Briaridge Gardens is the name I gave my home when I moved here in 1985. It is a townhouse, in the middle of a six-house building, in East Greenbush, NY, five miles east of Albany. By the map, I am in Zone 5, but the site is variable, being hospitable to some Zone 6 plants (e.g., Corylopsis pauciflora), yet not to some Zone 5's (e.g., any of the Japanese maples).

The lot here is just 22' wide, but 55' deep in front and 80' deep in back (plus 20' belonging to the electric company, which I also garden). With small woody plants along both borders (erection of fencing not permitted, other than by the house), it gives me surprising privacy and the appearance of being much larger. An entrance patio is shielded by a Dwarf Sargeant Crabapple; a rear patio is flanked by fencing and partially covered by a 12' x 16' pergola. Extending back from the Patio Garden a series of rooms have been created - each with its own color scheme and unique plantings.

Color schemes vary somewhat from year to year in some rooms, but some themes have endured: bright, hot colors in the Front Garden, facing southwest; rich foliage shades with pastel flowers in the patio garden, partially shaded; a silver/gold/white/yellow garden with a large island in the center; a long garden flanked by several dogwoods, featuring pinks and purples (terraces climbing the Ridge and the Ridge itself continue this scheme); and a shade garden on the East Ridge, with wildflowers and hostas doing battle for my attention. A Black Oak (Quercus velutina) tops the Ridge. I planted it there in 1994, to be my only full-size shade tree.

This year I was inspired by my trip to England, on Mike and Kathy Shadrack's tour, to transform the Front Garden to feature red and black daylilies with some Euphorbias and Crocosmias as companion plants, in addition to some great plants already present. To this end, I have ordered some great reds from Jack Carpenter, Bob Scott and Michael Miller, to add interest to the border when HADS hosts the Region 4 Convention in 2010.

The island in the Silver/Gold Garden has been planted with Reed and Murphy UF's/spiders; a slope there, with Mason and Viette apricots, salmons and corals. A slope in the Dogwood Garden features cream UF's; an island on the Ridge has been replanted with pink and purple UF's. I also have lots of new woodies of the dwarf variety throughout the garden. A new friend with an outstanding home garden of dwarf woodies has given me additional inspiration. (Gareth's garden is in the October 2007 issue of Better Homes and Gardens. It is stunning!)

Anyone wanting more information on my plants, or more pictures of my garden (or my Egyptian Maus), is welcome to write at bthompso@nycap.rr.com. Hope you enjoy the view!      Betsy Palmer Thompson

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Site for week Jan. 12-18, 2008
By: chacha@abacom.com

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