The Best (Outdoor) Room in the House!

We've been enjoying our deck with it's sun-filtering canopy and wind softening side curtains, bubbling fountain, and raised beds and pots.

When we added a few pots and raised beds last year, it was the beginning of a transformation that converted a rarely used, unattractive deck into a warm and welcoming haven that has become one of our favorite "rooms".

Prior to last year,  we primarily used our deck for cooking on the barbecue grill.  The color of the floor boards and style of the railings were uninspiring.

Although we had comfortable furniture, the deck was a vision in gray and tan, totally lacking in aesthetic appeal.  It was not a place we enjoyed spending time.  The umbrella over the table provided little relief from the broiling sun that bakes the deck for most of the day and the settee, although comfortable, wasn't at all inviting when temperature and humidity soared into the 90's.  As far as we were concerned, it was wasted space.

We tried to dress it up with some potted annuals - mostly petunias and fuchsias - but we spent more time tending them than we did relaxing on the deck.  I also grew the climbing rose, "New Dawn" in a pot, hoping it would grow along the rails and posts on the upper section of the deck immediately off the kitchen (the area in the above photograph).

I was hoping for the same lush growth we have on the fence behind the herb garden.  That was not the best idea - it's a very thorny rose and that made it very unpleasant if you were seated next to it and it was hard to move to a more protected area for the winter.

Growing a rose this size in a pot did not yield the same results that we see with the New Dawns we have growing in the garden.  The canes barely extended to reach along one six foot section.  Since it's growth was definitely restricted by the pot, we didn't get the effect  we were hoping for.

Late last summer I transplanted it into the garden where it is much happier and this spring, I planted some hollyhocks along the rails.  We have not given up on potted roses on the deck, but I am finding that miniatures make a much better option for containers and work well with the lavender we have growing there as well.

Frustrated because the rabbits and dogs had eaten most of our tomatoes the previous two summers and impressed with the success some friends of ours had growing them on their patio in large buckets, I decided to give container gardening a serious try.

We found huge, inexpensive, decorative planters on sale at K-mart and there were window boxes to match.  I grabbed a couple of the long window boxes, thinking I would set them along the railing with some herbs.

Then I spotted some inexpensive kits for raised beds made from a composite material.  There were only two left and since the boxes were damaged, they were heavily discounted.  An idea was born and in the space of a morning, a deck garden had begun to take shape.

Two raised bed kits gave us a bed that was 4 feet wide by 12 feet long for vegetables.

We planted sun worshipers like basil and colorful petunias in window boxes along the railing behind the table.

Even the dogs began to spend more time on the deck, especially when the early evening shade gave a respite from the sun.

We added hanging pots of annuals for bright color.  I wanted to create the feeling of a conservatory and so over the course of the summer we watched for sales and markdowns and soon a hydrangea tree and some lilac shrubs took up residence on the deck.

This spring, we added both a lemon tree and a fig tree and we'll be enjoying our favorite recipes this fall as both trees are weighted down with ripening fruit.

Our first year with raised beds was successful beyond our expectations but it was also a learning experience.  I learned that four foot wide raised beds might be great in the garden, but against the side of the deck, they were impossible to maintain.  Reaching the plants in the back meant I had to step into them, and very quickly the dogs decided they wanted to play in them too.

The first beds we planted weren't deep enough and it was difficult to keep them from drying out. Add to that a 2 month drought and it was a daily struggle to sustain our vegetables and herbs.  And they took up so much space it was difficult to arrange the furniture in a way that maximized our ability to entertain and enjoy the space.


This year we rebuilt all of the raised beds to make them narrower but deeper and easier to tend, and to make better use of the living space on the deck.

By making the raised beds only half as wide but twice as long (which required the addition of several boards from additional kits), we were able to extend them along the entire length of both the upper and lower levels of the deck, replacing the window boxes which had provided precious little actual gardening space.

We kept roughly the same amount of total planting area but with the beds and open space laid out in a more user friendly arrangement, the deck is much better suited to gardening and entertaining.

