Saturday, August 11

Visit to the CBG I: Herb, Rose, Woodland and Japanese Gardens


This spring, I had planned to visit the Cleveland Botanical Garden for their (somewhat horitculturally) famous Flower Show... until my part-time job at a local garden center and a sick puppy changed my plans. I was bummed to miss both the show and a chance to meet fellow blogger and "blackswamp girl" Kylee, but I resolved to visit the garden--and Kylee, separately--at some point this summer. (For more on the 2007 CBG Flower Show, you can read Kylee's excellent review at her blog, Our Little Acre.)

They did not need me at the garden center today and my boyfriend was planning to head off to the woods with some work friends to experience the dubious "sport" known as paintballing. So it was a perfect day for my friend Amy and I to visit the Garden, and I so enjoyed my visit that I thought I would conduct a little virtual tour here on my blog. You can click on any of the pictures in this post to see the images in more detail.

As we walked through the entrance, we noticed the gorgeous containers. The pot simply planted with phormium and echeveria was my favorite, but the multiple pots of dahlias with 'Red Threads' alternanthera were nice, too. Amy liked the huge potted pines that looked like bonsai on steroids, but I didn't get any pictures that do them justice. Although we parked on a nearby street, I appreciated that the entire drive down from the entrance to the underground parking lot was surrounded by beautiful plantings. Nice attention to detail there.

Following the map, we decided to hit the Western Reserve Herb Society garden first and work our way around. I admit to being a little disappointed overall by the herb garden. The paving--which included lots of millstones set into the paths--was beautiful, and who can resist wrought iron gates set decoratively into crabapple hedges? A few other plants like purple basil, tree peonies and 'Helene von Stein' lamb's ears were standouts here as well... but for the most part I wanted to cut things back and give everything a fresh coat of mulch. I'm sure that high expectations played into my disappointment, as I love herbs and count on them as real workhorses in terms of garden interest.

On the flip side, I assumed that the Mary Ann Sears Swetland rose garden would be past its prime to the point of being ugly. After all, we were not visiting during the magical rose month of June! The beds where just roses came up out of the soil, mulched and pruned but unaccompanied by other perennials, definitely lived down to my expectations. The lovely center bed that included catmint, lavender and dichondra surrounding an octagonal fountain was very nice, however, and the non-climbing version of 'Iceberg' also caught my eye.

As I took the picture above, my eyes were drawn to the dramatic red rose covering the arch at the far end of the garden. I kept my cool while Amy and I walked around the center bed toward this beauty... but involuntarily let out a girly little squeal when the tag at its feet confirmed my suspicions: A Dortmund!!!

Exiting the rose garden brought us to a fork in the road. I let Amy choose, and she thought a bit of shade would be nice so we headed to the Japanese and Woodland gardens. The Woodland garden was fun, mixing unusual shade lovers like Kirengeshoma (yellow wax bells, which I believe come from China) and horsetail rush with dainty little natives like jewelweed. I couldn't keep track of the number of different hostas they had, and quickly decided that I definitely need a gold variegated comfrey somewhere in my yard.

The Japanese garden was wonderful as well, but it was a challenge to take good pictures there today. The CBG holds weddings on site, and there were dozens of white folding guest chairs set up inside the best section. The first picture shows the focal point of the bowl-shaped area where the wedding was (to be?) held--I was standing at the what I assume is the "I do" spot, at the top of the main aisle, while I snapped the shot. Behind me was the large wisteria arbor you see in the second shot, taken from the top of the other side of the "bowl." Can you see the thick tree trunk at the right of the second picture, just beyond the arbor? That was one of two Dawn Redwoods that we found at the garden. I didn't even know we could grow them here!

The edge of the woodland garden blended seamlessly into the themed garden area. These are largely the same show gardens that I would have seen had I made it to the Flower Show in May, but I did notice a few differences between the earlier pictures that Kylee posted and the ones I took today. But this post is getting a little long, even for me--and it's no secret that concise writing is not my forte, so that's saying something.

