garden

Anticipation Grows
The experts who recruited this year's gardens
have selected some of the most captivating and
creative in America. Here are four that are not
to be missed in 2009.
The Graeme Hardie Garden in Nutley, New
Jersey transports the visitor to a world far from
what most might imagine as a typical New Jersey
Garden. His forty-by-sixty-foot walled contemporary
garden designed by Richard Hartlage is
richly planted in perennials and tropicals. It is a
mix that works to great effect. Visit his garden
on September 19th.
At the Markus Collection and Garden in
Highland Park, Illinois, Brent Markus began
landscaping his family's garden when he was just
a teenager. At first it was dwarf conifers and Japanese
maples in the mail, then entire truckloads
of them. There is now a collection of 200 dwarf
conifers and fifty Japanese maple cultivars that
provide an ever-changing collage of sometimes
unpredictable colors. The Markus Collection and
Garden will open to the public on June 28th.
SPECIAL PROMOTIONAL SECTION
When the property around the Lillie Garden in
Atherton, California was purchased just over twenty years ago, there were
only a few mature oaks and remnants of the original Thomas Church design.
The owner's subtle use of distinctive Japanese rhythms and harmonies
Opening to the public for the first time through Open Days, "The Burke's Jardin del
Sol" in Las Vegas, Nevada is a lush, colorful, yet drought-tolerant, xeriscape garden
designed by family members with recreation and social gatherings in mind. Approximately
fifty percent of the gardens each year are new to the program. Visit this garden
on April 18th. Photo: Andrew Cattoir, courtesy of Southern Nevada Water Authority.
Visitors tour Fordhook Farm in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, home to national presenting
sponsor, W. Atlee Burpee & Co. Fordhook Farm will host five Open Days in
bucolic Bucks County. These Open Days will feature guest speakers, garden tours,
and Burpee's popular plant sales featuring the Heronswood collection.
transformed this garden into a series of rich, multilayered
experiences that include vistas combined
with intimate moments. Judicious and thoughtful
use of stone and sculpture enhance exquisite
plantings composed of a remarkable collection of
Japanese maples, conifers and unusual perennials.
The Lillie Garden will be open to the public on
April 18th.
Twenty years ago Louise and John Wrinkle moved
into the house built by her parents in 1938 and
where she grew up in Birmingham, Alabama.
Her horticultural interests began with natives but
realization of Asian counterparts has enriched
the plantings, which include family collections of
hollies, azaleas, and ranunculus. Through the years
the trees have grown to enormous size and new
projects have unfolded, the latest of which are a
pond in the lower corner and a pit greenhouse at
the rear of the cutting garden. The Louise 6k John
Wrinkle Garden will be open on June 13th.
To find a partial list of Open Days gardens near
you and scheduling information, visit the Open
Days web site at www.opendaysprogram.org. For a
complete listing of 2009 Open Days gardens, locations
and dates, as well as listings of public gardens
in every state, order the new Open Days Directory
or join the Garden Conservancy and receive a free
copy of this 300-page reference guide.