Even better than finding the blueprint of the greenhouse adjacent to my house (formerly a barn)has been the discovery of the formal garden plans and plant list of the estate. Consisting of over 100 different plant types and 2000 individual plants, it is a wonderful view of what the back of the estate appeared to look like nearly 100 years ago.Looking at the lay out, I imagine the interplay between all the different plants and flowers during the differing seasons. Perusing the list, which conveniently has the Latin names of the plants, I find that many of the specimens planned for the formal garden exist (or have existed) in the more humble area of the barn (or my house).
Dogwoods (Cornus florida), asters, foxglove (Digitalis), and flowering crabapples (Malus) have a place in both locations. Part of both areas, my Rose of Sharon (Hibiscus syriacus) and hemlocks (Tsuga) have since died and I never have had a weeping cherry (Cerasus Rosea Pendula) on the property. On the other hand, the lovely native fringe (Chionanthus virginicus) and redbud (Cercis canadensis) trees have a happy home on my grounds and were not included for the estate (a definite oversight in my view).
