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Kniphofia’s Garden

I think it only fitting that the First GBs Garden that I do an article on would be that of our own Sweet Sue that so loving wrote the Garden articles for Gardenbuddies since December of '2003..she did a wonderful job and I only hope that I can do as well for our wonderful website!!..So, thanks Sue for all that you have given and for sharing your Gardens with us...Jeanne

I’ve been interested in plants for as long as I can remember. My childhood was filled with walks along honeysuckled bordered lanes, through bluebell woods and wheat fields.

My parents and grandparents were a big influence on me as gardeners. I can still remember many of the plants in my grandfather’s garden, including a Christmas rose, ‘London’s Pride’ and a climbing rose called ‘Handel’. My father had an allotment where he grew vegetables, he’d always bring home a pail of new potatoes, cabbages, onions, beets and lots of other things. He had a greenhouse where he grew tomatoes and he’d let Ann & I pick off the small cherry sized ones. Dad also grew roses and sometimes chrysanthemums, sweet peas and dahlias and would often bring bouquets home for our mother. The house I spent 17 years in growing up had a small 10 x 6 plot in the backyard and a small greenhouse and Mam grew some perennials and roses. The greenhouse was filled with fuchsias and other tender plants and I remember Ann & I having a cactus collection. I didn’t have a garden of my own until the early 90’s when I lived in a small bungalow in Wakefield, Yorkshire and had a small garden in front and back. When I moved to a new house nearby I planted a lot of things and really enjoyed that garden. After that I moved to the US and it wasn’t until 2002 that I again had my own garden.

When I moved to this house (which was previously owned by an Englishwoman who loved sewing and gardening) it was mostly lawn with a small bed at the back of the house, and a few shrubs planted around the house. It’s the biggest garden I’ve ever had and it’s a lot of work for me by myself, especially as I’ve added two large beds. But it was so thrilling two years ago to be able to plant a tree! I chose a hawthorn, ‘Crimson Cloud’. The common hawthorn, Cratageus monogyna is very prevalent in England and was my favorite tree there. It’s not grown here so I chose a suitable alternative. This one has pretty red white centered flowers, lovely leaves and looks great all year. I’d like to add more trees and shrubs.

I have tried to keep the theme of my two new beds hot and cool colors. One has heleniums, cannas, roses, achillea, rudbeckia and sunflowers. The other has plants in the pink, blue, purple and white color range, including hostas, kalmia, astible, viburnum, iris, pulsatilla, echinacea, salvia and astrantia.

orange & yellow helenium.JPG - 108376 Bytes

I love scented plants, and hope to add many more to the garden. I’d also like to add some more structure in the form of trellises, arches, obelisks, and some seating. I’d like to develop a shade area too. There are so many woodland flowers I want to grow and lovely New England natives. I keep the back part of my garden uncultivated as I want to encourage wildlife. I love to go out with my camera after work and photograph insects and spiders. I’d like to have a pond someday.

I love my garden and get a great deal of enjoyment from it. I so enjoy watching the development of plants day by day. Winters are long here in Maine, and for 4-5 months of the year my garden is under snow. I have a lot of houseplants and a collection of over 40 different sansevierias and they keep my going through the winter. My office is also filled with plants and this last winter I had amaryllis blooms from November until May.

Produced by Jeanne

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