Turning a New Leaf
Every six months Smithsonian horticulturists give the Haupt Garden a makeover from the roots up
- By Michael Kernan
- Smithsonian magazine, August 2000, Subscribe
Everything is blooming these days in the Enid A. Haupt Garden behind the Castle.
The parterre's geometric patterns are brilliant with masses of orange flowers and arresting foliage. Cascades of red and white blossoms spill from hanging baskets, and the garden's array of urns and planters are filled with all sorts of botanical wonders. Visitors relax on benches or wend their way along the paths, stopping to take pictures, inspect a fetching flower or breathe the fragrant air.
"I met a man who said he couldn't go to work unless he went through the garden first," said Shelley Gaskins, a member of the horticulture team that labors to keep the garden in tip-top shape. "So we need to keep changing it a lot."
A year ago this was a garden in the mind — to be precise, a garden in the minds of head horticulturist Michael Riordan and his colleagues, who right now are already thinking about next year's flowers. The team plants what amounts to a new garden every six months and completely redesigns the parterre about every five years. In addition to the formal parterre, the 4.2-acre Haupt Garden has shady nooks, fountain gardens and other inviting spaces.
With their elaborate designs, parterres remind me of plush decorative carpets. The nice feature about the one in the Haupt Garden is its ever-changing pattern; large diamond shapes and several scallop-shell designs dominate this summer's garden. The ridges of the shells are planted with small, round, greenish blue succulents called echeveria, and a green-and-white slender-leafed calico plant. Orange gazanias define the big diamonds.
"We try to think of unusual combinations of attractive colors and textures," said Meghan Brewer, another horticulturist. "This year the focus is on texture and foliage."
As they dug up the flower beds in late spring, I could tell the winter scene had been gorgeous. There were tulips, heather and more than 3,000 pansies — the workhorse of all winter gardens. Available in a rainbow of colors, these velvety-petaled flowers bloom through mild winters.
"We're always looking for something else for winter," said Riordan, "so often we use a lot of heather. It is hardy, it has an interesting form and it provides weatherproof color."
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Comments (1)
I don't really have a comment, but I do have a question: Yesterday afternoon I spent some (not nearly enough)time in the Haupt Garden. I came out of the Sackler (having just viewed the Buddhas)and entered the garden through the moongate (?) there. To the left of the stone gate (and in at least one other spot) there is a bush with clusters of yellow, trumpet-shaped blooms (not unlike 4 o'clock blossoms)and no leaves (that I remember). I saw no marker--could you tell me the name of the bush? Thank you.
Linda
PS--the garden was/is beautiful.
Posted by Linda Lundy on March 29,2011 | 03:25 PM