Garden Party 2018

In June, Carroll Garden Club met for our end of term Garden Party at the home of Corresponding Secretary, Nancy Riddle in Taneytown. Nancy lives in a charming 19th century log and stone home which was evident in the exposed timbers in the dining room. She is backed by acres of farmland and has some beautiful vistas from both the front porch and the backyard.

Our hostesses had decorated the front porch with a series of tables topped with lavender plants in decorative bags on attractive flowered tablecloths. They had prepared three delicious varied quiches, bacon wrapped asparagus spears, brussels sprout slaw and other puffed pastry savories. In addition they made cream puffs and eclairs, fancy cookies, macaroons and fruits for the desserts.

Then, it was the moment for our hostess, Nancy, to give us the official garden tour. At the date of our meeting, we had been enduring many cooler than normal days and perennials throughout our area were late to bloom. Therefore, anyone who had put in foliage shade plants was well served to see them stand in for the missing flowers. Nancy has perennial gardens along her walkway to the front porch and along the wing extension of her home dotted with different flowering shrubs. She has a number of mature shade gardens to the rear bordered with stone beneath tall trees. It was a nice area by the back patio to have a cookout and view both flowering and shade plants. Nancy mentioned how much she enjoys living there.

Perennials gardens along house:

Shade gardens in rear of house

Afterwards, we gathered around the swap area where members had brought plants to give away, perennials, annuals and vegetables. We were all happy to re-home many plants in our gardens–it’s fun to try new things!