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Shelburne Farms: The Formal Gardens

August 31st, 2016

On the second day, we went back to Shelburne farms for a tour of the house and gardens followed by afternoon tea. The formal gardens are fairly new, they’re currently being restored to their former glory. There’s a long way to go yet, to get them back to their prime, but there is still a lot of beauty in them. The perennial borders and the rose garden were both very lovely. I really love the hardscaping in a formal garden. It’s generally quite an expense, which is probably why I appreciate it. I know that I will never had hardscaping that comes close to the amazing things seen in this garden.
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I loved this giant plant by the back door, I’m not sure what it is (perhaps one of you will know), but I must get some for my garden. With the size/scale of my garden, this plant would fit right in here!
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Inside the house there were arrangements here and there, all lovely and all from the gardens, many from the market garden cutting garden.
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This garden will get better and better as the years go by. Our guide was telling us about the future plans to restore certain areas. The peony garden and rose garden will fill in and look better and better with each passing year. Shelburne Farms is a must visit if you’re a gardener.

What’s your favorite formal garden feature?

See more posts about Shelburne Farms:
Shelburne Farms
The Market Garden
The Edible Garden

3 Comments to “Shelburne Farms: The Formal Gardens”
  1. Christine on August 31, 2016 at 5:41 am

    I think the big plant you admired is Macleaya cordata, the ‘plume poppy’. Apparently you can also grow it from seed – good luck!

    Reply to Christine's comment

  2. Nebraska Dave on August 31, 2016 at 8:16 am

    Susy, yes the hardscaping is one of my favorite things in a formal garden. I’m working on mine but it’s been with rocks that have formerly been used for retaining walls. My neighborhood is filled with those rock retaining walls. When I see one coming out, I try to get there in time to be able to get the rocks. They are perfect for garden raised beds and other hardscaping projects. And they are free. That’s the best part. With a little work and creative thinking, rocks can spruce up a garden pretty good.

    Have a great memory day of visited gardens.

    Reply to Nebraska Dave's comment

  3. Charlie@Seattle Trekker on August 31, 2016 at 12:46 pm

    Such a gorgeous garden, thanks for sharing a walk through in your photos. I always find new ideas in these shared experiences that I can use in my garden, it is especially useful to see plants that I’d like to add in the context of the garden when they mature.

    Reply to Charlie@Seattle Trekker's comment

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This is a daily journal of my efforts to cultivate a more simple life, through local eating, gardening and so many other things. We used to live in a small suburban neighborhood Ohio but moved to 153 acres in Liberty, Maine in 2012.

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Shelburne Farms: The Edible Garden

The first day we went to Shelburne Farms was spent looking around the barns, talking to the cows, pigs, chickens,...

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