Garden Descriptions
Saturday, May 20 & Sunday, May 21, 2023
1 – 5 PM | Downtown Frederick & Baker Park
2023 Garden Descriptions
Frederick County Master Gardener’s Demonstration Garden
330 Montevue Lane (University of Maryland Extension Office)
Developed and maintained by Frederick County Master Gardeners, this expansive space provides a comfortable and accessible place for the public to observe and learn about various horticultural and gardening techniques. The Bay-Wise certified garden is divided into several sections, including a Children’s Garden, a “Grow It, Eat It” area, a Woodland Edge space with native Hedgerow, and a variety of building landscape beds. The Garden also includes a designated Pawpaw patch, herb spiral, keyhole garden, espaliered fruit trees, a bat house, native bee houses, and a patio area with numerous container plantings. The garden showcases several stormwater management features with potential residential applications. Open to the public daily from dawn to dusk, the Garden is also the site of several Master Gardener Seminars as well as Story Times in the Children’s Garden. Signage and educational literature guide visitors, and certified Master Gardeners will be on site for garden related questions.
The Garden of David Twenhafel & Tamar Osterman
145 Kline Boulevard
This casual garden space has been thoughtfully designed to allow for a variety of uses, from entertaining and relaxing to the more practical – grilling, food production, and even laundry drying! A professionally hardscaped patio and firepit provided a welcoming gathering place for friends during COVID. It continues to be a setting for potluck dinners and gatherings. A shade garden designed by David softens a fence line and enhances a western corner where a perfectly situated bench offers shelter on hot days. A large, raised bed organic vegetable garden with integrated composting yields a bounty of produce that the homeowners preserve and happily share. A variety of herbs are also grown in the rear garden area as well as along newly installed beds flanking the front walkway. Yard art and bird houses abound. This garden is Bay-Wise certified and is an excellent example of how to grow vegetables and herbs in raised beds.
The Garden of Harriet Wise
24 Kline Boulevard
Designed for pollinators, this natural oasis provides endless enjoyment for the homeowner as she watches a variety of birds and insects thrive in the space. The plants and trees in the garden have been carefully selected to aid in providing pollinators with nourishment and shelter, and the majority are native to Maryland. In keeping with best practices for an effective pollinator garden, no pesticides have been used in this space. In addition to the plantings, the homeowner enjoys adding variety to the garden with large pots and containers situated throughout. This space is a superb example of how to transform a once “blank canvas” of a yard into a wonderful garden! The homeowner is a certified Master Gardener and is well known for her amazing perennial beds and gardening skills. Her newest garden installation is an excellent example of how to employ environmentally friendly gardening practices. Photographs of the garden taken by Harriet will be on display.
The Garden of Casey McCagh & Ted Lawson
10 Kline Boulevard
Visitors to this large corner lot garden will have fun touring both the front and rear gardens spaces. The family-friendly rear garden features an inground swimming pool, multiple seating areas and an amazing fire pit. The private rear garden area is ideal for entertaining – the homeowners have hosted wedding rehearsal dinners, pool parties, barbecues and afternoon happy hours in the garden. Whimsical touches abound throughout, including a fern garden, a fairy and succulent garden, and multiple planter pots full of lush plantings. The homeowner, a certified Master Gardener in Cumberland County, particularly enjoys dividing established plants and planting them in other areas of the garden – filling in every spot to minimize mulching! The homeowners have removed some invasive species and increased the biodiversity of their landscape. The space is also Bay-Wise certified. Before and after photos of the garden will be displayed to illustrate the stunning transformation the space has undergone.
The Garden of Pat Lipps
8 Kline Boulevard
The first things visitors will notice in the front garden at this property is the fabulous ornamental Deodar Cedar tree with its gracefully arching branches that just beg to be touched. A variety of smaller evergreen shrubs grace the front garden beds and brick walkway, providing both texture and curb appeal. When a home renovation project altered the rear landscape, the homeowner set out to create a casual, whimsical space this is distinctly her own. This personality-filled garden retreat provides the perfect backdrop for family barbecues and childhood play. The homeowner has carefully selected unique plants to attract bees, butterflies and local birds. She particularly enjoys tending her vegetable container garden and the peaceful setting of the small fishpond under the manicured Japanese maple. Perennials include hellebores, heuchera, hydrangea, yucca and groundcovers. The young and the young-at-heart will be enchanted with the fairy gardens, statuary, and planters and pots found along the mulched pathways. Creatures love the habitat she created!
The Garden of Lisha & Alex Utt
312 Upper College Terrace
This all-season outdoor space has played host to summer cookouts, Thanksgiving day cornhole tournaments and fall and winter evenings in front of the fireplace. A custom 8’ x 10’ greenhouse built by Hartley Botanic has been seamlessly integrated into the space with a stone base that matches the materials used to build the patio walls and fireplace. When selecting plants and trees, the homeowner has tended toward all things ‘blue’ with ‘Let’s Dance Rhythmic Blue’ Hydrangea, Blue Ice Cypress, Boulevard Cypress, Buddleia ‘Pugster Blue’ and Plumbago Ceratostigma. Whimsical statuary and pops of color from decorative containers can be found throughout.
