gardenscapes
creating landscapes for a lifetime
[email protected] • WWW.NLDESIGNSVT.COM • 802.236.3161
ISLAND SHADING SYSTEMS
shades • blinds • window tinting
since 1998
BLOCK ISLAND • KILLINGTON • STRATTON
Susan Malone Hunnewell • 802-747-8248
[email protected] • www.islandshading.com
Equinox Valley Nursery
Truly A Gardener’s Delight
D EDICATED TO PROVIDING
EXCEPTIONAL PLANTS & INSPIRATION.
C ELEBRATING 37 YEARS AS YOUR
HOMETOWN G ARDEN C ENTER!
Extraordinary selection of
Herbs &
Vegetable Plants
Choice Perennials &
Specialty Annuals
17 Greenhouses, 4 acres of
Premium Nursery Stock
Come explore our four
seasons garden center
and gift shop.
1158 Historic Route 7A, Manchester, VT
802-362-2610 • www.equinoxvalleynursery.com
66 manchester life | www.manchesterlifemagazine.com
It is not surprising the garden gathers
notice. Oriented toward Dorset West
Road with no visual impediments,
the collection is ostensibly sited for
the road-side observer. Seemingly
extroverted with its unabashed
beauty and uninhibited magnificence,
this garden could not be accused of
hiding its light beneath a bushel.
On a midsummer’s day the colors
are ebullient with candy-pink phlox
(Phlox paniculata) bouncing off
the multihued blues of speedwell
(Veronica spicata) and delphinium
(Delphinum sp.). The varied yellows
of yarrow (Achillea ‘Coronation
Gold’), threadleaf coreopsis (Coreopsis
verticillata), perennial sunflower
(Heliopsis helianthoides), and daylily
(Hemerocallis spp.) all vie for attention.
Mr. Brockway, a fan of bold color,
insists on a yearly planting of dahlias
so that bulleted points of crimson will
intermittently explode into view.
While the planting does not follow
strict guidelines of structure or
style, it is fair to say that it has a
strong English garden sentimentality
with cottage-garden tendencies.
Many of the Brockways’ favorite
plants contribute to this character:
delphiniums, hollyhocks (Alcea rosea),
goats beard (Aruncus dioicus), peonies
(Paeonia sp.), irises (Iris sp.), and purple
coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) to
name a few. According to the garden’s
original owner and designer, Ellie
Banks, there was no paper plan or
strict style. Modestly, she explained,
“It just grew.”
Mrs. Banks was also responsible for
the garden’s installation, which was no