Man of a Thousand Garden Stories: The Garden of Charles Cresson

I have to say I was slightly ashamed that I'd never heard of Charles Cresson before our trip to Swarthmore College this summer. Google his name and see what I mean. But, I'm not one to turn down a garden tour, so when Tom said Charles Cresson had invited us for an evening tour of his garden after the Woody Plant Conference, I was ready to go.

We followed the native Swarthmorian to his house through the tight neighborhood streets and parked in front of what one would assume was just another house in the neighborhood, save for the 12-foot deer fence. What was going to be a quick tour easily continued into the twilight hours of the night with rich, personal stories of almost every plant in the garden, especially his prized Camellias and Hydrangeas. There was more to Mr. Cresson's garden than one could see from any point and he lead us on a very winding, but deliberate, path by new beds where prized old trees from his grandfather's days had fallen, his back porch, vegetable garden, bonsai collection, diverse perennial/annual borders, and meadow by his creek, just to name a handful of nooks and crannies we found ourselves in.

On our way back to Martha's Vineyard I found myself scribbling down every moment I could remember so that I could hold the experience in my mind. Such a wealth of knowledge. I felt like I'd met a true American gardener.