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June 3, 2012

Tour Farrington’s Grove gardens

Donna Christenberry Special to the Tribune-Star

TERRE HAUTE — From Victorian gardens to native Indiana plants, from large yards to small, the 2012 Farrington’s Grove Garden Tour offers something for everyone. The self-guided tour will be open from 1 to 5 p.m. June 10, when five locations will open their gardens for the public to enjoy the colors of the summer season.

Tickets for the event are $2 per adult and can be purchased on site that day or in advance at the Vigo County Historical Museum at 1411 S. Sixth St. Children may attend for free if accompanied by an adult. The ticket will allow admission to all five gardens. This is an inexpensive opportunity to treat friends and relatives to a pleasant afternoon.

Visitor can see the gardens in any order. The five locations on the tour are 800 S. Sixth St., 1515 S. Sixth St., Anthony Square at 500 College Ave., 1438 and 1444 S. Center St., and 1201 S. Center St.

800 S. Sixth St.

A lush rose bush that has long stood at the corner at 800 S. Sixth St. gives only a hint of what awaits in the backyard of Dan and Kaylynn Sanders. As visitors go through the iron gate into the courtyard entrance, to the left and right of the sidewalk are autumn ferns with a golden edge to the green leaves. Shade-loving hostas with huge 10-by-8-inch leaves hug the base of the wisteria tree, and chameleon plants with watermelon-colored leaves of green, yellow and pink add spots of color. In a corner to the right, a fountain bubbles.

Past the courtyard, a wrought-iron fence encloses flowers and herbs. More chameleon plants edge the outside of the fence, gaining more color from the sun. Orange Asiatic lilies and pink Stargazer lilies show their summer glory, and ornamental sweet peas – not the edible kind – climb the fence.

Red-brown leaves of coral bells provide a base for the stalks from which bell-shaped flowers hang. Near the fence is some Sweet Annie, a small fragrant fern-like plant that Kaylynn uses for wreaths.

Herbs to the right and rear in the enclosed area include comfrey with long narrow leaves and clusters of purple flowers hanging like bells, as well as mint and spearmint. Also within the fence is chamomile with its small white daisy-like flowers. A large red ceramic pot contains pungent rosemary and sage.

As one turns around from the wrought-iron fence to face the courtyard entrance, one sees a 4-foot high bronze fennel plant spread its delicate fern-like leaves along the wood fence, under the branches of the gingko tree.

Further down the fence is a moss rose known as Chapeau de Napolean; the feathery appearance of greenery on the rosebud before it blooms resembles the military hat Napolean wore.

By the wooden fence along the alley is a border of orange lilies, with a dark red Falstaff rose in the corner.

Raised beds bounded by logs in the yard hold annual flowers and more herbs, such as oregano and a variegated sage plant, unusual for its yellow and green leaves. Adding fragrance are thyme plants, small bushy herbs with one-quarter-inch leaves.

Beyond the wrought iron fence are beds of flowers that existed before the Sanders family moved in. Huge groupings of daylilies and tiger lilies grow profusely in the yard and under trees. Kaylynn has added some tulips to the mix. Along the south side of the house are more hostas and spring-blooming lilies of the valley along with spiderwort, which produces a cluster of purple flowers that look like purple stars.

1515 S. Sixth St.

As visitors go to the backyard of Jim and Cyndee Jenkins at 1515 S. Sixth St., the palms by the inlaid tile table with umbrella lend a tropical feeling.

To the right, as visitors enter the backyard, an iron fence encloses a garden of herbs and flowers with a preponderance of purple, which Cyndee said is her favorite hue. The liatrice has long spiky leaves and purple spiky blossoms. The hyssop is slightly bushy, with tall stalks and dark purple flowers running up the stalk.

To the right of the garden gate along the path are the needle-like leaves of a rosemary bush that grew profusely in the past year. By the fence is apple mint, with fuzzy leaves like a lamb’s ear. To the right of the fence gate and near the front is a low-lying lemon thyme bush, about 8 inches tall, with small purple flowers.

The iron fence also encloses a bit of history, as it contains ornamental stones salvaged from the old Terre Haute Gas Co. building on Cherry Street and the old Central Christian Church.

Family history is there, too, in the form of two pumps that belonged to Cyndee’s family. Behind the bubbling fountain are gray-green Russian sage plants, also producing purple flowers.

