Re: HILLSIDE GARDENS

Bobbie here in Gloucester, MASS -

I visited Fred McGourtie's Hillside Gardens a few years back...and thought I
would share a few thoughts.

Maybe this might be a new thread to the group - WHAT GARDENS have you
visited that we might be interested in hearing about and why?

Upon returning from a daylily long weekend garden tours in NY, Conn, Ma, we
searched out the McGourty's gardens in the northwestern part of Conn.  I had
recently read the Shade Garden Book and others in the area had recommended
taking a look-see.  Well worth hunting for!  Not the easiest to find, but
then we had no real maps, but the NE one, and were not sure what we were in
for, for roads etc.  By the time we found it, it was late in the afternoon
(we traveled 3hrs to get there), and we saw dark thunder clouds in the sky.
Windy roads and then suddenly, in what I remember as very rural settings,
was the entrance.  A beautiful old rambling NE house and huge barn and yes,
the hillside!

We parked in the rear, took a quick look at the organized sales/pot area,
said hello to Mr M, who was potting up things in the barn, and took a quick
look around, with those clouds making the scene darker by the moment!
Hills, a lot of wonderful old rock walls surrounded by large groupings of
plants, all in proportion to the environment -many things not even seen
before, just took our breath away. I remember large stances of astilbes and
astransia and of course the Cimifuga 'hillside or black beauty', which were
added to my lists of wants!  Then there was this experimental garden near
the entrance which I also found interesting.  Veggie type plants used as
ornamentals...and I tried to play with some here after that (chard, purple
orchra (sp))....if I recall that was the Mrs. M's experiments.

The whole thing is now lost in my memories, but was well worth the visit. It
was not like nurseries in this area, but more like THEIR gardens open, and
Oh, BTW, we sell some things! We stayed beyond closing time and in the
drizzle before the heavy rainfalls.  And of course came home with a trunk
full!

I have always wanted to go back there.

Bobbie
Bobbie Brooks,  MA    zone 6.5
Gardens In An Old Fashioned Way
http://daylily.net/gardens/bobbiebrooks.htm

--Original Message-----
From: Walter Cullerton <OXFORDWALT@AOL.COM>
To: shadegardens@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU <shadegardens@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU>
>I too put Hillside Black Beauty on my list after seeing a the Ann Arbor
>convention.  It is from Fred McGourty's Hillside Gardens in Norfolk, CT. A
>must see garden & nursery.  I grow Cimicifuga atropurpurea and it does
little
>for me in terma of color.  I also grow Brunette and it's better but still
not
>Hillside Black Beauty. I suspect as I acquire HBB this spring, I'll give it
>more sun as I believe (IMHO) that it needs some sun to show its best color.
>Walter Cullerton, Pineville, Bucks County, Pa/
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