Favorites: William Paca House Plant Sale

The William Paca House and Garden is a landmark in Annapolis.  It was built by William Paca between 1763 and 1765 and was one of the first five-part Georgian homes in Annapolis.  After Paca sold the house in 1780, it changed hands several times until it was acquired by William A. Larned and restyled as a hotel in 1901.  The hotel, known as "Carvel Hall", was in operation until the 1960's. 

 

 

In 1965, there were plans to demolish Carvel Hall, but the Historic Annapolis Foundation purchased it and restored the house and garden to their original colonial-era state.  The William Paca House and Garden was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1971.

 

The William Paca House and Garden is a great resource in Annapolis.  It is open for tours daily and there are concerts, summer camps, art classes and more hosted on the grounds.  It is even possible to use the house and garden for weddings or other special occasions.

 

It is probably no surprise that my favorite event at the Paca House is their plant sale, which is held on Mother's Day weekend every year.


This plant sale is crazy.  Even thought it opens at 10:00am, people start lining up at 9:00am.  Certain plants have very limited numbers, and as soon as the gates open, people charge through the garden to get them first.  All of the plants are grown locally by Paca Garden volunteers.  Most plants are native, heirloom, or hold some historical interest (for instance - cuttings of William Paca Holly or Washington's Buckeye).

A list of plants available for sale this weekend is available online at www.pacagarden.org.

I've had very good luck with the plants I've gotten at this sale in previous years.  The prices are also quite good - from what I can remember, the plants are usually between $3 and $6.  The only problem I've ever had with the sale is that the shrubs and trees they offer are a bit on the small side.  Again, though, if you're paying $5 for an oakleaf hydrangea, you can't expect it to be in a gallon pot.

Although I'm not supposed to buy any plants until July, I am willing to make an exception for the sake of tradition.  I've looked through the plant catalogue and will try to get a couple of of the following:

• Asarum canadense - Wild Ginger
• Chelone lyonii - Turtlehead
• Sanguinaira canadensis - Bloodroot
• Sedum sp. - Creeping sedum
• Sedum ternatum 'Larineum Park'
• Stylophorum diphyllum - Celandine or Wood Poppy

If you're going to attend the plant sale this weekend, I recommend getting there early.  

1 Martin Street
Annapolis, MD

 

Saturday 10:00am - 4:00pm
Sunday 12:00pm - 4:00pm

Look what I found: cornus florida 'White'

cornus florida 'White' - Flowering Dogwood

A lot of the plants I've found in the garden are pretty easy to identify.  Either there are only a few species of the plant or they have some sort of distinctive feature that sets them apart.  Others are not so easy.

There are between 30 and 50 species of dogwood.  Some are trees, some are shrubs, some are even groundcover.  There are native* dogwoods, European dogwoods, and Asian dogwoods.  To make matters worse, dogwood trees grown in the shade look quite different than trees grown in full sun.


My three are quite leggy and sparse in the shade

For the dogwoods, and for a few other trees I'm trying to identify, I haven't found a good way to definitively say, "It is this exact species".  I was hoping for a website that might walk through each feature of the tree: the bark, the flower, the habit, etc. and then spit out an answer.  I've settled for browsing through dozens and dozens of images and then making a best guess.

These three dogwoods are situated along the edge of the woods.  It is really the perfect spot for them and seems very natural, as if they sprung up there on their own.  They add a nice bit of spring interest and let enough light through to the mixed flowering shrubs below.  I don't remember whether their leaves were particularly interesting in the fall, but I'll be sure to take note this year.

* Yet another native plant sale this weekend: Historic London Town and Gardens (Edgewater, MD)

A plant I fancy: Actaea simplex 'Hillside Black Beauty'

*Updated to reflect new botanical name and to ensure pictures are properly credited

After the past three entries, I need to post something a little less "scrolly".  One of the things I hoped to use this blog for was to keep track of plants that catch my eye.

 Courtesy Missouri Botanical Garden PlantFinder

Scientific name: Cimicfuga Racemosa Actaea simplex (Atropurpurea Group) 'Hillside Black Beauty'
Common name(s): Black cohosh, bugbane, fairy candles
Height x Width: 4-7 ' x 2-3'
Growth rate: Moderate to slow
Hardiness: Zones 3-7
Soil: Moist, acidic
Light: Shade to partial shade

Reasons I like it:
 - Deer resistant
 - Native*
 - Attracts butterflies
 - Distinctive purple foliage
 - Late-blooming
 - Seed heads could provide winter interest

Where would I put it?
 - In the understory between the lawn and the woods, between smaller perennials and bushes
 - Possibly along the path in the woods
 - Next to plants with contrasting foliage

What do you think? Do you have any cimicfuga in your garden?

* If you're in the Maryland area and are interested in Native Plants, there's a sale at Adkins Arboretum on the Eastern Shore this weekend.