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Garden of Trees
by Mary Jasch
A hillside garden in nature's embrace awaits the visitor at Penelope and John Maynard’s home in Bedford, New York. This Sunday, October 17, the garden is open to the public as part of the Garden Conservancy’s Open Day program.
In this garden of surprises, trees are revered. They star as solo specimens and as prima donnas in every plot and planter. Stone terraces blend with bedrock and paths of perfect lawn unite and frame each gardenlet, guiding the voyeur.. This landscape is an experience of the soul, an orgy for the eyes.
On the walk up the drive to the house, the senses are met with a vision of elegance – of glass, stone, trees, potted tropicals and evergreens.
Flagstone winds around the house until it meets a terrace decorated with potted large-leafed begonias and Chamaecyparis. It flows into another shady nook, this one of molten lava-like concrete in the cool surrounds of a bubbly fountain. Great clumps of lavender-colored asters harmonize with deep burgundy and green coleus and silvery Heuchera. Even fallen oak and maple leaves add just the right tones.
Follow the grass to a patio with plants in terra cotta - a harmony of color. The curly hair of fading autumn clematis weaves behind a garden of scented geraniums and water sculpture. White Japanese anemones, tall blue and red salvias flirt in the scent of a clipped boxwood hedge and the rustle of wind among plants so lovingly tended.Here, nature joins the civilized crowd, its boulders tucked neatly into the handmade wall.
A detour to the right leads to outcrops and a mimicking stone wall that supports rhododendron, ferns and other woodland species, and an amazing purple-berried shrublet.
Take the steps flanked by two giant chartreuse hosta into the woods. Variegated solomon seal and tufts of primrose rosettes, bright grasses – some with purple seed heads – lead to a restful spot under Japanese maples and a short-needled pine. Between the steps, violets and flowers ramble.
Back toward the lawn, two Maxfield Parrish-like red oaks top the lawn overlooking a valley. Which way to go? Left! Down curved stone stairs that abut a rock outcrop, then out onto lawn below where a variegated tree with leaves that seem to float is one of many gardens of special trees. Potted mugho pines sit on walls.
Trees...rock...lawn...the hard goods here... shaped trees, magnificent trees, jewel-like trees, potted and dwarf trees, wild and tame... and the lawn, used like a matte around a painting.
To the right, another staircase edges into the wooded hillside with deep blue delphinium and grass with furry black seed heads. Then a surprise! A marvel of a sunken garden surrounded by old ruins. It's where fig trees grow with gladiolus and dahlias. Espaliered trees on bamboo supports grow above it, as well as roses in cages made of branches. No space is idle. Every vista, every turn, is a garden because the trees are revered.
Back toward the patio, rock and juniper, dwarf pine, asters, grass, and a big pine bridge the gap between dwelling and wild country. Nature accepted, not scorned. Come see this garden.
Open Day: Sunday, October 17
210 Hook Road, Bedford, NY in Westchester County
For info on Open Days: Garden Conservancy's Website
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published October 14, 2004
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