Past the iron fence is a topiary, with several neatly trimmed balls of evergreen, and a bamboo plant whose variegated green and white leaves look like cornstalks. A nearby elderberry bush has purplish-green leaves with a delicate look reminiscent of Japanese maples.

Several rose bushes nestle against the back fence, and in the corner stand several varieties of ornamental grasses, ranging from 4 to 5 feet tall. Visitors continuing along the side fence will see a river run birch; its thin bark resembles pieces of paper, peeling away from the trunk. A hydrangea bush nearby puts forth snowballs of white blossoms.

Anthony Square, 500 College Ave.

Two homes in Anthony Square will be on the Farrington’s Grove Garden Tour. To see them, go to the main building at 500 College Ave., then go to the gate at the right of the building leading into the courtyard. Volunteers will guide visitors to the homes of Byron and Laura Hayworth and Bill Oeding, which provide excellent examples of landscaping done in a small space.

At the Hayworth home, a metal sun sculpture divides the outdoor seating area from a garden of various textures, colors and shapes. A mandevilla with pink trumpet-shaped flowers winds up a wire tower; Hayworth said the mandevilla can climb up to 18 feet tall. A nearby small bush blooms with coral clusters of flowers that look like mini-lilies, while purple fountain grass provides a backdrop to the colorful flowers.

Three containers are filled with calla lilies, while at ground level, yellow, orange and hot pink canna flowers burst from broad leaves. Look for the red dahlia in a white vase, and don’t let its leaves fool you. The leaves may resemble poison ivy leaves, but the dark red dahlia flower sports a full blossom of spiky, pointed petals.

Near the edge of the back porch is a hibiscus flower, which produces pink blooms as big as a dinner plate. By the wooden fence is a miniature pink rose.

The Oeding home will have a variety of lilies.

1201 S. Center St.

At the Rod and Jackie Bradfield home at 1201 S. Center St., they like to incorporate some native Indiana plants into their garden. One such plant is the Indiana columbine, planted by the yew hedge in the front yard; the plants have full, rounded leaves and tiny orange flowers that hang down.

In the tree row are yucca plants, with long thick leaves and a thick stalk that produces a series of white flowers. Large rocks and a bush with fern-like leaves and yellow blossoms create a rustic effect.

Along the front walk are blue balls of a fern-like plant and pink, cup-shaped flowers known as balloon flowers. While walking to the backyard, notice the lamb’s ear plant by the yew hedge. From its shape, it’s easy to see where the name is derived. It’s as soft as a lamb’s ear, too.

The backyard contains several rose bushes, and scattered among them are small glass bird baths of various hues. Whimsical decorations of the sun, moon and other items hang on the wooden fence on the right. To the left, pink, purple and blue snowballs of flowers adorn the hydrangea bushes. Native Indiana ferns find a comfy spot in the shade, as do the broad-leafed hostas.

1438 S. Center St. & 1444 S. Center St.

Ted and Eileen Prose at 1438 S. Center St. and Sheldon and Carole Buskirk and Glenn Cass at 1444 S. Center St. have combined efforts for the garden tour. While the entire Buskirk/Cass yard will be on the tour, only the front yard at 1438 is on the tour.

The families collaborate on the flowers between the two houses. Along the brick path are smaller plants such as petunias with trumpet-shaped pink blossoms, orange marigolds and dusty miller plants with gray-silver leaves.

Slightly taller are the coral bell plants, which produce tall thin stalks with clusters of little bell-shaped flowers. Look for the different varieties of coral bells, some with green leaves, others with purplish leaves, and still others with pale yellow leaves. Also between the two houses are several types of Asiatic lilies, with blooms of red, yellow and orange.

Stella d’oro lilies, bushy plants about 18 inches tall producing yellow blooms, line the picket fence in front of 1444, and rose bushes are planted in front of the home. Under the tree in front of the house are pink impatiens with 1-inch blossoms.

At the two entrances to 1438 S. Center St., yucca plants stand guard on each side, with white flowers lining a thick stalk that emerges from a bush of long, thick foliage. The shady front yard is filled with lily-of-the-valley plants that produce small white blossoms in the spring.

Eileen Prose said they planted the yuccas because “they remind us of Greece; they’re prevalent on the islands.” Her attitude toward gardening is encouraging to homeowners thinking of brightening their yards. “I’m not knowledgeable about plants, I just see what I like and plant it.”

 

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