The Layered Garden

On a rainy afternoon this spring, I had the opportunity to visit the garden of David Culp.  David  and his partner Michael are the owners of a magnificent garden called  Brandywine Cottage,  located near Downingtown PA.  If I had one sentence to describe this garden, I would say -  It is truly an amazing display of creativity.

It is obvious that this garden was created  (and continues to evolve) because two gardeners are  passionate about  plants.   As gardeners we  hope to be able  to create a space in our yard  that is visually appealing, hoping that all the plants selected will  thrive ( or at least live for a couple of  years).  Brandywine Cottage is the complete garden package. Every part of the garden  has plants that are visually appealing  and  growing well, because location and soil conditions were carefully understood before planting, 

The tour was set up through the Pennsylvania  Horticultural  Society.  And for obvious reasons it quickly sold out.  Located on  a wooded parcel,  the property includes a very old but elegant home, built in 1790,  a barn  with the  foundation of an old stable attached, a garden shed, vegetable garden, beds of perennials and a modern chicken coop.   As you enter the property there is a wooded hillside garden, ( about 1 acre) that has been planted with hellebore, hostas, ferns, bulbs,  epimedium,  trillium, azaleas, dogwoods, hydrangea  ....  more plants than  can be imagined.  Paths and stone steps wind carefully through the wooded hillside allowing you to access every part of the wooded garden.

The gardens around the house are very private. There are  many places to sit and enjoy the view or just relax.   If you like containers you will be more than satisfied,  finding quite a selection, and lots of inspiration for new ideas. My favorite are the many stone and hypertufa troughs planted with conifers and succulents.   As a testament to his devotion to his plants,  each winter, all the non hardy plants in containers are brought into the barn  for a little protection from the cold winter winds and low temps of south eastern Pennsylvania.

The back yard has a rectangular vegetable garden  surround by a white fence that has been carefully located directly behind the house mirroring the house's foundation.   Surrounded by beds that are full of hundreds of perennials  that burst into bloom at various times of the year.  Weeds do not stand a chance, the perennials have control of this garden.  No chemicals or extra water is used for the gardens, only the containers are watered.  Because this garden is located in a wooded area,  many products like Deer Off applied  regularly basis to keep the garden free from damage.

Behind the white stone barn, below the deck, is the remains of  two  6 ft walls that were the foundation for an old horse stable. The wooden  roof is no longer present  allowing the inside of the foundation  to become another secluded garden filled with containers. The container plantings arranged  inside the stone foundation are amazing. Stone troughs,  ceramic pots, wooden boxes are filled with a collection of unique plants.  The old stone walls, covered by  flowering perennials, planted in the crevices of the wall,  whereever there is space for roots,  creating a tapestry of flowers flowing down the wall.  Within the walls a micro climate, for  the many plants growing.   When I first saw a  photo of this garden in a magazine many years ago, I knew that immediately I needed to see it  first hand.  It was definitely  my favorite section of the garden.

The walled foundation garden in front of the barn.

Just a few of the many containers within the walls of the stone foundation.

David has recently written a book called the Layered Garden.  It is based on the design principles that he used to create this beautiful garden.   The book  discusses "how to choose the correct plants by understanding how they grow and change throughout the seasons, how to design a layered garden, and how to maintain it." Photos in the book illustrate each part of  this garden: the woodland garden, the perennial border, the kitchen garden, the shrubbery, and the walled garden. http://www.davidlculp.com/layered_garden.htm

If you cannot find a way to visit the garden, the book will inspire you to create some beauty in your yard.

Heuchera's in Your Garden

I  remember seeing Coral Bells   growing in my grandmothers garden.   They had ordinary green  leaves  with  small pink flowers floating on tiny stems.  Then in my first garden I planted Heuchera Palace Purple, a greenish maroon leafed Coral Bell that had more colorful leaves, white flowers  and was not a challenge to  grow for a beginning gardener.   Over the years Heuchera's, or Coral Bells,  with the help of hybridizers , have evolved into some very incredible  perennials. 

 Heuchera villosa 'Bronze Wave' and Stachys 'Helen Von Stein'

Go into you local garden center and it is not unusual to find at least a dozen different Heuchera (HEW-ker-a)   cultivars.  Once limited to shades of green and maroon, now the color palete includes, yellows, caramel ,cinnamon, peach,  all shades of maroon,  chocolate,  and greens with red veins , red with green veins,  the list continues to grow,  and did I mention that this perennial has flowers too.

