Nancy Bellaire shares her award-winning Maryland garden.
"Do other gardeners have garden fantasies like I do? I have imagined Christopher Lloyd visiting my garden. Since he is one of the world's greatest gardeners, I only hoped that he would find a few spots worthy of a compliment. He has passed so that won't come true, but I did have a great real life experience. My garden club's newsletter related how to enter the Baltimore Sun newspaper's garden contest. I submitted photos and an essay and got the call for the judges to visit my garden. Fortunately for me, my lilies were peaking and the judges were impressed by their color and the textures in my shade gardens. I won the Large Garden contest and had an article and pictures in the paper on July 19th. Since the garden won overall I thought I would submit a few photos as if someone were touring the garden."
Have a garden you'd like to share? Please email 5-10 photos (and a brief story about your garden) to [email protected], or tag your photos on Instagram or Twitter with #FineGardening!
Whether you've never shared before or you've been featured multiple times, we want to see your garden! You don't have to be a professional garden photographer – check out our garden photography tips!
Do you receive the GPOD by email yet? Sign up here!
Fine Gardening Recommended Products
A.M. Leonard Deluxe Soil Knife & Leather Sheath Combo
Fine Gardening receives a commission for items purchased through links on this site, including Amazon Associates and other affiliate advertising programs.
Comments
Your garden is outstanding & F.G should feature it in their magazine if they hav'nt already. Either of the 1st 2 would make a beautiful cover page for the magazine. The ornamental grass at the curve in the sidewalk is perfect for that spot. Could you tell me what it's name is please. Congratulations on winning the contest.
Wow, Joe, thank you so much for your compliment. Nicest one I've ever had! The grass bordering the sidewalk is Imperata cylindrica 'Red Baron'. That is a moist area for me so it really thrives there and gets just enough sun to color.
Thank you for the information. I will be including that in a new area in my garde this spring.. Thank you & good luck to you.
Depending on your zone, a head's up on using that beautiful grass can be found here: http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode=d520
Beautifully, planned, executed, and photographed.
Thank you, Dale. It was quite a surprise to be on FGOD this morning. I do take lots of photos so I should take a class to get better at it.
What a colorful journey this morning! I so enjoyed the flow with the brick walkway Nancy! Isnt it great to meet other people who enjoy the beauty of a garden or a gardener themselves. We are so blessed to be of those who have a passion for it. Thanks so much for sharing!
Hi Jeanne, you are making me smile about the passion gardeners feel. I find gardening to be thrilling. Whenever I get a chance to tour a great public garden like Longwood or Wave Hill, I get so excited. I love imagining a design and working with color. Its also fun to have small collections. I have lots of hosta, lilies, and clematis.
Here'a cute story that I will tattle about on myself. Every spring when plant shopping/buying time begins, my pulse accelerates and I am just so excited to get going. Some years back, I was planning my first spring trip to a favorite nursery that was a few towns away. Even though the weather was a little questionable, I was just so happy to be driving out. I was already daydreaming about what wonderful plants I might be bringing home. Halfway on my drive, the radio started blaring with an emergency weather alert. There was a tornado watch for the town I was driving towards. I remember I debated with myself on whether I should be sensible and postpone my trip to another day. Ha, you guessed it...the lure of the plants was too strong and I kept driving hoping for the best. All ended well as the storm moved on and out of the area and I got to feed my plant shopping fever.
Are we twins? I would totally do what you did!
Reassuring to hear, Tim...esp. since I have you on a pedestal of good/superior intellect. Don't try to deny it...all that recall and correct spelling of latin names is undeniably impressive.
Is 'good/superior intellect' the new slang for the Google search engine?!
:)
ha, good one...but, as with looking up a word in the dictionary, you have to know enough to have a starting point :)
Outstanding. Congratulations on the award, as it is evident it is well-deserved.
I too love the Japanese bloodgrass. I haven't had any luck with it here in zone 6b. Your garden is a real treat to see. Thanks!
Oh, to have that much room to garden! Just beautiful!!
Your pictures for today, Nancy, were a delightful treat and, thanks to it being a rainy morning, just whet my appetite to resee more of your garden sharings. So, yay for google searching. I got to watch your video on vimeo and really enjoyed seeing you in action and hearing about your love for gardening in your own voice. You have a truly beautiful garden and I agree with the others that the combo of plants that highlight that one section of the curve on the pathway is outstanding. I haven't forgotten that it is thanks to you that I hope to get in an order for some of the newer crocosmia varieties. I should probably do that sometime in Jan. come to think of it.
