What gardener doesn’t like to take off their sweaty, muddy garden clothes and get cleaned up to visit someone else’s garden? It’s a real life “busman’s holiday.” I was invited to visit Glenda Clarke’s garden in Snow Hill this summer and it didn’t take a minute to say yes.

The trip to her Snow Hill property led through an iconic Eastern Shore country lane shaded on both sides by tall trees meeting overhead. The cooling, overhanging branches set the restful tone for a visit to a country garden.

 Glenda’s welcome left us with a strong first impression. Here’s a person who truly loves her plants and her garden and takes heartfelt pleasure in sharing it with others.

Besides the pleasure of walking through a beautifully tended garden landscape, it’s a plus to come away with new ideas that can be used in your own garden. Glenda’s garden is full of those. She uses ground hugging succulents to edges some of her gardens, creating a neat, lush border.

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She has made innovative use of concrete to add interest to her garden. There are concrete spheres, hypertufa planters and impressions of leaves in concrete. All of these have been constructed by Glenda herself.

One can imagine how the gardens looked in spring with daffodils and other spring flowering bulbs. We were there to greet the early summer perennials and the shrubs and trees in full leaf. The shade gardens displayed the leafy hostas and ferns and mosses. Raised beds held annuals and vegetables in symmetry.

Lushly planted pots and urns populated the patio as artistic statements standing out against the serene landscape. Glenda’s garden is a pleasure to visit, an inspiration to gardeners, advanced or just beginning.