Choosing Magical Hillside Garden over Courtroom Drama

Some people get bored in retirement; others put off retirement because they fear that fate.   But for gardening fanatic Nell Strachan, retirement from the practice of law was totally liberating.  More time for the garden!  More time for public gardens, helping to make them better!  

So how about that garden of hers?  It’s so stunning, you have to ask how it got that way.  I’m happy to report she has an answer –  she learned everything she could from Master Gardener training, classes at Longwood Gardens, and years and years of gardening.   And she’s lucky to work collaboratively in the garden with Michael Rosendale, a superb gardener, garden designer and teacher of horticulture at a nearby college. Nell and husband Peter Ward have lived here in their Baltimore garden since 2001.  There’s more about them and their gardening travels here.  

Below, this shot just makes me wish I had outdoor cats.  Mr. Primrose here is so photogenic!  He’s posing in the only sunny spot on the property, alongside the street.

Imagine – this pond and shade garden are just outside your front door.

In the steep, wooded back garden, hardy begonias steal the show in September.

Next, the view of the house from the bottom of the back garden.

And from the top looking down from the deck?  Kinda scary for the height-averse, and there are plenty of visitors who won’t stand in this spot.

Hard to disagree with the quote on this sign displayed in Nell’s garden.   I bet no one’s ever accused her of being half-hearted about gardening.

.