Garden Trips: Hillwood (Part One)

The signs say "Where Fabulous Begins" and for avid collectors of exquisite things, I'm sure it must be close to nirvana. For me, however, I had come to see...the gardens (yes, you guessed that).

It was a cloudy day with threatening rain. The cloudy part wasn't bothersome; in fact, that's a good day to take pictures. The rain, though, would not be helpful. Especially as I am out to see how my new camera performs...I really don't want to get it wet. My DH has planned this (isn't he just the sweetest?) day for me, for Mother's Day (2008). He has heard of these gardens (on the radio, he informs me) and thinks I will enjoy them.

This is a home of Marjorie Merriweather Post. You recognize that name, don't you? According to our brochure, she only resided here in the spring and fall. The gardens were planted to especially shine during those seasons. I am happy that we've chosen spring to visit, in that case.

The mansion itself is a museum for her collections...collections which continue to grow. This day, we have chosen to just visit the gardens on our own, but we did peek into the Dacha to view a few of the treasures.

There are a few things to know....Ms. Post had a good sized greenhouse where her orchid collection was (and is) kept...and some one to care for them (as well as everything else)...who would bring the blooming ones inside to be displayed. We enjoyed peeking in here (the greenhouse) and noted all the annuals being grown as well. Outside the greenhouse were a number of cold frames.

There's also a cutting garden so that fresh flowers can be arranged and displayed throughout the house. I know, you do that, too...but probably not on this scale.

Well, let's get to it. Here we go.

One of the first things we spot is this planter:




Now, you begin to get the 'estate' feel to this.






Since we're not touring, we'll head over toward the greenhouse/glasshouse. Looks like they're preparing a cutting garden:


The peonies look lovely. If you look closely, you might be able to see the stakes...good idea.


Wouldn't I like a peony that's really red, like this one.


The rose garden...well, the cutting rose garden, I suppose...the real rose garden is later...





We'll be going inside very soon to see the orchids...



If you look closely, you'll see some gorgeous purple alliums....we'll see a lot more of them when we come back out...


Inside, there are orchids upon orchids...




I wasn't kidding...


Let's see some more of the beautiful blooms...





This is pretty interesting...annual starts and cuttings:













We're just about done inside...


One last look and we're outta here...


Cold frames...they're serious about growing...




Here's looking back across the street....and those fascinating alliums...


Okay, here's what I'm talking about...such a neat idea...an allium border...








There's much more to see here....for now, however, we'll stop with a close up of that brilliant red rose we can just see behind the alliums...




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For more information about Hillwood, click here.