July 2017 Summer Tour–Rock On

In July, we visited the gardens of our new CGC recording secretary, Karen Rock, who lives up and away in the northern part of Carroll County in the direction of Littlestown.  If there was one adjective that encompassed the feeling it would be “Impressive!”

Karen’s place is a cute A-Frame which would not look out of place in a vacation home. She has built what might be garden rooms to reflect various types of plantings and everywhere was a tribute to hardscape (and the Rock surname) in many shapes and forms from gravel to carefully placed boulders to pavers. She and her husband personally selected and installed many of the hardscape areas through sheer muscle power. Together they have built a place of beauty.

The first area that stood out was a planting of bright red Crocosmia (Lucifer) and the plantings near the door.

Immediately opposite was a small cottage garden style area with stepping stones.

Proceeding down the driveway, this little statue birdbath caught the eye, before reaching a large paved area where club members were gathering for conversation and the tour. The Rocks had built a charming planted pond right next to their covered patio to enjoy.

There are some cute  sheds with decorative appointments  and a greenhouse surrounded by hardscape with a seating area that provides a view of the yard downhill. It would make a nice location for some Martin boxes.

The area around the sheds was built up to provide planting areas for plants that love sun and good drainage–case in point: sedums. Along the top level, there were beds of perennials or annuals and on the far side, Karen has her vegetable garden where she plants out seedlings from her greenhouse. Downhill a bit, she has planted a circlet of pollinator friendly cottage garden type flowers for bees and butterflies.

Next we toured the side yard where there were many young shrubs growing and a unique placement of three “planting fences” for privacy; Karen explained her rural road was busier than one might imagine. One side of each structure has shade loving plants and the other gets more sun. This also provides an area to place decorative items. There was also a berm planting in this area in front.

It was obvious that trees are a greatly beloved feature of this garden, since Karen has planted many different kinds from shade to fruit trees. We noted that the Japanese beetles had provided some inadvertent “art” as their feeding patterns resulted in these lacy leaves.

Afterwards, we adjourned to the patio for refreshments and conversation.
We very much enjoyed our visit!