Today’s photos are from Brian Downs (hey, that sounds familiar–it’s briandowns!) in Elkton, Maryland. He says, “I moved into my current home in Elkton, Maryland, shortly after my wife died in 1999. The nominal acre of boring suburban lawn became a challenge for me to create a garden and dedicate it to my wife and to show my three children that life can go on.
“Armed with that perspective , a degree in botany, certificates of ornamental horticulture from Longwood Gardens, and a recent stint as a docent at Mt. Cuba Center, the project began and here I am on a rainy morning taking some photos to share on Mothers Day weekend. An acre-sized garden needs continuity and repeating themes, but in order to get one’s mental arms around it and alleviate boredom, it also needs so-called “garden rooms”. I use herbaceous perennials, flowering deciduous shrubs and trees, and conifers with some emphasis on natives.”
What a wonderful tribute to your wife, Brian. Your garden is beautiful. Thanks so much for sharing it with us. Please send us summer photos, too!! There looks to be so much more to see.
**Brian wanted me to give a special shout-out to the University of Delware Botanic Gardens, where he volunteers. He’s a big fan, and you should visit next time you’re in the area! (Why have I not been there yet?? I’m down in that direction all the time!)**
***OK, everyone, keep going! Dig out your cameras, take a big long walk around your garden, and SEND ME PHOTOS! I love having more than I could possibly process to choose from!***
***One more thing…..have you always wondered what your fellow GPODers are like in person? Never thought you’d get a chance to meet them? Check this out…. While the GPOD isn’t officially a taunton forum, it’s close enough, and I wanted to extend the invite. Anybody at all interested? I’d be willing to search for some gardens to tour…
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Comments
What beautiful contrasts of textures--thanks for sharing your garden.
Very nice tribute to your wife, Brian! The gardens are lovely.
In picture number 2, what is the little white flowered ground cover? The flower reminds me of snow drops, but they are done now and the foliage is different. Also,on picture number 5, is that Camassia? If it is, I better give mine more space!
I would love to see more pictures later!
I will have to check out the UD Botanic gardens. All I have been to is the part in front of Townsend Hall. Can't wait to see the Native garden!
Hi Yardmom,
The white-flowered groundcover you mentioned is Mazus reptans, a non-native that ironically I learned of at Mt. Cuba Center down at the ponds.
And yes, good catch, that is Camassia in one of the images, which was given to me by a gardener at Longwood.Always a story! And DO get to the UDBG , out behind old Ag Hall ( Townsend Hall) where the perennial garden always rocks and walk the new-ish Lepidoptera Garden.
Beautiful tribute..what's the name of the white blooming tree...some kind of cherry?
Brian, it's hard to believe that this was once a boring suburban yard. It's now a treasure trove of interesting pathways, plants and welcoming seating tableaux. Are my eyes deceiving me or have you also worked in a technique of designers to add depth to a view by strategically placing mirrors? It's all very lovely and must give you and your daughters great joy especially since it is an evolving tribute to your wife.
Beautiful, fresh, and very emotional. I'm all about rocks and that stone-epimedium combination is great!. Thanks for sharing.
Beautiful! My favorite is the very first picture - I love the contrast of the lime green chairs against the green grass highlighted by the white flowers of the tree.
I had to view the pictures in Firefox - I still can't view the pics in my regular browser. When I click the pic it jumps me to the top of the page - not open a larger version of the pic. Tractor1 suggested I wait a few seconds to see if it would work but it didn't. Again this has only begun when those pop up advertisments started again
Your garden looks so serene. I cannot imagine all of the hard work it took to get it from a blank canvas to the beautiful landscape you have created. I think my favorite piece is the large sitting stone. It stands out, it blends in...beautiful...Thank you for sharing!
Wow, the comments are so interesting, kind of like when people visit and see things with fresh eyes. I took the day off today to work in the garden, but I'd rather peruse these observations; the weeds can wait!
The white blooming tree with the lime chairs is Halesia tetraptera- Carolina Silverbell- a real gem. Get one!I got mine at the U. of Delaware Botanic Gardens Amazing Spring Sale.
Also, yes I've employed mirrors on the fence- just a whim I had last year and I acquire the mirrors mostly at yard sales.
Lovely, Brian Downs. You have done so much to that once boring acre. Did you keep any lawn? Some of my favorites are the Carolina silverbell picture and the fern picture. Those ostrich ferns? are so architectural. I must find a shady nook for them in my yard.
I have had the absolute privilege of visiting this garden and with 70 some years of life experience I can tell you it is
beyond exceptional. An equal privilege
is having met Mr. Downs.
Hi Brian - this is your sister Janet. Congratulations on your garden being featured today! It just looks wonderful! OK here's my question - What is the plant with the purple blossom - the blossom reminds me of chives, the rest of the plant reminds me of a tulip. I walk past the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston on my way to work each day, and these plants are in bloom in there landscaping there. Common name and Latin name please!
Brian's garden is quite a transformation from a typical surburban lot, it's lovely and looks like more than the acre... it's a wonderful tribute to his wife. I also like the first picture, it does show a lawn and I'm not sure about that tree but with its bell like blossoms I don't think it's cherry. Everything is so green, fantastic vernal photos! Thank you, Brian.
As an aside, Peachie is finally doing better, last night she finally ate on her own (we've been force feeding her with a syringe), and she's out of isolation and is looking out her favorite window where she can talk to the birds on the electric wire. She's still on antibiotics and will be checked again in a few days. Her liver was failing so if she didn't start eating we'd have to put her down. She's still not out of the woods but we are now very hopeful. Thank you all for your support.
