Continuing on our New England garden tour:

We had a long day today after the GPS sent our bus on the wrong route. But we still saw 3 beautiful gardens in Vermont as well as seeing how they make maple syrup from sugar maple trees.

Note: I am one day behind in posting this blog because of poor WiFi in our hotel. I will try to get back on track before the tour ends on Wednesday.

HAYWARD FARMS

On our way to Vermont we went through some very picturesque countryside as you can see from the 2 videos below. Note that on the first video there is starting to be visible a tinge of fall color which we didn’t notice in Massachusetts.

We went to see the garden of Mr. & Mrs. Hayward. Mr. Hayward was a writer for Horticulture Magazine, and their garden has been featured in Fine Gardening and Martha Stewart Living Magazine. Here is a short snippet of their introduction to the garden:

The house was built in the 1790’s. The garden is 1 1/2 acres but surrounded on both sides by vacant land which Mr. Hayward keeps green and mowed. They both maintain the garden without regular outside help.

The view beyond the birdbath and the garden structure are owned by the Haywards and will not be developed thus giving the garden a sense of openness and calmness.

The garden is laid out on an axis from the door of the house to the 100 year old apple tree in the center of the yard.

The apple tree is perfectly pruned so it creates a circular space under the branches:

View through and window in the Beech tunnel:

Here are some other views of the garden:

Many plants are worth looking at more closely: Mexican Sunflower (Tithonia rotundifolia)

Epimedium

Variegated Angelica Tree (Aralia elata ‘Variegata’)

Baneberry (Actaea racemosa)

Persicaria orientalis

Sneezeweed (Helenium autumnal)

WOODLAND FARM

We had a trip through beautiful countryside to visit this garden. Here is a video of the last minute of the trip:

The owners, Susan & Rick Richter, moved into this house in 2003 while it was under construction from 2000 to 2012. The length of time of construction shows you the attention to detail that they made:

Susan Richter is the second from the right. She and her husband have hired 2 women as gardeners to work 1 day per week each plus they hired a professional maintenance company to take care of the lawns and routine chores.

This garden is known for its stone work. Large stones are used in the garden as well as in the house – some weigh more than a ton:

There are also large paving stones used for walkways, patios and steps. Walk-on groundcovers such as Thyme are planted between the stones:

Here are some photos of the rock gardens:

The vegetable garden is surrounded by a tall rock wall:

The lawns surrounding the gardens are immaculate and even the border areas are well maintained:

Some interesting plants:

Joe Pye Weed (Eupatorium purpureum)

Lady’s Mantle (Alchemilla mollis)

Japanese Forest Grass & Hosta

Variegated Silver Grass (Miscanthus sinensis ‘Variegatus’)

GARDEN OF BILL NOBLE

Bill and his gardener, the lady on the left, maintain this 1 1/2 acre garden by themselves. Bill recently wrote a book about the process entitled “Spirit of Place”:

The house was built in 1830 and remodeling was done including building an elevated deck so guests can view the garden and the fields:

The perennial garden is laid out in 4 quadrants with lawn pathways between:

The vegetable garden is fenced off for the animals:

The fields bordering the garden are beautiful and filled with pollinators:

Other views of the garden:

Interesting plants:

Maidenhair Tree (Ginkgo biloba) fall color

Tufted Hair Grass (Deschampsia cespitosa)

Persicaria amplexicaulis with Sedum to the left

Coleus (Solenostemon scutellarioides)

Ornamental Rhubarb (Rheum australe)

Climbing Hydrangea (Hydrangea anomala petiolaris)

Yellow garden:

Tomorrow: New Hampshire Gardens