Zones 4–8) climbing the arch. In front of the fountain is a Japanese plum yew (Cephalotaxus harringtonia, Zones 6–9). I’ll take you through the entrance so you can see how the design leads the viewer and then expands, incorporating a seating/entertaining area and a dining area into the design.
A close-up of a ‘Ramona’ clematis bloom: This variety is the loveliest shade of light purple-blue.
After walking through Ann’s beautiful new garden gate, you reach the covered patio and first seating area. A couple of well-placed pots draw your eye to the next path that leads you to the dining area and surrounding beds. Despite limited space, I love that Ann has managed to create a landscape that feels anything but cramped.
Dining area—hinoki cypress tree (Chamaecyparis obtusa, Zones 4–8), fothergilla, and crape myrtle (Lagerstroemia indica, Zones 4–8) in foreground
In the pot on the table is ‘Butterfly Blue’ scabiosa (Scabiosa ‘Butterfly Blue’, Zones 5–9) and pansies.
Two David Austin ‘Strawberry Hill’ roses (Rosa ‘Strawberry Hill’, Zones 4–11) are on obelisks with liriope between.
And a close-up of one of those perfect ‘Strawberry Hill’ rose blooms
I’m not sure if this was one of the clematis that put on a delayed performance for Ann, but her Diamantina clematis (Clematis ‘Diamantina’, Zones 4–11) is now absolutely covered in gorgeous flowers.
Ann shared so many sensational photos from her spring garden, we’ll be returning to New Jersey tomorrow to see more!
And if you’re still holding on to some photos of spring blooms you would like to share with Garden Photo of the Day, it’s never too late to submit your spring garden. Follow the directions below to submit photos via email, or send me a DM on Instagram: @agirlherdogandtheroad.
We want to see YOUR garden!
Have photos to share? We’d love to see your garden, a particular collection of plants you love, or a wonderful garden you had the chance to visit!
To submit, send 5–10 photos to [email protected] along with some information about the plants in the pictures and where you took the photos. We’d love to hear where you are located, how long you’ve been gardening, successes you are proud of, failures you learned from, hopes for the future, favorite plants, or funny stories from your garden.
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