Wednesday, October 06, 2010

The Secret Gardens


Ever peek through a fence and wonder what kind of garden is on the other side? I had a chance to find out on the Historic Bethlehem Partnership Secret Garden Tour. Seven beautiful gardens opened their gates on a sunny October day.

The wide inviting brick path on West Market leads through the side yard with old roses, ten foot tall hyacinth beans, trees and evergreens.


The back garden is neatly and fully packed with vegetables and herbs. The vegetable yield per square foot is amazing. Vertical gardening, succession gardening, companion planting fill the organic Italian garden from early spring to late fall.




A fig tree’s last fruit of the season is ripening. Soon the fig will be laid over and covered for the winter to be lifted again in spring.

Hidden behind a 1762 Colonial home on W. Market Street is an elegant and comfortable paradise.



Tall hydrangeas, mums, asters, anemone, roses, pine, spruce, hemlock and boxwood fill the garden with color and structure.

The tidy façade fronts this West Market Street home.








Vases of brightly colored dahlias dot the pocket gardens.

Tall dahlias shine in the sun.


A 200 year o
ld magnolia tree is a living testament to Bethlehem’s history. The garden creates a serene and restful place in the city



Open and airy, this West Market Street home could be a place in the country.

It reminds me of yards I played in as a child. Liriope and hosta surround a bench in the side garden under large old tree.
Filled with evergreens and flowers, it is a place that stirs the imagination for childhood games or a shady place to sit and read.


Next time I’ll continue my tour of Bethlehem’s secret gardens and travel down Center and Church Streets.
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