And instead of just flowers on the upper deck and vegetables in the raised beds, this year we planted a true kitchen garden that includes an eclectic mix of annuals, perennials, herbs, vegetables, and even some house plants in all of the pots and beds.

I love the fact that salad greens, vegetables, and the herbs that I cook with the most are a few steps from my cutting board.

Perhaps the most dramatic and important change we made last year was the addition of a canopy.

Near the end of the season, we found a simple to erect "pop-up" canopy that we added over the upper section to shade the table.

 It took one brief thunderstorm to realize that bolting it to the deck was critical.  The canopy top is held on with Velcro and when high winds or rain are expected, we simply lift the corners and undo the Velcro and let the cover sag between the struts to prevent damage from wind and a heavy collection of water.

We also found some heavily discounted cushions in an attractive blue and green print that matched the color of the house. The new cushions completely changed the color palette to one that was more to our liking.

This spring, on a whim, I added swagged scarves to the canopy and the effect was amazing.

I used 22 foot  nylon window scarves that I draped loosely and secured with plastic cable ties. They are easy to install in spring and come down with a snip of the tie in fall.

Casual dining has a luxurious feel under the draped canopy and a paper and bamboo lantern fitted with an electric bulb attachment adds just enough light for dining after dark.

A lantern is suspended from the center of the canopy. The white cord is secured to the struts with white cable ties and is relatively unnoticeable.  The on/off switch is tucked in the draped curtains that cascade along theh poles for easy access.

The area lends itself to both fancy teas with china and casual cook-outs with paper plates.

The beds provide zinnias and cosmos for cutting, herbs such as basil and rosemary, and an assortment of vegetables that changes with the seasons. Hollyhocks are planted along the back and are just beginning to mature and set buds.

The Meyer lemon is full of buds and small lemons.

 

Squash, cucumbers, peppers, and lettuce share the space with  marigolds and petunias, geraniums, and some house plants. Earlier in the season we had sugar snap peas.

The hydrangea, Meyer lemon, and a lilac create a verdant corner.

The wider beds have a much greater visual impact than the narrow window boxes and we were able to plant more herbs and vegetables for a true kitchen garden.

We've added annuals to most of the large pots for extra color as well.

These lilacs bloomed later than the shrubs in the garden and added dramatic color to the deck in June.

The hollyhocks in the background have had a major growth spurt over the past couple of weeks and are now towering over the zinnias. I hope they will bloom this year and next year as well. The goal was to have them form a tall, thick border in front of the railing.

Our first year with a fig tree promises to be a tasty one!

We've added hanging pots in every nook and cranny. Here, they form a lovely backdrop for the cherub fountain.

Early in the season we had an enthusiastic crop of sugar snap peas that climbed over and through the deck railing.

The narrower raised beds allow the furniture to be placed in an arrangement that promotes socializing and conversation, with ample room to walk by. And yes, that is a second grill. The grill on the upper level is used for most meals and foods that everyone in the family can enjoy. This grill is used for fish and mushrooms so a family member with severe allergies to both can avoid contamination of her food with things that cause life threatening reactions.

Our Katie enjoys an afternoon nap on the settee.

Step Back in Time: The Heirloom Roses of Wyck

For history buffs who also happen to be avid gardeners, there are few things more exciting than a visit to the oldest rose garden in the country at the Wyck House. Our visit there was a highlight of our recent vacation.

The buildings and gardens of the Wyck estate sit quietly behind a plain picket fence in the heart of the Germantown section of Philadelphia. 

The house has an extensive history of its own that long predates the garden. While we briefly admired the architecture, historic grape arbor, original smoke and ice houses, and vegetable gardens and greenhouse, it was the rose garden that stole the show for us, not for the fragrant flowers, which had blossomed and faded weeks before our visit, but for the sheer richness of history planted in the garden's beds and along its walkways.

The rose garden was cultivated and maintained by several generations of Haines descendants and ultimately abandoned and allowed to grow untended for at least a generation, which turned out to be a blessing in disguise. But for that, the heirloom roses would likely have been replaced with their more modern counterparts. The garden remains the only one in the area, in fact, that was not replanted with modern reblooming roses.

