Fall at Brandywine Cottage
Carolyn’s Shade Gardens is a retail nursery located in Bryn Mawr, PA, specializing in showy, colorful, and unusual plants for shade. The only plants that we ship are snowdrops and miniature hostas. For catalogues and announcements of events, please send your full name, location, and phone number (for back up use only) to carolyn@carolynsshadegardens.com. Click here to get to the home page of our website for catalogues and information about our nursery and to subscribe to our blog.
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I recently had the privilege of visiting Brandywine Cottage, the house and gardens of horticulturalist and author David Culp. I have toured these extraordinary gardens many times over the last 20 years, but always in the winter and spring as David and I share a passion for (or should I say obsession with) snowdrops and hellebores. The arrival of a special shipment of snowdrops from England gave me an excuse to make the trip and experience Brandywine Cottage in October.
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Looking down on the gardens from the driveway.
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Among his other accomplishments, David Culp is the author of The Layered Garden: Design Lessons for Year-Round Beauty from Brandywine Cottage (Timber Press 2012). The Layered Garden recently received the 2013 Gold Award from the Garden Writers Association for Best Overall Book. For more information on this wonderful book detailing David’s approach to garden design, his passion for plants, and the development of Brandywine Cottage over the last 20 years, click here.
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the front entrance
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Fall is a difficult time to view a garden in southeastern Pennsylvania. The leaves are falling off all the huge trees, obscuring the beds and detracting from the perfection we can achieve in spring. The wonderful plants that might provide some lovely close up shots are eaten by insects, browned by drought, and beaten down by torrential rain. However, a well-designed garden like Brandywine Cottage highlights the subtle beauty of fall. It was still a pleasure to visit even on an overcast and dreary day with more heavy rains threatening. I hope you enjoy your virtual trip through this special place.
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A courtyard by the front entrance is shaded by a giant Norway spruce whose roots make an interesting pattern in the gravel.
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David has several edgeworthias thriving in full shade.
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The vegetable garden with its white picket fence is on the left and the largest perennial border is on the right.
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large perennial border
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vegetable garden
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Narrow paths crisscross the hillside above the house which is filled with shade plants, including hundreds of hellebores.
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An opening through the trees allows a view from the hillside towards the gardens below.
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Carolyn
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Carolyn’s Shade Gardens is a retail nursery located in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, U.S., zone 6b. The only plants that we mail order are snowdrops and miniature hostas and only within the US.
If you are within visiting distance and would like to receive catalogues and information about customer events, please send your full name and phone number to carolynsshadegardens@verizon.net. Subscribing to my blog does not sign you up to receive this information.
Nursery Happenings: Carolyn’s Shade Gardens is closed for the winter. Look for the 2014 Snowdrop Catalogue in early January.
Facebook: Carolyn’s Shade Gardens has a Facebook Page where I post single photos, garden tips, and other information that doesn’t fit into a blog post. You can look at my Facebook page here or click the Like button on my right sidebar here.
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CAROLYN'S SHADE GARDENS 
October 14, 2013 at 6:51 pm
This is such a wonderful place and so inviting. Thank you for sharing these beautiful gardens. I will have to put this one on the list to visit!
October 14, 2013 at 7:43 pm
Lee, Brandywine Cottage is magical. I am not sure how David handles people who want to visit. Tours go there, and he often invites the Hardy Plant Society Mid-Atlantic Group. Carolyn
October 14, 2013 at 6:59 pm
Wonderful and lucky you…. I have Mr. Culp’s book and enjoy referring to it every so often as I try to settle on a direction for my own gardens to take. Thanks for sharing these photos Carolyn… Larry
October 14, 2013 at 7:44 pm
Larry, I am glad you like the book. After following your blog for three years, I think that you have a book inside you waiting to come out. You certainly have all the photos already taken. Carolyn
October 14, 2013 at 9:03 pm
Carolyn another must see garden to visit once I finally get down to visit. Any garden so lovely in fall must be visited in other seasons.
October 14, 2013 at 9:14 pm
Donna, David’s garden is very peaceful in fall. I especially loved the yellow twig dogwoods that have been allowed to develop into trees around the house. The color is quite beautiful. Carolyn
October 14, 2013 at 9:49 pm
I too have had the chance to see David’s magical garden but in the early summer. As a fellow snowdrop addict, I envy your trip there in winter/spring. I am also afflicted with zone envy. Edgeworthia and huge mahonia!!!!
October 15, 2013 at 8:39 am
Leslie, You will be seeing some of the snowdrops that I picked up in my catalogue, maybe in 2014 but definitely in 2015. Carolyn
October 15, 2013 at 12:07 pm
I’ll be looking forward to them.
October 14, 2013 at 9:59 pm
His garden looks great in fall, especially all the path views. I am taken with his house. It looks like a great old historic PA home.
October 15, 2013 at 8:38 am
Donna, The house is historic and, as you know, typically Pennsylvania, but I am not sure when it was built. It is charming inside and out. Carolyn
October 14, 2013 at 10:30 pm
Wonderful! Just wonderful!
October 15, 2013 at 12:34 am
It’s funny but in spring I am at pains to remove every dead leaf and stray branch yet in autumn those fallen leaves become part of the tapestry – at least until they turn brown and mushy! The gardens look stunning
October 15, 2013 at 8:58 am
Karen, There is not a chance of removing all the dead leaves of my 15 huge London plane trees which start dropping in August. They don’t add to the look of the garden but I have to reconcile myself to their arrival. They do make great mulch that breaks down to compost though. Carolyn
October 15, 2013 at 2:16 am
Beautiful Carolyn, thanks for sharing this special place.
