(04-02-10)
David Culp’s Brandywine Cottage
I’ve always loved the genus Helleborus. But I don’t think I appreciated how beautiful and diverse they were until I was given the opportunity to visit the private garden of David Culp.
There is so much, yet so little, to say about this garden. David is a wealth of knowledge; his passion for horticulture is apparent within seconds of meeting him. But this garden speaks for itself, far and beyond anything I could say through my notes or with facts. So I’ll be keeping my commentary brief today. If you would like to know more (OR buy some of these amazing hellebore’s), please visit David Culps site.
(The garden is a total of 2 acres, much of which is a shaded hillside – currently overflowing with spring bulbs, perennials, and, of course, hellebore!)
(The house is an original 1790 cottage, complete with a charming well at its entrance!)
(Quite possibly my favorite, the Rock Garden was packed with rare species and colorful planting combination’s)
(One of the many colorful plantings – seen here in an old feeding trough!)
(Another container planting in the Rock Garden. I love the contrasting textures of the hellebore, pansies, grass, and spurge!)
(Everything in the garden is very picturesque – right out of a magazine photo shoot! These succulents were no exception.)
( Here David shows us some of his hellebore trial gardens in his production area. His passion is contagious!)
And now to the highlight of the garden, the hellebore! (They were not labeled and some are not in the trade or even named at all. Sorry that I can’t provide any names :-/) But they’re still beautiful to look at. As one (prior skeptical) attendee of the field trip said, “I always thought they were just hellaboring”. I think now he may have changed his mind!
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