Trying to beat the coming thunderstorm, I took an early afternoon stroll through part of the Winterthur Garden today. What fun on a low-humidity late-spring day!
- ferns - lush and frilly and fresh
- astilbe, daylillies and hydrangea near the Reflecting Pool - sure summer favorites
- a new color scheme in the containers around the reflecting pool - magenta, white, yellow and blue - stunning!
- bright green frogs and a huge gray bull frog sounding his deep call
- the sweet scent of gardenia wafts through the air
- a cool moss-covered stone wall
- a set of new gray containers near the Box Scroll garden
- a yellow Koi fish that jumped twice in the Glade pool
- new chandeliers gracing the loggia and dining room porch - beautiful, graceful, complete
- crazy Turk’s Cap lilies displaying their upside-down acrobatics
With all that beauty, it’s easy to ignore a major project underway in the garden this summer. After years of hard use, many of the pathways are being restored with either new macadam or wood mulch. The work will correct erosion problems and the many ankle-turning patches and holes.
The red tipple stone paths are on their way out in favor of materials that are more in keeping with the beauty and history of the garden. Some of the pathways will be closed this summer, so please bear with us as you enjoy the winding paths through this paradise garden.
Last evening, my wife and I, together with our neice, brought a picnic supper on the grounds–we headed for Sycamore Hill. It was probably one of the most magical moments we’ve experienced. The vistas were commanding yet the setting was intimate and private. We walked to the Quarry and to Oak Hill and back through the meadow via the newly mown path. Thank you garden staff for creating and maintaining such an exquisite garden.