You are amazing with goggle. I'm on vimeo? Must be my daughter posted it as part of her portfolio, her short film. How are your new crocosomias? None of mine bloomed this year, so disappointed. Not enough sun? Lucifer did put on his show.
I didn't order any of the crocosmia last summer . I felt like I had read that spring was the best time to plant the corms so I was waiting until 206. And when to comes to your charming video, it doesn't seem fair that I have watched it and you haven't. Here's the link although if I am overstepping by sharing it publicly, just say so and I'll edit the link out.
https://vimeo.com/132035321
I'm so glad you posted this. I thought I had seen this, but I had not. What a delight.
Hi Michaele, no problem. You are amazing on goggle. I looked through 10 pages after I got home last night from Christmas shopping and never saw it. My daughter was taking a film class and was assigned a 2 minute film of an outdoor activity so she asked me if I wouldn't mind being her subject. She created interview questions, but didn't want the standard Q&A with a seated subject. Merry Christmas!
I guess I hit it lucky, Nancy. I typed your name plus the word garden and the vimeo link was on the first page of results. I also enjoyed watching a second one that seemed to be part of the same account. The "star" was Polly Moorland and she talks about Larriland Farm. Is she part of your family?
Polly is my mom. My daughter Miriam decided to do a short film about her life after my Dad passed. My sister and I get teary when we watch it. Wait a minute, I think you watched the farm one, the one about my Mom has a music track rather than dialogue. The farm one has my brothers, my sister, and my Mom talking about the farm. You can goggle Larriland Farm. It's a pick your own operation: strawberries, peaches, blueberries, raspberries, apples, and veggies.
Yes, the additional one I watched had your mom and other family members talking about the challenges of running the farm. We take so much for granted and viewing something like that helps to put things in perspective.
I also just watched the one that features just your mom with no dialogue. The background music was the perfect choice for the subject matter and the whole thing went straight to the heart. It was obviously filmed with great love and respect and is very touching. I can well understand why it evokes such emotion from you and your sister. It made me tear up as I reflected on my own mother's day to day existence during the years she lived alone. She has been gone for 8 years now but feelings can be stirred with the right trigger. My compliments to your daughter on her beautiful little film.
Nancy, this video below is so wonderful. From your beautiful, artful sentiment to your garden to the bird song; it just sent me to a wonderful place. Wow.
Thank you, Tim! Hope the garden looked good. I didn't remember that it was in spring. Seems you can never plant enough bulbs! I wish you and everyone from GPOD a very Merry Christmas.
Wow, Nancy. So great to see some more views of your amazing garden. Of course I love love love the brick walkway. That shot with the blood grass and hakone grass is outstanding. Every photo I've seen with the blue ceramic fountain shows how great those beds are in every season, and the fountain is a great focal point. In the third photo, in the back, in front/to the left of the gorgeous Japanese maple: is that a tree peony with the divided leaves?
Hi Tim. Yes that is a tree peony. Its leaves are flushed with maroon in the spring, which goes nicely with Crimson Queen maple before it flowers. I have a pic with it in bloom.
That is a stunning combination. I love the little echo of the Leucojum (?) below, too. I really like tree peony foliage. I even got some fall color this year on one of mine. How does that maple do in the fall-color category? Is it Crimson Queen?
Beautiful! Do you know the name?
Sorry, don''t know the name. A gift from a gardening friend who moved. Happy holidays.
PS: Not to take away from Nancy's day in the sun, but go up the the blog links to work your way to Diane LaSauces photos on GPOD yesterday. A link went out yesterday to Irvin and Pauline's garden again, but Diane's were posted and it looks like folks missed it.
Not surprised you won, Nancy! Those second and third photos say it all for me. What is it about a curved pathway that makes the view irresistible? I especially love it when your plants drape themselves over the edges, softening the look even more.
Gorgeous! So peaceful and natural. I'm not surprised you won.
Of course your garden won its portion of the garden contest. How lovely it is. You should be proud of your hard work. I also enjoyed the video that Meander1 posted. Vikki in VA
gorgeous
My kind of garden. Just beautiful!!!!
Nancy, your award winning garden definitely reflects your hard work and live of gardening. I just wish that you lived closer since it invites one to walk through. Just beautiful!
Gorgeous as ever Nancy! I hope they feature you in the magazine too.
Log in or create an account to post a comment.
Sign up Log in