Absentee Gardeners: Gardeners to Educate and Inspire

Gardeners to Educate and Inspire

Gardening is local: what works in your garden may, or may not, work in ours. Successful gardeners persevere, continually applying collective garden wisdom to our horticultural endeavors. Fortunately, here in North Carolina we have deep reservoirs of gardening knowledge to draw upon.

Two North Carolina women stand out: Elizabeth Lawrence and Nancy Goodwin. Elizabeth Lawrence (1904-1985) was the fi rst woman to graduate from the Landscape Architecture program at State College, now known as North Carolina State University. A graduate of Duke University, Nancy Goodwin is the owner of Montrose, one of the premier gardens in our state.

Elizabeth Lawrence

Elizabeth Lawrence was one of the fi rst people to explore and write about Southern gardening. Publishing her fi rst article in House & Garden when she was 32 years old, Lawrence went on to write six manuscripts, many articles for national publications and over 700 columns for the Charlotte Observer.

In my favorite book, “Gardening for Love,” she introduces us to the agricultural market newsletters of the day.

During the opening years of the last century, agricultural market newsletters connected farmers to each by providing a forum to advertise their livestock, seeds, tools, lands and labor. Their wives often placed notices for the garden seeds and plants they grew for their family.

Subscribing to market newsletters across the South, including the “North Carolina Agricultural Review,” Lawrence was a frequent customer for the woodland plants grown by a handful of ladies in Watauga County.

A dedicated correspondent, Elizabeth Lawrence would exchange detailed letters with the ladies selling their plants. Growing tips and progress reports went up and down the Elizabeth Lawrence was the fi rst woman to graduate from the Landscape mountain, along with Architecture program at State College, now known as North Carolina State updates on the weather University. Photo courtesy The Garden Conservancy and other rhythms of life. “Gardening for Love” was built upon the Nancy Goodwin correspondence between Lawrence and In the world of horticulture, Nancy the growers she worked with. Beyond this Goodwin is a living legend. She has crehorticultural exchange, I enjoy the peek ated a magnifi cent garden at Montrose into mountain life in the 1950s and 1960s. in historic Hillsborough, a garden that

In 1948 Lawrence moved from Raleigh will live in posterity for North Carolinians to Charlotte, where she purchased a through the establishment of the Monhouse in the city on one-third of an acre. trose Foundation. Turning her yard into a “living laboratoIn the late 1970s, Craufurd and Nancy ry,” she was constantly observing those Goodwin moved to Montrose, an estate plants that did well and those that did originally owned by North Carolina not survive. This information became the Governor William A. Graham and his basis for much of her writing. descendants. Hillsborough’s wonderful

In 2008, the Wing Haven Foundation soil attracted Nancy, an ardent gardener, purchased her home, which is now recwhile the house was large enough to hold ognized as a local historic landmark. It is their vast collection of Bloomsbury art. also part of the Smithsonian Institution’s For 10 years, 1984-94, she ran a nursery “Archives of American Gardens” along at Montrose, a nursery that old-time garwith being a “Preservation Partner” of the deners still talk about because she carried Garden Conservancy. The Wing Haven rarely seen plants in her catalogue. Along Foundation is looking forward to reopenthe way, she added her plant introducing the garden for events in the future. tions, such as Heuchera ‘Montrose Ruby’ that is still a popular plant in nurseries to-

writer for both The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times. And then she wrote “Montrose,” which describes in detail the vast garden she created and its changes throughout the year. In gardening zone 7, Nancy demonstrated that the garden can support blooms 12 months a year. In fact, she is a huge fan of the Nancy Goodwin has created a magnifi cent garden at Montrose in historic Hillsborough. Photo by John Thomas winter garden. To understand Monday. This particular heuchera hybrid with trose, it’s necessary to see Nancy as an its silver markings opened up the market artist who paints with plants. Her knowlto new heucheras – suddenly gardeners edge of plants runs deep — she can tell realized that heucheras could appear in a you the history of the largest tree down to myriad of colors. the smallest cyclamen.

The creation of the Montrose garden Her garden rooms are based on benefi tted North Carolina readers bethemes, some of which are moored in cause Nancy has managed to write two color whereas other areas are built around books as well as edit Elizabeth Lawrence’s contrast. The walk leading to the front posthumous notes on rock gardening in door harbors the famous Dianthus Walk, her spare time. One of her books is the which was breathtaking until the deer delightful “A Year in Our Gardens” she took over and demolished it. Eventually wrote with Allen Lacy, a former garden the Goodwins were forced to erect a huge

screened fence around the garden to protect the plants – and the Dianthus Walk has begun to reemerge.

In the winter in the woodland section, the hardy cyclamens dominate, creating huge swathes of color and form. Her winter garden harbors many hellebores, including the charming H. niger, reputedly the most diffi cult of the hellebores to grow.

During normal times, Montrose is open by appointment. Twice each year Nancy holds garden days, inviting members of the public to come and feast their eyes. For more information on Nancy’s creation, visit www.montrosegarden.org.

Simply put, both Elizabeth Lawrence and Nancy Goodwin have done so much to educate and inspire gardeners in North Carolina and throughout the South.

Lise Jenkins & Kit Flynn

Absent from their gardens, Kit and Lise enjoy roaming our region exploring the intersection of horticulture and suburban living. More on Instagram @AbsenteeGardener or email: info@absentee-gardener.com.