I have a lot to say about the theme gardens and ideas gained from them, the wonderful place that is the Hershey Children's Garden, and the amazing world condensed inside the glasshouse. Each of them is going to get its own post at some point, and soon. For now, though, the paintball warrior is back and we are both in the mood for "big food," so we are off to forage...

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

What lovely pictures. I adore the wrought-iron fence set into the crabapple hedge. I'll look forward to more about this garden as you have time.

~~ Melissa said...

I look forward to reading more. I learn a lot from what you point out about plant selections (colour, texture, height, etc). Save some big food for me. ;)

kate said...

I'd love to see the Wisteria in bloom. The combination of phormium and agave is really cool. I like the plainness of the pots.

The fose garden looks good too ... what a fun day, lucky you. Hope your foraging met with delicious success (and Coco partook too)!

Melissa said...

What a beautiful and enjoyable thing to do (and always best when done with someone else who loves the same thing!).

Big Food! Sounds like he went hunting to me rather than paint balling!:)

Anonymous said...

Love the pictures and the garden and I agree with your favorite pot, that first one. Simple is sometimes so striking!

Kylee Baumle said...

Ah, Kim, we have two Dawn Redwoods in our yard! Mom gave us one a couple of years ago and I thought the drought did it in this summer, as it lost all its needles/leaves, but it's coming back. WHEW! That one is about six feet tall. We've got a smaller one, too, that's about two feet tall and it's done absolutely great all summer. Both are from Secrest Arboretum in Wooster, where they sell them to support the Arboretum and their programs.

We also have Kirengeshoma, which I got from Spring Hill Nurseries and amazingly enough, they've done just fine, making it through last winter. They're getting ready to bloom now.

I love the Woodland Gardens at CBG the best of all, I think.

I would imagine they've struggled with our rainless summer, too.

Great pictures, Kim!

meresy_g said...

I would give my left arm for that rose arbor. Must get me a Dortmund. Spectacular! And how do you have a Hershey Children's Garden? We have a Hershey Children's Garden.....in Hershey, PA. At Hershey Gardens. Are there two? Looks like a great day.

Unknown said...

Pam, I liked that, too--even moreso because on the other side of that locked gate was the large entrance driveway. So you could get a "sneak peak" as you walked in, and the openness on both sides was tempting.

Empress, sorry--the big food did not last long! *grin* Mexican food isn't all that great reheated anyway...

Kate, I like the plainness of the pots, too. And I definitely have to go back in the spring to see the wisteria in bloom--and catch all of those azaleas on the slope in their glory, too!

me, LOL! I'll have to tell him that, he'll get a kick out of it. As it was, it appears that what did happen with the guys in the woods involved just as much testosterone, but no animals were harmed in the venting of said hormone. *grin*

layanee, I agree. I think I admire things like that so much in part because I am apparently unable to create such simplicity myself, if that makes sense?

Kylee, I figured that the woodland gardens would have struggled, too, but I believe that they do some planned irrigation--not soaker hoses, though, because even the pathways were wet in a certain area when we started to walk through... and not timed sprinklers, because I noticed no such hookups. Their dawn redwoods were so tall I couldn't see the tops of them. :) And thanks for the info on the kirengeshoma--I have admired it in catalogs but always figured it would be marginal at best here.

meresy_g, I would happily root a cutting for you if you'd like--and if you are patient enough to wait, as I don't believe that I could take a cutting until next year.

As for the name, the garden was founded by the Hershey Foundation and members of the Hershey family who live in the Cleveland area. There is a book about the Hershey Children's Garden in print, so I may have to check it out and see if I can share more of the story... hopefully when I share what a great time I had there. (In my defense, the docent welcomed us in and assured us that it was "for children of all ages!")

lisa said...

I really like that fence gate in the crabapples, and the first two planter pics...I really should go visit the Green Bay botanical garden and blog it....just too busy at home this time of year, y'know? Anyhow, thanks for sharing!

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