Olwen Woodier 703 771 3056 olwenwoodier@cs.com
ELAN MAGAZINE MAY 2006
A COOK’S TOUR – GARDENS OF DELIGHT
FRAGRANT GARDENS and HERBAL DELIGHTS
Herbs deserve a place in every garden. No matter whether you plant them in a special bed or tuck them in among vegetables
and flowers, they'll reward you with a rich tapestry of textures and scents. And while nothing spices up a recipe like
the flavor of just-picked herbs, their aromatic leaves and flowers can extend well beyond the kitchen for use in potpourris,
perfumes, essential oils, medicinal tonics and even fabric dyes
You don't need a big plot to grow herbs. When space is tight you can include several varieties of variegated thymes,
oreganos, tri-colored sages, and hardy rosemary among the foundation plantings where they will thrive and flower for years.
Chives, parsley, dill, cilantro, tarragon and all the basil varieties available in such a wide range of shapes and
colors are perfect for adding to a flower border near the deck or anywhere easily accessible from the kitchen door.
Because so many of our favorite flowers—bee balm, purple coneflower, sweet
woodruff, scented geranium, potentilla, lambs ears, lavender, rose, viola, calendula, agastache, nasturtium, artemesia and
many other flowering plants -- are classified as herbs it would be possible to landscape your entire garden with
members of this large family. Even if your backyard is pocketsize you can still create compact herb gardens in window boxes,
half-barrels, and by grouping several containers on a deck. Or grow them in more abundance in small raised
beds conveniently located near the back door on a patio. The main consideration when choosing a location for growing herbs
is to place them in full sun in soil that drains easily.
The number of herb varieties you want to grow and the quantity of each will, of course, determine the size of your
herb garden. This year I have installed my largest herb garden of all times. In the past they have ranged from rock gardens
and border gardens to wood and brick raised beds and in shapes varying from circles and triangles to squares and rectangles.
My new bed is a 25 x 25-foot square containing triangles and circles filled with many varieties of herbs. The entire
garden is edged with lavenders and the pathways outlined with marigolds and thymes – plants not eaten by deer, woodchucks
or rabbits.
To fill this large garden I turned to my favorite herb vendor, Gardens of Delight, which is located near the Waterford
exit on Route 9 at Paeonian Springs and just a bare two miles from my farm off Canby Road. Gardens of Delight
lives up to its name by selling hundreds of herb varieties, and a wide range of flowering annuals, perennials, shrubs and
roses (the new Double Knockout roses and David Austin English climbing roses).
You can also find a range of small fruits – dwarf apple, pear and fig trees;
also blueberry, raspberry, blackberry, gooseberry, and current varieties – all of which are now growing in my small
fruit orchard. By the time this story appears in print, I will have also planted a range of vegetables
including several heirloom tomatoes and peppers grown from seed by Morgan Walker. “We seed and grow
more than 50% of the herbs, specialty annuals, vegetables, and heirloom tomatoes and peppers,” said Morgan. “As
the season continues and we sell out, we bring in others from regional growers like Jefferson Nurseries near Winchester and
also from Gilbertie’s in Connecticut.”
Oh my, what a
small, small world. When I planted my first herb garden in Katonah, New York, I bought my herbs from Gilbertie’s in
Westport, not far away over the New York state line and considered the premier herb grower in the region. I
also purchased Sal Gilbertie’s book “Herb Gardening at Its Best” (Atheneum 1978) and built my herb gardens
around his recommendations and designs. Naturally, I couldn’t resist coming full circle and, once again, have a few
Gilbertie-raised herbs growing in my new garden.
Gardens
of Delight is a family-owned nursery started in 2001 by Morgan Walker and her mother, landscape designer Andrea Watson.
It was the perfect business for this mother-daughter team. Morgan, who had graduated from Monroe VOTech (Leesburg)
and NOVA (Sterling campus) in Horticulture, had worked at Overbrook Nursery in Purcellville for five years. When
Overbrook became the John Deere Nursery she left with the idea of working for her mother’s design business.
Andrea Watson looked at the plot of dirt lying across the parking lot from her office in Paeonian Spring and a seed
was borne. The rest is now history. “We started with just a few tables and learned what to grow and
sell by talking to our customers and asking for their suggestions,” said Morgan.
Today, Gardens of Delight is the reigning queen of herbs in Loudoun particularly
since Kord Farm in Hillsboro and Windy Hill in Aldie closed their doors last year. Open seven days
a week, Morgan works with one part-time employee and Anita a full-time employee for the last four years. “Anita
really breaks her back and does a lot of the growing and potting, said Morgan. “It’s non-stop work early in the
season when we are starting seeds and throughout the spring when transplanting.”
There are specialty annuals to see to including canna, elephant ears, tuberose, datura,
fragrant heliotrope, and scented night-blooming moon vine, stock, phlox, and nicotiana. Besides the usual
run of vegetables, they seed a good selection of heirloom tomatoes including Brandywine, Striped German, Ox Heart, Italian
Costuluto, Cherokee Purple, and Black Prince as well as Gardener’s Delight, Lemon Boy and Beefsteak.
There are peppers to please everyone from sweet bell peppers and spicy Poblano and Anaheim to Hot Thai, Habanero and
the even hotter small ornamental pepper varieties such as Peruvian Purple, Medusa, and Fish.
In May they are particularly busy when
they host their annual Herb Festival for which Andrea Watson prepares lavender cookies and lemonade flavored with lemon-scented
geraniums. Watson, who worked for many years at Oatlands as assistant gardener before opening her own landscape design business
in 1989, is currently spending her time between Loudoun and Blowing Rock, North Carolina. Earlier this year she designed a
Community Vegetable and Herb Garden for the town of Blowing Rock and is busy overseeing the project as well as working on
the design of a large estate. “She is still very much involved with Gardens of Delight, making suggestions
and giving advice,” said Morgan. “She’s passing along the expertise and knowledge she’s accumulated
during her 30 years of garden design and planting.”
That legacy is obvious in all that they do at Gardens of Delight from the healthy beautiful
plants they sell, the floral design available for special events, garden installation and maintenance and the cute retail
shop selling ironwork and pottery garden accessories. This flowering oasis is more than just a delightful
experience, it also provides a welcome refuge right alongside busy Route 9.
Contact: Morgan
Walker, Gardens of Delight, Route 9, Paonian Springs.
Tel: 540 882 9113, Email: delightgardens@aol.com www.gardensofdelight.info
