Briggs' Garden Tour - 2010

Lynda Swenson and I visited several gardens as part of the Garden Conservancy Open Days. Eleanor Briggs' garden in Hancock, NH was our last stop. The most striking feature of this venue was a forty-eight foot koi pond complete with koi and a resident frog. It was designed by landscape architect Diane McGuire and planted with lotus and water lilies.

https://flic.kr/p/2oL2jg3 https://flic.kr/p/2oKZkHr https://flic.kr/p/2oLfdvs

Unusual architecture

Eleanor Briggs owns a farmhouse built in 1776 by the town clerk, Jonathan Bennett. i noticed some unusual brickwork on the chimney, visible between the large smoke trees.

https://flic.kr/p/2oL1db3

However the most striking architecture was an AIA-award-winning screened porch was designed by Dan Scully.

https://flic.kr/p/2oL2RGN

Trellis

I liked the way the trellises were used on the farmhouse.

https://flic.kr/p/2oKWkh3 https://flic.kr/p/2oL2iQP

Vegetable Garden

There was a large productive vegetable garden which was very neat and tidy.

https://flic.kr/p/2oL1dkG https://flic.kr/p/2oKWmjy https://flic.kr/p/2oL2Spu

Mass Planting

One way to fill in an area is to use "ditch lilies" the ubiquitous Hemerocallis fulva. This mound was just coming into bloom.

https://flic.kr/p/2oL2iGH

This was the end of our garden touring. Lynda was an accomplished gardener. She had a great eye for design and her garden was a delight. I'm pretty good at getting plants to grow but it all very unkempt. Seeing these gardens is inspirational but I keep wondering if they have a team of workers to keep it in check.