Schley Park
301 N. College Parkway
This charming park was established in 1913 as part of the College Park residential development. It was designed by renowned landscape architect George E. Burnap, whose other work includes the Meridian Hill Park, White House Rose Gardens and the Tidal Basin. In 2000, Jean C. O’Connor founded the Friends of Schley Park and led efforts to rejuvenate the space. Today, the park features mature trees as well as plantings around five benches that are designed to attract and sustain butterflies and other pollinators. Many of the plants are native to the region. Look for the blue Bay-Wise sign, awarded by Frederick County Master Gardeners in 2018, which recognizes the use of sustainable landscape management practices. Noteworthy trees include a huge Deodar Cedar, maples, oaks, evergreens, and dogwood. Many of the plantings are labeled for your benefit. This public park is popular with residents and it’s hard not to slow your pace when strolling along its pathways.
Information about Bay-Wise and Pollinator-Friendly gardening practices, provided by Frederick County Master Gardeners, will be available in the Park on Sunday, May 21st.
The Garden of Neil & Kathy Fay
302 N. College Parkway
This tranquil, shady garden is designed with individual spaces for dining, intimate conversation and entertaining. Al fresco dinners around the fire pit with outdoor movies to follow are a particular favorite of the homeowners’ grandchildren. Certified Bay-Wise by the Frederick County Master Gardeners, the homeowners practice gardening techniques aimed at improving the health of local waterways, the Chesapeake Bay and the environment. One such practice is nurturing native plants such as the fifty-foot-tall American Holly tree that features prominently. Also found is a variety of vegetation suitable for shade gardening, with pops of color from containers placed throughout. The small front garden facing Schley Park contains three ornamental maple trees, foundation plantings of Nandina and Yew, and spring flowering bulbs.
The Garden of Kelly Russell
301 College Avenue
A nexus for the neighborhood, this inviting space is casual and family-friendly with bits of whimsy throughout. The most prominent feature is a raised vegetable garden that the homeowner tends alongside children from the neighborhood. Conceived eight years ago when the homeowner’s 5-year-old neighbor asked to grow a tomato plant together, the space has developed into an interactive garden for all the neighborhood kids. Friends and neighbors enjoy cookouts and parties in the warmer months, and even local dogs and cats are welcomed with treats or a drink of water at the pet station by the vegetable garden. A chalk painted rain barrel provides an artistic space for anyone wishing to add their personal touch to the garden.
The Garden of Ed & Laurel Mitchell
404 Rockwell Terrace
Featuring classic plant choices and a geometric design terrace, this garden is equal parts formal and family-friendly. The homeowners can regularly be found entertaining family and friends in the space. A favorite feature is a plunge pool with natural stone coping that seamlessly blends with surrounding stone walkways. Other impressive hardscapes include a marble checkerboard terrace complete with a custom fire bowl. This stunning garden was designed and installed by Old Towne Landscape Architects. The small, welcoming front garden facing Schley Park is tastefully planted with traditional evergreen shrubs.
The Garden of Paul & Nicole Goodwin
311 Rockwell Terrace
The traditional, compact, low maintenance front garden contains two Crape Myrtles and a beautiful Saucer Magnolia. Low boxwood hedges provide a bit of privacy to a spacious covered front porch. The expansive rear garden area is tucked behind a charming white picket fence. Gorgeous stone walls and an inviting stone patio area with direct access to the home provide the homeowners and their guests with a fabulous entertaining space ideal for dining al fresco, backyard barbecues and fall football parties. The stone fireplace extends the entertaining season of this outdoor space and provides a wonderful privacy screen. The spacious lawn is wonderful for play and games, and a relaxing seating area with Adirondack chairs is tucked away in the rear corner. Mature hardwoods provide shade during the summer months, while Cedars and other ornamental shrubs and plantings add texture and soften the fence lines.
Memorial Garden of All Saints Episcopal Church
106 W. Church Street
Founded in 1742, All Saints is the oldest Episcopal parish in western Maryland. The church is surrounded by three garden areas, the formal boxwood garden in the front, the memorial garden in the back and a small ‘secret’ green space on the Court Street side.
As you enter from Church Street be sure to notice the lovely boxwood that outline the front of the church with two Limelight Hydrangea standards flanking either side of the entry steps. As you move down the pathway to the memorial garden prepare for an open and peaceful space. Benches throughout the garden provide a quiet spot for lunch or just relaxing, while a tranquil waterfall feature encourages reflection or the remembrance of a loved one. Brick walkways, dotted by large decorative pots, allow you to explore all the nooks and crannies of this garden maintained by the church’s dedicated Garden Guild. The pond is maintained by Pond Pro LLC.
The Heritage Garden at Heritage Frederick
24 E. Church Street
The rejuvenated Heritage Garden is a hidden gem situated behind the c. 1824 Federal style Museum of Frederick County History (Heritage Frederick). The historic walled garden is a beautiful, peaceful oasis in the heart of Frederick that hosts a variety of outdoor activities including garden related exhibits, programming, children’s story time in the garden, as well as private and community events. This Bay-Wise Certified garden boasts some unique features: a rose pergola, 19th century medicinal garden, a shady garden featuring the Loats Little Library Box and a miniature play garden box, a formal boxwood garden, and a lovely lawn space for games, rest, and relaxation. Some interesting plantings to note include roses, Hollywood Juniper, a manicured old American Boxwood, Southern Magnolia, Crape Myrtles, Forest Pansy Redbud, and King’s Gold False Cypress. Handsome brick hardscaping showcases the popular Commemorative Brick Program. Large planters add color to the front streetscape and dot the rear garden area. Many specimens are labeled, and interpretive signage provides visitors with information about the gardens and how they have been utilized over time. Enter through the historic wrought iron gates towards the rear of the building. ADA accessible.
Information about Bay-Wise and Pollinator-Friendly gardening practices, provided by Frederick County Master Gardeners, will be available in the Park on Saturday, May 20th.
