Sunday, 26 June 2016
Hardy Plant Study Weekend, presented by Salem Hardy Plant Society
The previous garden and the one we are about to visit were surrounded by farm fields.
garden 21: Adelman Peony Garden

Allan’s photo. He says these fields of fescue were soon to be cut, and that Adelman’s had once used this field for peony growing.
Like the Schreiner’s Iris Gardens display, the peony garden would look amazing during peony bloom time, which was over. However, the garden surrounding the home was immaculate and had other plants of interest.

The eucomis may enjoy the warmth of living inland. Mine never do more than put out three or four leaves and one flower. Eucomis envy!
Inside the cool indoor display area, I drank lemonade and admired peonies. These flowers had been kept refrigerated until garden tour day.
garden 22: Craftsman Bungalow Garden
I adore a Craftsman Bungalow. My home in Seattle was one, although not nearly as beautifully detailed as Mary Beth’s. I also adore a garden made with love more than with money. This garden and home were immensely pleasing to me.

I had thought I did not like Podophyllum ‘Spotty Dotty’. Now I deeply regretted having passed up the opportunity to buy one earlier this weekend.
I’d love to have stayed longer. We had two more gardens to see and then the drive home. The next two were within walking distance (albeit a hot walk in 90 degree sunshine). After the last garden visit of the day, as we walked back past Mary Beth’s to return to our van, she was out in the side garden weeding and pruning.
garden 23: Misty’s garden
We actually saw this small garden last (it was #23 on the program but #24 for us) because I got mixed up on the addresses. Neither Allan nor I did a good job of capturing it. I found myself concentrating on walking on uneven surfaces and not looking much at the plants. (A woman emerging, also with a cane, commented on it being difficult walking. A young garden creator would not notice this.)
Next: Our last garden visit of the three day tour proved to be one of my top five favourites of the whole tour.