Jane Bowne Haines

Now restored to as close to its original design as possible, the Wyck rose garden was designed and planted in the early 1820’s by Jane Bowne Haines, a native New Yorker who married Philadelphian Reuben Haines III. The roses she planted have survived through three subsequent generations and most are still growing where she first planted them nearly 200 years ago.  

Although reportedly unenthusiastic about moving to Philadelphia, once settled into her new home (new to her but already vintage at that point), Jane set about turning an ordinary kitchen garden into an extraordinary rose garden. With an interest in roses and a flair for horticulture and landscape design, she created an elaborate garden with multiple beds, pathways, and more than 30 different heirloom roses. 

Interestingly, she left in place roses that had already been growing there, so there are roses in the garden that actually predate the beginning of the 19^th century. 

According to Nicole Juday, the rose and landscape curator for the Wyck gardens,  some of the roses date back to the time of Empress Josephine. She has been reviewing some of the papers in the extensive collection of documents maintained by the Wyck Association and has found documentation that some of the roses originated with Empress Josephine and passed through no more than three sets of hands before they were planted in the Wyck rose garden where they can be seen and enjoyed today.

Jane was a pregnant mother of five when she was suddenly and unexpectedly widowed. The daughter she gave birth to a few months after her husband’s death inherited her passion and skill for horticulture.

Jane Reuben Haines

Named for her parents, Jane Reuben Haines was a semi-invalid who never married and spent her entire life at the Wyck House. Inheriting her mother’s knack for horticulture, she maintained the gardens throughout her life. Following her death in 1911, the estate passed to her niece and nephew, Jane Bowne Haines II and Caspar Wistar Haines II.

While the heirloom roses in most other gardens were being replaced with the hybrid repeat bloomers, the historically significant roses of the Wyck garden were allowed to survive by virtue of benign neglect for nearly 40 years following the deaths of the third Jane and her brother Caspar, who had maintained the gardens during their lifetimes.

Eventually, Mary Haines, the elderly widow of Robert Haines, the oldest nephew of Jane and Caspar who had inherited the property from his aunt and uncle, enlisted the aid of rosarian Leonie Bell to once again restore the garden to its previous glory. It was at this point in the 1970’s that the estate became a museum.

Unless one is able to appreciate the history contained within the fences that surround the home and garden, few people are likely to be as excited as we were to be visiting an historic rose garden in early July.  

 Since the roses in the Wyck garden are heirloom roses that bloom once, early in the season, unless you visit the gardens during late May or early June when they are fully in bloom, most visitors find little (aside from the perennials scattered among the beds) to hold their interest in the rose garden at other times of the year.

Seeing the roses at the Wyck home was, for us, truly exciting, irrespective of their bloom cycle. While we would very much like to visit again when the gardens are at peak bloom, both Steve and I were thrilled just to be able to stand in the midst of the four parterres that form the rose garden and look at the shrubs whose origins date back, in some cases, more than 200 years.

An occasional faded blossom could be found among the rose hips that were forming prominently on every shrub. One rose had a spray that, while certainly past its prime, still managed to fill the air around it with a heavy rich perfume. We could only imagine how intensely beautiful the fragrance and color must be when the garden is at its height in the spring.

Of particular interest to us was the famous gallica rose, the Lafayette rose, thought to have been brought by General Lafayette during a visit to the Wyck home in the summer of 1825. 

While I’m certain that many people look at the unassuming shrub and wonder what all the fuss is about, we were deeply moved to be able to see this shrub, as rare and as precious as many fine artifacts housed at the Smithsonian, and a living piece of history.

The tuliptree in the yard at Wyck.

One other plant grabbed my attention as soon as we entered the main gate. Next to the house stands a tuliptree of indeterminate age but enormous height. We are newly acquainted with tuliptrees so it was of particular interest to us and I was pleased that I was able to recognize this very old and mature specimen which is probably as old or older than the Wyck House itself.

