The benefits of visiting other gardens

I love spending time in my garden. Whether I'm attacking a new crop of weeds, spreading a lovely thick layer of compost, planting new flowers, or just enjoying a cup of tea from a cozy seat, being in the garden restores my peace.

One of the things I appreciate most about gardening, though, is that the work is never complete. The garden evolves year after year. Some plants flourish, some die, and some simply don't work, so the process of designing the garden continues. If you ask me, that often requires inspiration. I get a lot of inspiration from keeping my subscription to The English Garden current and watching the BBC's Gardeners' World religiously. I regularly cut out photos from the magazine and pin them to bulletin boards I've hung along one wall of my studio, which functions as a sort of a gallery of garden design ideas.

But nothing is more inspiring—and rejuvenating—for a gardener than visiting other gardens, especially the grandest ones. Even if you don't have a garden, visiting one will surely restore your soul. I've seen the Atlanta Botanical Garden work wonders on the many friends I've taken along with me. As soon as we step through the entrance and into the garden, their faces change, and they seem totally at ease. And if you are a gardener, well, you'll feel as if you've finally found your place in the world. My mom and I can attest to that—we've visited many of England's most famous gardens and attended the Chelsea Flower Show, and I think we're always our most joyful when immersed in a garden where the designer (or the head gardener) seems to have gotten everything right. And in no time, we'll be developing a list of changes we'll make to our gardens when we get home.

The hunt scene at Ladew Topiary Gardens

For the last couple of years, I've been thinking that my garden just isn't as lovely as it could be, but I haven't really felt confident about making adjustments. I've had plenty of inspiration from Gardeners' World and The English Garden, but it hasn't compelled me to do anything. Sometimes, you really do need to walk around a garden and be a part of it. I've been missing that a bit, but that all changed last week. I went on a solo, self-directed garden tour in the Philadelphia area, and I can tell you that the gardens wholly revived me and have lit a fire in me. Over three days, I visited Ladew Topiary Gardens, Winterthur, and the jewel in the crown (if you ask me), Chanticleer. They all gave me great ideas that I'll be implementing throughout this growing season, but most importantly, they gave me a new perspective on my garden.

Allium punctuating a long border at Chanticleer

I'm definitely adding a lot of allium bulbs in various places this fall. In all three gardens, the alliums were in various stages of their bloom cycle, and they added so much visual interest and height. I'm also incorporating just a few more water elements—at Chanticleer, I spotted several shallow, water-filled glazed pots that the gardeners floated flowers in. It's a great way to highlight the range of flowers in bloom at any time, and it's a charming addition to a seating area.

More is magically more at Chanticleer

I've also decided to implement a rule I recently learned from an online course led by a British garden designer—space plants, on average, 18 inches apart. In other words, stuff them in cheek by jowl. Chanticleer really brought that lesson home. It reminded me so much of Great Dixter, my favorite garden in England, which is downright frothy, largely because it's stuffed with plants.

Brilliantly layered planting at Winterthur

Winterthur and Chanticleer also provided plenty of encouragement to work on layering in the garden. With the right layering, you can lead the eye across an entire view. Thanks to Chanticleer and Winterthur, I'm now convinced that dogwoods are ideal trees to bridge the gap between the garden beds and the tall trees in the landscape, so I've also declared that we'll be getting a good-sized dogwood tree for the bare corner of our front porch .

The waves of Nepeta (catmint) growing at Chanticleer were really my biggest takeaway. They provide great height and color, and once I got home and researched them a bit more, I discovered that deer and rabbits generally avoid it—and since they've been decimating my Rudbeckia (black-eyed Susan) and other plants in the front border, I've already planted a few in the hopes that it will provide a protective natural fence in addition to more depth to the plantings.

The garden is starting to sing here

After immersing myself in magnificent gardens for three days, including those at the fantastic bed and breakfast that served as my home base, you might think I would return home and think quite a lot less of my gardens. That's what I expected. But when I arrived and walked around the gardens, I could see just how much I've accomplished here over the last 10 years, and really, they are beautiful. Now that I have a more precise idea of where to make adjustments, I think this year (and next) could be the very best growing seasons yet.

Where can you go to get a little inspiration for your garden? You likely don't need to go far—but if there's a special garden further afield that you've really wanted to see, it's probably time to start planning your trip. I'd love to hear all about where you go!

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