I love all aspects of your garden Brian! What a great tribute to your late wife. So many little garden areas and walkways to enjoy! I love the rock, where I would sit and observe the wildlife activity that has to be going on around there! And those ferns are gorgeous!! I just had the priviledge of doing a couple of walks at Mt. Cuba, and can see some similarity with your gardens and walkways. Next I HAVE to check out the UD Botanical Gardens!! Thank you for sharing with us and reminding me to get to UD!!!
To Janet, the tall purple blossomed plant ( well, blue )behind the bird-bath, native to America's west, is Camassia leichtlinii,or Camass or Quamash, and can stand wet conditions ( as opposed to almost any other geophyte/bulb). A gardener at Longwood gave them to me.
And yes that is Ostrich Fern- beautiful but aggressive where happy ( it you're happy and you know it clap your fronds...)
Brian's son here. I don't know anything about gardening, ironically, but what makes it so special and unique to me is the setting it's in. The house and garden are in a fairly new neighborhood, surrounded by acres of open green lawns and above ground swimming pools. It was done from scratch, by hand. Rocks were hauled in by a wheelbarrow from the end of the street, the boulders were dug up on site. I don't think it's an exaggeration to say this is an acre of oasis in an otherwise very boring setting.
No Brian, I'm not talking about the Camassia. In the picture to the right of the green chairs picture are plants with puple blossoms in front of your blooming reddish azalea. What is that plant with the purple blooms in kind of a globe shape?
Brian, thanks for the I.d. on the ferns. Love natives, I think the purple flowers you are trying to identify are allium, most likely Allium 'Purple Sensation'.
Bridesmaid Dresses: Spring/Summer 2014 Styles From Top Designers (PHOTOS)
Bridesmaid Dresses: Spring/Summer 2014 Styles From Top Designers (PHOTOS)
Who says bridesmaid dresses have to be ugly and unflattering?
Designers brought their A-game to the Spring/Summer 2014 runways in New York recently, showing bridesmaid gowns that attendants will definitely want to wear again.
Click through the below photos to see 8 gorgeous new styles, then tell us in the comments: would you choose one of these looks for your 'maids'?
Bridesmaid Dresses: Spring/Summer 2014 Styles From Top Designers (PHOTOS)
Who says bridesmaid dresses have to be ugly and unflattering?
Designers brought their A-game to the Spring/Summer 2014 runways in New York recently, showing bridesmaid gowns that attendants will definitely want to wear again.
Click through the below photos to see 8 gorgeous new styles, then tell us in the comments: would you choose one of these looks for your 'maids'?
Bridesmaid Dresses: Spring/Summer 2014 Styles From Top Designers (PHOTOS)
After night the in purgatory A1 a mode detailed experience, including the single player mode and cooperation mode, encountering a variety of elite strange and rare and strange, and whether killing off according to the specific team situation; can not kill resolutely notice teammate pass out next through direct SKIP.
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Rare and strange: with a rare name (usually blue, but at the same time may also be gold elite), it is difficult to find, but to get rid of, there is often a special surprise, because fixed and affixes equipment, regardless of the blue-loaded or yellow equipment, are to the edge, in fact, is the best SP produced strange fortune depends on it.
Open the list of your accomplishments, an achievement which lists the most rare and strange, but not all!
In addition, rare and strange fall the best equipment is not 100% drop, but if you want, you could do nothing but find them, rs gold because they can. If you encounter, but you can not beat , please hurry to invite your friends list into your game together to engage it, and to drop more than a goodly portion of luck, but also a way of getting money to the Friends of the base!
Daobao Wizard: Drop equipped with everything falling energy saving in this chapter, in addition to rare and strange part of falling!
Drop the game settings, through research nethack (known as the originator of the Diablo setting items randomly drop) settings, blade and soul gold in fact, a setting is as follows:
Rare and strange list of rare and strange list: this figure may be possible, each unique drop list of rare and strange, usually the main producing strange Need rings and necklaces;
Blue strange list: this picture ordinary strange, it may appear strange blue, just blue strange installed it must be out of the blue, drop list is the list of the world fall in each of the sections that, that does not beyond the the chapter drop the other chapters will be out equipment. (FARM A1 friend Note, A4 was a good blue-loaded, drag a drag the corpse into the A4.)
3 golden elite list: mainly wow gold used to increase this figure a bit of a challenge and entertainment, to be honest, not farm their significance, and this strange basically impossible to be done FARM their fall list and blue The strange world drop, as limited by chapter, but the yellow loading a relatively high probability it wants.
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Careful and meticulous to a certain figure, the difficulty is not great, you can complete single FARM again, all the blame, all the stones, all the local touch it again, and then reset it again, and so forth NNNN times and times, you can put this figure there might be rare and strange touch, we also know this "specialty".
Another supplement on suits and legendary equipment drop set: part of the world falling, broken jar and trash mobs and the like can be a goodly portion of luck, but the mobs die so much, the opportunity is always there; portion of the fixed BOSS out drop, multi-brush it, the opportunity is always there, after all, is fixed drop FARM when a lot of bad street but in the end is inevitable; part fall by rare and strange, the same can not be met seeking to encourage you and diligent traveled to every corner of the map; also part of falling exists only in the advanced chest, face.
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Refer to the above extract random set model of random numbers, each picture looks much spawn points, but a subset of locations and 1 or 100 is actually more difficult to be able to get from another point of view, mean that other spawn points easily be able to get refreshed, this rule can be found by summing.
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Wonderful compositions! Great to meet you at Ault Park's gardens. Just delightful-- made my day. Plant nerds are the very best. Up the bar!
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