Part I: The Outside

I have said it before and I will say it again... I am very lucky. I have great family and friends and one amazing person who is both. Our siblings have been married to each other for 20+ years, and M and I are aunt and uncle to their four great children.

When M invited me to stay at his Eastern Shore house for a few days, and to bring Connor along, I knew I was in store for a real treat. I'd been to the house once before since they moved in a few years ago, but hadn't spent time there.

When we got to M's early in the evening, Connor needed to be walked, so we took a stroll in the gardens, which have been a showplace for more than 40 years. There are two axis views, with the center-point being a graceful fountain and pond. Naturally, Connor fell into the pond, taking a drink and overstepping the edge.

There are both formal and informal gardens at the house, and many specimen trees, including a huge tulip poplar, evergreen magnolias and an allée of maples leading to the house.

The kitchen gardens are away from the house, out by the barn and are organically farmed by the charming Hope. Before I left to drive back to Baltimore, she packed me the most incredible basket of veggies, including home-grown artichokes! The farm also raises soybeans and corn. I've written about this over on my foodie blog.

The formal gardens are bordered by small ball-shaped boxwoods and rosemary plants. There are plants and shrubs, all in varying shades of green, which make up several themed gardens, including one with banana plants. There is a garden folly with an Edwin Lutyens bench and numerous urns and planters, all creating a unified vision of a formal garden, beautiful from all angles.

This is the view from the bench, through the folly to the river and below is looking to the folly.

The garden blooms throughout the summer, but it was mostly hydrangeas and elderflower blooming this past weekend, and tons of gorgeous lush magnolias, which smelled incredible.

As you brush against the rosemary borders of the garden, the smell just wafts along in your wake.
View from the window in the room where I stayed.
Stay tuned for Part II: The Inside. I will probably post it tomorrow. Also, check out my foodie blog for pictures of the kitchen garden and Betsey, the baby duck!