Just as the Wyck House and Garden is an important part of Philadelphia’s rich heritage, the women of Wyck are an important part of the study and profession of horticulture. The legacy of Jane Bowne and Jane Reuben Haines is a living history of rose culture in America. 

Jane Bowne Haines II

Jane Bowne Haines II transformed her innate love and talent for horticulture into the first horticultural college, the Pennsylvania School of Horticulture for Women, which she established in Ambler, Pennsylvania a year before her death. 

Currently known as the Ambler College of Temple University, the college offers associate, baccalaureate and masters level programs in landscape design and architecture, horticulture, and environmental design as well as certificate programs in horticultural therapy and environmental sustainability.

The front facade of the Wyck home. Trellises support climbing roses and some clematis vines.

A grape arbor extends from the left side of the Wyck house.

The grape arbor shelters a pump which was used to irrigate the gardens. A trough leads to the vegetable garden.

Vintage pump used to irrigate the gardens at the Wyck estate.

Shallow, brick-lined shallow trough or trench that directed water from the pump to the vegetable gardens.

Original ice house at the Wyck estate.

Original smoke house at the Wyck estate.

The rose garden, taken from the entrance to the front yard from the gate near the ice house.

The back of the house opens to the garden in the front yard. A grape covered trellis extends across the back of the home.

A rose covered trellis covers the side entrance into the garden.

This massive magnolia, Magnolia soulangea, stands next to the famed Lafayette rose.

The magnolia apparently had two main trunks originally. It is thought to have been planted in the early 1820's when the original Jane Haines built the garden.

The Lafayette rose is visible in the right lower corner of the photograph.

The rose that encircles the base of the magnolia and grows up the tree is the native species rose R. setigera. It still had a few fading blooms during our visit earlier this month.

The grapes on the arbor across the back of the house are thought to be the Fox variety although they no longer bloom. They likely predate the garden by many years. Seen in the foreground (middle bottom of the photograph) is the Lafayette rose.

One of four parterres that comprise the rose garden.

A bed of heirloom roses, each showing fat rose hips, edged with a boxwood hedge.

Rosa rubrifolium with tall, pale yellow blooming hollyhocks.

Some of the prettiest rose hips we saw were these burnished orange ones of the Rosa rubrifolium.

The other rose hips that really caught our eye are these deep burgundy/mahogany ones of the Rosa spinosissima, the Scottish Rose.

The Scottish Rose was enormous, at least 4-5 feet tall and almost as wide.

Perennials offered a burst of color here and there throughout the garden.

A small circular bed with purple balloon flowers and pomegranate shrub.

Close-up of the pomegranate blossom.

Tall phlox and other perennials provide bursts of color here and there throughout the rosebeds.

A blossom of Rosa chinensis, "Monthly Cabbage", peaks out from the back of the shrub.

These blossoms of "Champney's Pink Cluster" were still highly fragrant even though they were fading.

Another fragrant blossom of "Champney's Pink Cluster".

Each of the three Janes left their indelible mark on the garden. With the exception of the R. setigera, the climbing roses were all planted by Jane Bowne Haines II.

An enormous holly shrub near the entrance to the vegetable and herb gardens.

An oak leaf hydrangea near the entrance to the vegetable and herb gardens.

The vegetable garden is a working garden that produces vegetables which are sold at a farmer's market.

The tour guide told us that this greenhouse was built just after the turn of the century (early 1900's) from a kit. It stands at the far end of the vegetable garden.

The vegetable and herb gardens.

The vegetable and herb gardens.

Bee hives and cold frames in the vegetable and herb gardens. There were bee hives in the rose garden as well

We hope to return to the Wyck when the roses are in bloom. For more information about the Wyck estate or to schedule a visit, please see the links below.

Credits:

Photographs of Jane Bowne Haines, Jane Reuben Haines, Jane Bowne Haines II, courtesy of the Wyck Association, used with gracious permission of Nicole Juday.

Photographs of the Wyck home and garden by the authors. 

You can read more about the Wyck Home and Garden HERE.

You can learn more about the horticulture and landscape certificate and degree programs and the history of the horticulture program at Ambler Temple HERE and HERE.