Wollaston Garden Club Members Enjoy

A Summer Garden Stroll

            It is a custom at the Wollaston Garden Club to visit members’ gardens during the summer months. On Wednesday, August 17 more than forty members toured Pete Horsford’s garden in Adams Shore. It was a time to get together, to enjoy many beautiful perennials in bloom and to hear Pete’s advice on summer pruning and deadheading, and the importance of using fertilizer and watering for vigorous bloom.

Pete’s garden is a show stopper from the front yard to the back. Anchored with shrubs, the front garden is planted with hundreds of impatiens in all colors, but it is the bright red of the hibiscus and mandevilla that draws you in. His back garden hosts two large river birches and a gigantic Joe Pye Weed that was loaded with bees and butterflies. The butterfly bush, roses, and the hollyhocks were also hosts to butterflies. A large group of turtlehead was just getting ready to bloom and the hardy pink hibiscus was in its glory. Pete has been planting more burgundy leafed plants, like lobelia and ligularia for accent with the greens of his various hosta plants. Hosting an August garden tour in New England is always a challenge, so many plants are past bloom. Pete’s hard work, gardening skill, and diligence in plant care and selection left a lasting impression of a beautiful summer garden.