October 15, 2013 at 8:46 am
Thanks Carolyn. I have only been there in the spring too and would love to get back. Its quite special! Joan Biddle
October 15, 2013 at 9:57 am
Great Photos and a good read! I love that Edgeworthia in full shade!!
October 15, 2013 at 1:13 pm
Charles Cresson’s edgeworthia is in full shade (or was until a tree came down) and it is covered with buds every winter—so beautiful.
October 15, 2013 at 11:18 am
This is a beautiful garden, I’ve got the book, but it was nice to see it in autumn too, thank you Carolyn
October 15, 2013 at 1:14 pm
Pauline, It seems as if everyone has read this book, even in England, which is wonderful for David and surely deserved. Carolyn
October 15, 2013 at 5:10 pm
These photos really give a great sense of place for this special woodland garden. And I love the rustic looking armchair and bench. I wonder if they were made locally? Thanks for posting these Carolyn, and have fun planting the snowdrops!
Best wishes, Julian
October 15, 2013 at 5:17 pm
Julian, I’m glad you thought the photos did a good job of showing the unique place that David Culp has created. I always second guess myself and think the photos aren’t good enough to use. I don’t know where the garden furniture was made but it is likely local. The snowdrops were planted the day after I got them. It is a rare event for an American galanthophile to get a wide range of new snowdrops so I am still celebrating. Carolyn
October 15, 2013 at 9:33 pm
Lovely post on Brandywine Cottage, Carolyn! I purchase David’s book this past spring (at Winterthur actually) and have hoped that maybe a could glimpse more of his garden someday. Their woods must be stunning in March/April.
Hope you are enjoying a bit of a break from your busy nursery schedule this season. Happy October to you!
October 16, 2013 at 9:36 am
Julie, Wow, it seems that a lot of my fellow bloggers all over the US and beyond have read The Layered Garden. I wonder how many of my nursery customers have read it. The selling part of the nursery season is just about ending but there is still a lot to do this fall. The schedule can be a little more relaxed though. Happy Fall, Carolyn
October 16, 2013 at 4:48 am
You do visit some terrific gardens Carolyn. Keep a look out for a little thumbs up to yourself on Gardeners World. Mind you it took a full day to film what will be a four minute clip and as I mumbled and stumbled over some of it I am not sure what will be used. Broadcasting on BBC2 on Friday 8th Nov.
October 16, 2013 at 9:44 am
Alistair, I really want to see the segment especially now with this tantalizing comment. I am not sure how or when BBC is broadcast here in the US because I don’t watch TV. Also I may need cable to get it which I don’t have. Couldn’t you post a video clip on your blog of the segment? I am sure all our fellow bloggers will want to see it. BBC could probably give you the clip. You are going to be a celebrity! Carolyn
October 16, 2013 at 11:54 am
While I’m sure it must be well documented photographically in David’s book, a visit to the gardens at Brandywine Cottage really taught me that hellebores seem perfectly sited on a hillside, where their nodding flowers can be appreciated without bending down.
October 16, 2013 at 12:08 pm
Eric, Yes, my whole garden is on a hillside, and one of the positives is that I have used it to show off my hellebores. This fall I am planting a lot of unusual doubles along the top of a new wall—should be very pretty this spring. Carolyn
October 16, 2013 at 2:29 pm
This is a beautiful garden, even with the fallen leaves. I like the roots in the gravel path.
October 16, 2013 at 3:02 pm
Denise, A lot of the trees on the property are conifers or have small leaves like walnuts. You don’t get the same messy look that I get with London plane trees. I am envious. Carolyn
October 16, 2013 at 3:28 pm
Looking at the photos (which are great) I see a yellow theme going. I thought I would see some orange and red colours for fall but the foliage on the bushes and trees is all yellow. Do you think this planned?
October 16, 2013 at 3:41 pm
Patty, I think everything at Brandywine Cottage is planned. Our trees have not started to turn red and orange yet so I wouldn’t be surprised if a lot of the green leaves in the photo turn to bright colors. It is still very warm here. Carolyn
October 19, 2013 at 7:38 am
I am just getting to this post coincidentally after attending the Perennial Plant conference at Scott Arboretum yesterday. David closed the conference but opened up imaginations. He was so inspiring one wants to go home and start all over. It was the second time I had heard him speak and it was still as magical as his garden.
October 19, 2013 at 4:36 pm
Patricia, What fun for you to now see current photos of his gardens. I am glad you had such a good experience. David is an excellent speaker. Carolyn
October 19, 2013 at 10:22 pm
what a great tour. So beautiful. I love how the foliage is the big star and the flowers simply accent the garden.
October 20, 2013 at 3:28 pm
Marguerite, There were some pretty flowers, but I too was more taken with the overall look and feeling. Carolyn
October 20, 2013 at 11:13 pm
Yes, it is hard to take close-ups of my bug eaten, droopy leafed plants! But I enjoyed the autumn overviews of this lovely garden. I was struck by the roots in the gravel path!
October 21, 2013 at 1:12 pm
Deb, i am glad you liked the roots as much as I did. They remind me of something you would see in a Medieval church. Carolyn
October 21, 2013 at 5:24 pm
I love how the roots of the Norway maple make art in the gravel…although it’s been a long time since I had anything nice to say about a Norway maple! I will look forward to your spring visit and photos of hellebores, a plant I am increasingly intrigued with and always looking for interesting additions.
October 21, 2013 at 6:44 pm
Norway maples are a horrible invasive plant that I would never post a photo of or say anything nice about. This plant was a Norwway spruce so you can feel free to say nice things about it.
October 21, 2013 at 8:05 pm
Oh goodie…my mistake!