Manor House Renovations

This spring I began renovations of the Manor House gardens.  This gorgeous old house is located down the lane from the heart of the farm giving it an even deeper sense of historic charm.  This house was constructed by the Warburg Family after the original Manor House (Which is now our pool facade and it's awesome!) burned in the 1930's.  I can tell that this house was special due to the little bits of old gardens that are left.   This summer I will add some perennial beds along the back wall of the patio and this fall I'll be starting to renovate the front!  I love these projects where the structure is mostly defined and all we have to do is tweak it a little and add the magic and the fluff!!!  I'll update as we continue on!

  There are a lot of Boxwood in the front of the house and a few larger ones at the back.  I added quite a few more, 43 I think, to the back patio to tie it in with the rest.  The larger Boxwood need a lot of rejuvenation, but I think as we tend to these old and long forgotten garden spots the life will spring right back into them!   Our Boxwood came from Saunders Brothers Nursery which is a great place to get quality box.  Their web site is full of info on the best varieties and cultivars!

Above: Old Lilacs with some pretty Peony, poppies, Daffodil and Iris that keep returning year after year!

Below:The beginnings of a new garden on the side entrance to the back patio.  This little bed is full of Artimesia 'Wormwood' which I love for it's ability to take a space over and for cutting!  It smells fabulous! 

Below: The renovated Back Patio!  This is such a sweet spot and I love the lay out.  Redoing this was so much fun!  I added lots of Boxwood so we have something to look at in the winter too! 

Above/Below: Beds bordering patio wall.  This wall looks out over the rolling green hills on the farm!  It's relatively shady back here which is nice in the heat of the summer! Above: Buxus 'Jenson' Mixed with Astilbe, Salvia, Dianthus, Day Lily and Sage All staying relatively small.  

Above: Buxus 'Jenson' a cute little box that I put in the beds along the patio wall.  They will stay little as not to interrupt the amazing view.

Above: One of two matching beds on either side of the main staircase.  The beds are lined with Buxus macrophyla 'Green Pillow' and a Beergarten sage at the corner.  Buxus 'Dee Runk' on the left with Buxus 'Green Mountain' following.  The lime green hosta add a pop of color.  I have put little patches of creeping and woolly thyme in these beds hoping to create a tapestry around the perennials and box woods.

Above: Buxus 'Dee Runk' My favorite columnar boxwood 

Below: Views of renovations

Below: This bed houses the A/C units but I love it just the same.  Simple and pretty with Day lily, Creeping Jenny and those Lime Green Hosta.  They were here when I arrived and I have enjoyed moving them around to show case them!

Below: The view from the Manor House back patio is breath taking !