Tour 2

Sunday: May 3, 2009

Dave and Leslie Nanney Garden

The garden of Leslie and Dave Nanney is a 2.5 acre woodland garden containing over 2,500 azaleas and over 1,000 varieties. The Nanney’s began their collection over 35 years ago with the initial house warming gift azaleas from Leslie’s mother, Frances Louer. The garden is targeted to the plant collector, with many of the beds organized to display the work of a single hybridizer separated by winding paths. This provides a unique opportunity to compare the breeding objectives and tastes of such important contributors as Bob Stewart, Pete Vines (Holly Springs), Bob Gartrell (Robin Hills), Buck Claggett (Bowie Mills) and many others. The stone lined paths are accented with Japanese maples, hosta, ferns, and other shade loving plants. Mixed throughout are selections of Glenn Dale and Satsuki azaleas. The garden displays many mature plants over 25 years old in the front yard while the recently cleared back gardens have more recent additions.		Dave Nanney with Visitors
Eve Harrison with 'Hotshot'	'Nuccio's Pink Bubbles'	Nanney Home	'Nancy of Robinhill'

Bob and Betty Stewart Garden

The Stewart garden offers a unique environment for the azalea enthusiast to enjoy. It has an extensive azalea collection representing many hybrids with impressive diversity, most of which will not be found in any garden center. Bob started hybridizing with a few crosses in 1990 and increased the number each year. He has evaluated thousands of seedlings over the years, many of which can take your breath away; wonderfully exciting blooms and outstanding foliage on plants with great form and improved hardiness. He has named and registered quite a few hybrids, and there are many others under number that are still being evaluated. Visiting this garden is an opportunity to observe an avid hybridizing program in progress, and a chance to gather ideas about innovative plant care techniques.		Bob Stewart in his Garden
'Betty Ellen'	'Ashley Ruth'	Bob Stewart Hybrids	Unnamed Hybrid RBS-46

Lunch at Green Spring Farm Park

Green Spring Farm Park will be our stop for lunch. This public park is a green oasis in a densely developed area of Northern Virginia between Annandale and Alexandria, Virginia. This lovely park has open areas and perennial beds, with some large azaleas and rhododendrons as well as many spring wildflowers and flowering trees. It is a great learning center for schoolchildren as well as gardeners from the surrounding area.

Green Spring Gardens

Dave and Sharon Raden Garden

We will stop at Dave and Sharon Raden's beautiful one and a half acre garden. Their wooded property is right off the Beltway but secluded and tranquil. With parkland on two sides and Accotink Creek running through it, sights may also include deer, fox, coyote, raccoon, hawks, herons, snapping turtles and other local wildlife. The Radens moved to this picturesque spot almost fifteen years ago and brought over 800 azaleas and rhododendron with them. With yearly additions since then, there are over 2,000 plants and 1,200 varieties of azalea and rhododendron.		'Cinderella' in Raden Garden
'Martha Hitchcock'	Accotink Creek	Rhododendron 'Shazaam'	'Ben Morrison'

Carolyn and Paul Beck Garden

The Beck garden is situated at the edge of a well-established development against a backdrop of wooded parkland. Initially the emphasis was almost exclusively on azaleas. Over time a more eclectic approach was taken by Carolyn and Paul to include flowering trees and shrubs, dwarf conifers and maples, perennials, hostas, and ferns. In most instances, only one of each cultivar was acquired to allow for as much diversity as possible. Azaleas still make up the biggest portion of the plantings and a wide variety of hybrid groups that cover bloom times from early April through June. The hybrids of Bob Stewart and Pete Vines are well represented. The addition of a water feature and other landscape design elements enhances the overall effect.		Unnamed Holly Spring Hybrid in the Beck Garden
'Jessica's Jewel'	Waterfall in the Beck Garden	'My Mary'	'Frostburg'