Bronze Wave - Foliage is dark with copper, purple and brown tones, blending into a metallic bronze color. The large wavy-margined hairy leaves are 6 to 8” across and make a clump about 24” across and 18” high. 24” wands of pinkish-white flowers are produced from mid to late summer.  

 Heuchera Pewter Veil

Grow them in some sun,  with a little late day shade and the seem pretty happy.  Although  not the best planting I have seen cultivars like "Palace Purple" grown in full sun. Currently I am  growing  "Midnight Rose' in a container ( photo below) with as little as 2 1/2  hours of sun,  planted  along side hostas and ferns.
Over-watering  will rot the roots.  They are happiest, in a decent soil, mulched, with occasional watering, more frequent in the hot summer. In containers,  you will have success with potting soil that is a little coarse and well drained.

 Heuchra 'Midnight Rose' and sedum in hypertufa bowl

The reason that these two unlikely partners do well  in this containers is the growing  medium .
Peat moss, small bark fines, perlite. 

Al’s 5-1-1 Mix is a bark-based mix that also provides great drainage and aeration. This mix is  created by Al from Gardenweb.com website. The mix composes of 5 part fine bark, 1 part sphagnum peat, and 1 part perlite. This mix is recommended for annuals or anything that only last a few seasons.
The ingredients are:
5 part partially-composed pine bark fines
1 part sphagnum peat
1 part horticulture grade perlite (coarse size)
1 tbsp per gallon of garden dolomic lime

Heucheras look great with many other perennials and annuals in containers. Here are just a few examples.

• Heuchera with sedum Angelina and festuca Elijah Blue
• Heuchera with festuca Elijah Blue and lysimachia Aurea (golden creeping Jenny).
• Ipomoea batatas 'Sweet Heart' aka 'Sweet Caroline Purple' (Sweat potato vine) with Heuchera 'Caramel
•  Hakonechloa ‘All Gold’ , Xanthosoma ‘Lime Zinger’ , Heuchera ‘Mahogany’, Heuchera ‘Lime Rickey’

Heuchera villosa 'Caramel' and Liriope muscari 'Peedee Ingot'

The bold leaves of the Heuchera 'Caramel' contrasts nicely with the fine leaves of the Liriope.  This combination can be found under some trees in the perennial gardens at Longwood Gardens.  With regular watering and mulch these perennials do well under many trees. 

 In fall, the foliage of Heuchera Caramel turns a beautiful  salmon red. Like many of the new cultivars this hybrid does great in heat and humidity and is happy in a wide range of soil conditions. Tolerates a good deal of sun, where the foliage color intensifies. Another good selection for the shade garden Best grown in rich, humus, well drained soil with adequate moisture. Once established, it can take on heat, humidity, even poor soil.

Great Combinations -  Heuchera villosa Beaujolais with  Hakonechloa grass at Longwood Gardens 

 Heuchera  Beaujolais -,  is a super vigorous variety with large 5" burgundy leaves.growing 8-10" x 12-16" , very tall 24" cream colored flower stems appear mid season.zone 4a - 9 and is listed a deer resistant plant.  This  Coral Bell is different from other plum colored varieties by its unique color, tolerance to heat & humidity and its vigor.

Another favorite combination for your shade garden is Heuchera  "Plum Pudding" and Japanese Painted fern Athyrium niponicum picutum.  These two will bring attention to front of any shady foundation planting. 

Heuchera americana Marvelous Mable  

Spring foliage begins  purple and eventually  matures through the season to  green with, dark veins and silvery mottling.  White flowers form early in the season.  Because of their low, mounding habit, they can be planted along paths or in containers.
 Height: 8-13". Spread: 17-19". Leaf color: purple in spring turning to deep green through the season. Zones: 4-9. Flowers: Creamy White on 16" scapes.

Heuchera Problems - not really!

No serious insect or disease problems. Frost heaving of roots may occur when winter temperatures fluctuate widely.

 

 Heuchera americana Green Spice

‘Green Spice’ is a clump-forming Coral Bell cultivar that  has silvery, gray-edged leaves with purple veins (in cool weather) and not particularly showy white flowers. The rounded, lobed, long-petioled leaves  (to 9” tall) which may spread to 16” wide. Tiny, whitish flowers appear in late spring to early summer on slender,  stems rising well above the foliage mound, typically to 24-28” tall. Leaves turn orangish in autumn.

These  are just a small selection of the hundreds of cultivars of heuchera.  They have come a long way from the ones I first found in my grandmothers garden.  Happy Gardening !