Four Unique Gardens Telling Four Different Stories on Garden Tour

After a whole week of rain, the Upper Moreland Historical Association (UMHA) was happy to see it stop for its event this past Sunday. Although the sun was nowhere to be found May 22, UMHA proceeded with its garden tour.

The tour is a self-guided tour that consisted of four gardens. Three gardens were in Willow Grove on Fleming, Willard and Cameron roads, and the fourth one was on Huntingdon Road in Huntingdon Valley.

The idea behind the garden tour derived from several discussions.

Elaine Liebrandt, the secretary and person responsible for the oral history for UMHA, said a friend of hers, who recently graduated with a degree in horticulture from Temple University, influenced her because “there is always something going on in her"—Liebrandt paused— “unusual garden.” 

Liebrandt knew that similar gardens would make a successful garden tour.

After buying my ticket at Kremp Florist, I was excited to head over to my first stop on Fleming.

Bakker's Garden

Rebecca Bakker is a full-time nurse who also works part-time at the Morris Arboretum.

Bakker said, “I’ve been a nurse all my life, but my mother was a gardener, and my grandfather was a gardener, and we moved so many times that we never had a place that was ours for many years. So that was one of my goals, to come and have a place that was mine for many, many years.”

Visitors at Bakker’s garden were amazed at what they saw. You could tell there was a lot of work put into the intricate details and care of the garden in Bakker’s front and back yards.

Bakker started with just two trees in her backyard when she moved in the home in the 70s.

She started out gardening around the edges, like most amateur gardeners.

“I was getting frustrated because I wasn’t getting a lot of sun, and so I wanted a place to put my tomatoes, and said ‘I am putting them in the middle,’ and that’s what started it. I made that first middle garden,” she said.

After that first middle patch, her garden expanded to its current state, complete with a labyrinth, over a 10 year period.

She does all the gardening on her own; however, she had some help placing the two tall gorgeous pillars into her garden.

Bakker moves her plants around as you would move furniture. She pays attention to what and where the plants want to be because, if not,  she would not have a beautiful, healthy and colorful garden.

The Aztec Garden

The second stop on my list was to the garden on Willard Road. I explored the front garden before heading to the back. The front garden had an Aztec feel to it. The owner of this garden, Michael Colibraro, also the owner of Colibraro Landscaping & Nursery Inc., has a very unique style.

Colibraro started out as a landscape designer, and then he moved on to a nursery, where he grew, bought and sold plants.

He said, “My first love is designing and designing gardens, and thinking out of the box.”

Looking into his own personal garden, you can see Colibraro’s passion for designing gardens. There is a reason and story for every plant he picked for his garden.

Colibraro said, “I like to do things differently than just your typical landscaping. I like to create gardens and garden spaces. And gardens for the soul, too, so you have a place to go to and just be at peace.”

Colibraro said that his garden is simple because it’s all the plants he enjoys working with, but to others, his garden may seem more complex.

He loves bonsais, so you can see them throughout his garden. He even gave a short demonstration about how to wire bonsais.

His dining patio was inspired by a visit to Italy, reflecting the glory of ancient Rome. Although he has never visited Japan, he does a lot of reading and studying about it, and said he hopes to visit someday.

Colibraro is currently sponsoring the Colibraro Conifer Garden at Temple University’s Ambler Campus. His passion has led him on a path of total self-taught success.

A Professionaly 'Landstaged' Garden

The third stop on my garden tour is on Cameron Road. This home and historical site, dating back to over 100 years old, has new found charm. The couple who owns this home and garden is Bob and Michelle Young. Bob is the owner of the landscaping business Youngsape, and his wife, Michelle, is into home staging.

This dynamic duo put together a beautiful garden and patio that is meant to entertain guests.

Their home is on a double lot, which leaves room for their imaginations to run wild.

Michelle said, “It evolved over a number of years.”

The couple knew what kind of yard they wanted to have. Their garden has a much more manicured look, which they accomplished themselves.

A walk to the backyard gave visitors the impression that they just stepped into summer vacation. Complete with a pool and outdoor kitchen, the grass never looked so green on the other side. Large trees will bring cooling shade in the summer months.

The Pitcairn Estate Garden

The last stop on this tour took me over to Huntingdon Valley. Marie Bertolette Page has been the gardener for the Pitcairn estate for over 31 years. The estate belongs to an artist named Beatrice Pitcairn.

“I used to start a lot of stuff from seed,” Page said.

Her main challenge was dealing with the animals eating and getting into everything.

“It’s a battle to get things to grow, and the deer rub their heads on trees in the fall and kill them and the scrubs," she said. "I mean, it’s really hard—you come one day, and everything looks great, and the next day, something got damaged. It’s very difficult to keep things growing with the deer population.”

Back in 1974, Page worked at Longwood Gardens as a summer student.

She graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Ornamental Horticulture from the University of Delaware.

Page became the Pitcairn gardener by asking for the job in 1980, when Beatrice Pitcairn’s previous gardener announced retirment.

Page sees gardening as a dynamic experience.

“I call it exterior design, and then you have to maintain. You design a living room, it stays put. You design a garden, it doesn’t stay put," she said. “It’s amazing, ... the way they want to move around. They go where they want to go, so you kind of have to go with what they want.”

In giving a few pointers, Page said, “My theory is if it’s going to do well in the site, you know your plant, you know what it likes, you put it in a desirable location of it, and it usually takes off and looks good.”

She chose a more natural look for the garden over manicured and well-groomed. With the large land filled with tall trees and acres of grass, the gardens fit perfectly into the picture for this estate.

I am simply at awe with the fact that these four gardeners all come from a different background, and their passion took them to amazing extent with their gardening layouts, choices and visions. Each gardener is an artist with the plants, soil, sun and water as their supplies to create a beautiful portrait.

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