Garden Tour 14-May-2006

The Tours on Sunday, May 14, took us to:

Reiley Ridge Nursery

Reiley Ridge Nursery, the extensive garden that Ed Reiley and his wife Mary have amassed over many years, will be a featured stop on this tour. The garden is located in western Maryland, but contains a large rhododendron garden on many acres. The lovely landscape is filled with mature plants. Ed Reiley is past President of the American Rhododendron Society and received the ARS Gold Medal in 2004. He has also authored several books on horticulture and recently updated his excellent book, Success with Rhododendrons and Azaleas, Second Edition.

White (Harding) Garden

Mike and Debby White run a small nursery on the land adjacent to that of his late grandfather, George C. Harding, one of the founders of the Azalea Society of America.

Beaudry Garden

The Beaudrys have an extensive collection of rhododendrons on over 2 acres, including many rare Dexters and other East Coast hybrids, as well as species, evergreen and deciduous azaleas, wildflowers, and companion plants. They also have many of their own rhododedron hybrids that they have developed over the years.

McCrillis Gardens

McCrillis Gardens was donated to the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission in 1978 by its owners, William and Virginia McCrillis. Assistant to the Secretary of the Interior under Presidents Roosevelt, Truman, and Eisenhower, William McCrillis amassed an impressive collection of azaleas, rhododendron, and companion plants until his death in 1979.

Maintained today by Brookside Gardens, the five acres surrounding the stone house have been refined as a premier shade garden made possible by the extensive managed canopy of native deciduous trees. Choice ornamental trees and shrubs, bulbs, ground covers and shade-loving perennials have been added to the already impressive list of original plants.