It was cold and overcast when I checked in this morning at Gaiety Hollow.  Undaunted, Woody was on a ladder putting the finishing pruning touches on the sasanqua camellia for this season…

He explained about opening the interior of the plant this season and waiting for the new buds to form before he can prune front to back next year…

There were tools everywhere…

evidence of pruning…

David showed me the old gate that had been stored in the Deepwood coach house…this one designed by L&S about 10 years after the house was built…they replaced the architect Clarence Smith’s gate with one of their own design.

…similar in feel to this one they designed for a client in the 1930’s…

After about 60 years of service, it was replaced with this metal gate….

but now David and George have made a new wooden gate which will soon go here…

The allee and the flowering shrubs were in bloom…

but I thought you might like to see some of the vintage photos of the garden at this time of year…here it was in 1950…

and more…

1952…(the garden was 20 years old)

and the tulips…

See you next week!