A Visit to Penelope’s July Garden

Come July the often-frantic activities of spring gardening are behind us and the summer heat is moving in. It’s the perfect time to allow yourself to relax by taking a morning stroll through another hard-working gardener’s beautiful landscape. Join us for a visit to Penelope’s fabulous garden in Malvern which she describes for us below.

Within the 10 years that I have been gardening here, I have completely changed the biosphere. Starting with virtually a clean grass-and-mulch-filled slate, I have planted more than 50 trees, installed a 50' diameter yin yang meadow and small pond. The bird population has gone from about 10 species to more than 80.

Throughout the seasons, the garden transforms in color and texture, offering year-round interest and habitats for wildlife. I enjoy growing unusual food, like callicarpa, medlar, goji berry and filling the air with fragrance. A Barnes graduate, I was greatly influenced by my time there and have collections of cercis and hamamelis as well as other cool specimens.

The July garden features a flower filled meadow and a colorful pond garden whose plantings focus on attracting hummingbirds and butterflies. In addition, carefully selected companion plantings help maintain ecological balance and reduce the need for chemical interventions. July is also the beginning of bountiful harvests from the diverse annual and perennial herb and veg areas which include edible flowers as well as fruit and veg. A secluded area houses several honeybee hives to help pollinate all those edibles. I haven’t forgotten our native pollinators. The entire garden has tons of natives for all different kinds of pollinators, which I am guessing, is why we have all those birds!

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