Memorial Day weekend is a big weekend for gardeners. Nurseries are teeming with bright-colored annuals, perennials in full bloom, and a seemingly endless selection of flowering plants, shrubs and trees. It’s enough to make even the most experienced of gardeners a little bit crazed.

And happily, that’s were Hillwood Estate can come into play. With its treasure trove of free ideas, Hillwood Gardens has been a top destination for gardeners for years seeking inspiration on how to combine colors, textures and forms into stunning garden compositions.

Last week, ahead of Memorial Day, I decided to visit the garden to see what the talented Hillwood staff had come up with to kick off their summer display.

ABOUT HILLWOOD

Perched on a hilltop overlooking Washington, DC, Hillwood’s garden comprises 13 acres of formal garden rooms and woodland extending out from behind the property’s main brick house. Tall hedges enclose many of the rooms, providing tantalizing views into other spaces through ivy-draped archways. A pair of stone rabbits mark the main entrance to the garden.

To the right of the house is the French parterre. Adhering to French principles of formal design, it is composed of symmetrical planting beds bisected by narrow gravel pathways. A small watercourse flows from the front of the garden to its focal point at the back, a statue of Diana. The moving water, combined with the crunch of gravel, add an interesting ‘sound’ dimension to the garden.

As you travel through the garden, vintage blue and white chairs from the 60’s, as well as blue metal umbrellas, provide a fun place to rest. Below, four chairs encircle a delicate metal table formed of flowers and leaves. The vivid blue color contrasts coolly with the deep green hedges while livening up the landscape.

The formal Rose Garden includes a raised brick arbor covered with climbing roses. The garden is broken into quadrants, each of which features a single species of floribunda rose. The massed groupings make a bold color statement and add to the geometry of the garden.

Successful gardens are made up of much more than color, however. And Hillwood Gardens staff excel at combining different kind of shrubs to add texture, shape and form to the garden. Here, globe-shaped cedars contrast neatly with smaller-leaved  hollies and azaleas framed by a deep green ivy hedge.

Planters provide key focal points and help draw the eye around the space. There are many, of all different styles, positioned throughout the gardens. Below, a stone planter of tall red/green caladium, lipstick red begonia and trailing English ivy demonstrates the design principle of  ‘thrillers, fillers and spillers,’ where plants are grouped by height, impact and the overall role they play in the container.

Positioned at the edge of the woodland, large groups of lilies-of-the-valley can be appreciated up close for their tiny bell-shaped flowers.

Much of Hillwood Estate’s flowers are grown right in its own greenhouse. The impressive structure is surrounded by perennial gardens. Here, the rounded forms of deep pink and salmon-colored roses set up a nice contrast with the loose spikes of silvery-blue nepeta (catmint.)

While on the other side of the garden pathway, lemon yellow bearded irises and pillars of soft pink digitalis (foxglove) combine with nepeta to form a pastel composition.

To learn more about Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens, their programs and horticultural displays, click here for their official website.

 

 

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