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and pen in hand. How would I get enough notes together before
the bus captain blew that d— whistle
Even before I arrived at the first garden bed in the front yard, I
caught sight of a railroad crossing sign a couple of houses down
the street— what kind of a neighborhood was this Was there a
Metro-like commuter train station in the area Nope. It turns out
that Jack’s neighbor, Larry Koehl, is a train buff and welcomes
visitors with his unique sign.
When I had visited the Brueggemans’ garden in 2001, I remembered
that their back yard was most interesting to me—that was
where the daylilies were growing and that is where the strawberries
and whipped cream were being offered to garden visitors!
Today, however, there were beds of daylilies in the front yard—
by the sidewalk. The first bed contained daylilies that were identified
with red plant labels—what a great idea—all of the guest plants
here and at the other convention gardens had red labels AND most
of the guest plants were situated together in a single area rather
than being scattered among all of the beds. These guest plant beds
became magnets for visitors.
Four guest plants that caught my eye stood out boldly in the
morning light. They were H. ‘Betty Ford’ (Kirchhoff 2002); H.
‘Homeplace Honor’, (2003 Cindy Dye); H. ‘Spacecoast Gold Bonanza’,
(2002 John Kinnebrew); and H. ‘Papal Robes’, (2001 John
Rice). A second bed to the left was populated with bright daylilies
and provided us with a “Christmas in July” theme.
Carrie’s and Jack’s brick home was shaded by two huge trees—
one a red oak, the other a big gum tree. Shade-loving plants filled
the beds along the front of the house. At the end of the driveway,
just as I remembered, there was an arborway pointing the way to
the “Secret Garden” in the nether regions of the back yard. In 2001
there was a nifty Bob Carr (1999) introduction called H. ‘Beyond
Riches’ planted just to the right of the arbor way—yes, there it was
and looking just as beautiful.
As I looked around I noticed that major changes had taken place
An entire orchestra with country style instruments serenaded
the national convention garden visitors at the Brueggemanns’
Garden. Image: Gisela Meckstroth
in Jack’s yard. The lay of the land was changed and the “Secret
Garden” area was completely revamped. Jack says that the Cincinnati
Utility folks had gone wild replacing sewer pipes and telephone
lines throughout the back yard forcing him to reconstruct
the whole area.
On each end of the back yard are beds with small statues. One
bed honors the patron saint of gardeners, St. Fiacre. A statue of the
Irish Saint sits in the middle of the bed with St. Fiacre holding a
spade and an armful of flowers—Could those be daylilies In front
of the statue is Steve Moldovan’s 1999 registration, H. ‘Saint Fiacre”.
AHS Region 2/Great Lakes Newsletter
The other bed honors H. ‘St. Francis of Assisi’, the Patron Saint
of animals and the environment. Here, the statue of St. Francis is
part of a bird bath reflecting the lore that St. Francis could talk with
the animals. Of course, in a prime spot, is Moldovan’s 1994 Registration,
H. ‘Francis of Assisi’.
I checked my watch and realized that we were going to have to
get back on the bus pretty soon—I needed more time to absorb the
details of the Brueggemanns’ beautiful garden layout. I checked
with Jack and sought an invitation to return on Sunday to revisit
the garden. Of course, being the perfect host, Jack said. “Sure just
walk in—Carrie and I will be at church—make yourself at home.”
On Sunday my traveling buddies, Hiram Pearcy, Gene Dewey,
Gene Woehler, and I returned to Tranquility Gardens. This time
even I was tranquil—I could leisurely walk around the property
and not have to think about the clock! I left my pals by the guest
plants and headed to the back yard. This time I noticed Mr. Turtle’s
welcoming smile as well as Elizabeth Salter’s nifty 2003 registration,
called H. ‘Blue Oasis’ planted by the driveway. Oh, to have a
7 inch version of this 3.5 inch beauty!
Passing through the arbor gate again, I entered the “Magic Garden.”
Not only is the garden magical to the eyes, it is a technical
wonder. This area of Tranquility Garden rests on a very steep
slope. Jack has created a series of switchbacks with long lengths
of gardens in place each running parallel to the hillside; each connected
by a semicircle array of steps. The pathway is formed by
cobble stones which sinuously guides our footsteps down the
path. Because the parallel gardens are so long and hold our attention,
we forget that at each turn we are going 5-6 feet downhill.
Embedded in the first turn was a hexagonal stepping stone containing
the form of a colorful daylily. It was so beautiful, I stepped
around it.
The first long bed on the uphill side was raised—not just 6-8
inches but at least 2 feet. The plants in these beds were close both
laterally AND vertically. H. ‘Brookwood Lee Causey’ (Sharp 1998)
was striking with its big, bold eye shouting, “See me!” As a direct
contrast, the small, delicate H. ‘Brookwood Eleganza’ (Sharp 1991)
showed a delicate pink color with gentle ruffles and green throat.
On the edge of this bed was Grace Stamile’s 2000 cutie, H. ‘My Gal
Sal’. Usually, I have to bend way over to get a good look at a 2.75
inch flower on an 18 inch scape. Not here. With no effort I got a
close look at that intense purple face with its purple-plum eye.
In a corner of this bed, hiding among the daylilies were three
“Little People” hoarding a pot of silver coins. They seemed oblivious
to the fact that they were surrounded by nature’s treasures.
Amber gold H. ‘Mauna Loa’ (E. R. Roberts 1976); Mike & Kathy
Chenet’s 1995 bright yellow/gold H. ‘Home Cooking’ and David
Kirchhoff’s 1996 H. ‘Ciel D’Or’ towered above the magical creatures.
There also was a clump of bright yellow gold calla lilies. You
know, perhaps these “Little People” who are usually found with a
pot of gold, realized that they WERE among Mother Nature’s golden
treasures and were just keeping tabs on their silver.
At the end of this bed was a huge clump of Curt Hanson’s H.
‘Erogenous Zone’ (2000). All of the blossoms were in perfect, rosepink
form. By the way, even before heading out to church, Carrie
and Jack must have deadheaded the spent daylily blossoms. Nowhere
was one in sight! On the right side of this pathway were
gorgeous roses. One was a stunning double coral and white variety
called ‘Double Delight’; another was called ‘Victorian Lace.’
On one side of the roses was the purple coneflower, Echinacea
‘Ruby Giant.’ On the other side was situated Monarda ‘Marshall’s
Delight’ with its bold, pink blossoms.
As I looked to the bottom of the hill, I could see that Jack had
planted a line of various grasses that defined the end of the garden
area. One that caught my eye was Miscanthus sinensis ‘Cosmopolitan’
showing wide leaves with white stripes. Another was
Miscanthus sinensis ‘Gracillimus’ (also known as Maiden Grass)
This is a fine textured grass that will turn golden bronze after the
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