Our May meeting involved a fieldtrip to Cunningham Manor in Towson, an estate belonging to David Smith of the Sinclair Broadcast Group. Our hostess was Jodi Cantler, the garden manager who took on on a tour of the 30 acre garden (part of a 200 acre estate) surrounding the stone manor house. The owners fell in love with the “painterly” English garden style with “garden rooms” as espoused by Gertrude Jekyll and wanted to recreate the feel of being on an English manor.
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- Rustic path not taken
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- Group gathers to hear Jodi
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- Training vines
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- Some plantings at the top
The garden has a central axis flanked by pergolas draped with climbing roses and vines and is terraced beginning with the wide lawn overlook from the rear of the manor and three stairs: a central stone stair plus curving stone stairs leading from left and right of the upper (croquet) lawn.
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- The smaller arbor near the vines
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- Procession of planted pots at top of the lawn
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- Looking down the croquet lawn by the manor
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- View of stone stair and walls
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- Plantings by lower part of stairs
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- Walkway to stair on right
Stairs on left side
There were varied shrubs and small ornamental trees placed along the inside of the garden wall surrounding the terraces. Near the pergolas were large beds with emerging perennials and annuals, some of which were in bloom.
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- Left pergola
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- Lots of roses and vines
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- Outside right pergola
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- View from other end
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- Plants getting growth on
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- Haklone
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- Thrift?
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- Annuals
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- View of portion of one bed
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- Shade lovers
Rhododendrons in bloom by walls.
View of the mansion
There is a second step down with a formal rose garden with benches and ornamental container gardens to either side of the central grassy walk. We were not visiting during the major rose flush which was expected later in the month.
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- Clipped hedgins
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- Symmetry
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- Vones draped portions of walls
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- Formal garden
At the bottom of the terrace was a greenhouse and a cottage-office used by the garden management. Jodi said that they both grow some and purchase many of their young plants from particular companies to set out for the seasonal show.
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- True glass greenhuose
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- Potting areas galore
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- Some of the planting awaiting being set out
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- Nicely cone cold frames
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- Look at the beautiful lettuce!
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- Gardeners cottage
We would love to use a place like this ourselves!
We then followed a garden path outside the wall with woods to our left which opened to rolling lawn dotted with trees and visited the orchid house which had some interesting species in bloom.
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- On the way to the orchid house
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- OUtside the walls
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- Walkway leads toward parking area
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- Stone wall and woods
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- Rolling lawn
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- Fragrant Rosa rugosa outside orchid house
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- Admiring the orchids
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- Dancing Ladies??
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- Unusual orchid
This ended the tour and we concluded by lunching at Oregon Grill which had yummy food. We cast our votes for the incoming administration to be inducted at the June meeting at the Carroll County Farm Museum.
Jockey’s at entry to Oregon Grill.
Afterwards, a few of us visited Valley View Farms and made some plant purchases.
Stopped at Valley View Farms
