Secret gardens prepare to open up

If you don't have your vacation passport, it's not too late. That is, if slipping inside the gates of some of the most beautiful private gardens in the country is your ideal. A garden paradise is as close as a Garden Conservancy Open Days ticket. This year, five of the gardens are close to home -- inside Raleigh's Beltline.

The New York-based Garden Conservancy Open Days Program opens private gardens for public tours to raise money to help the Conservancy secure the future of significant and historic gardens across the country. In North Carolina, the JC Raulston Arboretum, Montrose in Hillsborough and the Elizabeth Lawrence garden in Charlotte benefit from the Garden Conservancy's legal, financial and horticultural resources.

The Raleigh gardeners allowed me to preview them -- even as they make ready for their Open Days on Sept. 22 and 23. Today and in August and September, I'll share what tourists and garden geeks from all points of the compass are traveling to Raleigh to see. Today, we'll explore two gardens that share European influences.

A touch of Wales

Katharine and Nick Davies and their two teenage daughters are transplants from Wales. Their home on Hertford Street is a blend of Southern charm and Old World ambiance. "For me a garden is a place to feel the Earth's heartbeat and rhythms," Katharine said. "It helps center me. ... I like to associate my garden as a safe environment full of wonder and delight."

A painted boardwalk, leading from the street and across the small sunken front lawn, provides a dramatic entryway. Could this drawbridge-like structure above the verdant manicured turfgrass remind the Davieses of castles of yore? Probably not, but I have an active imagination.

I never made it all the way up to the porch, as stairways on either side of the bridge led down to the garden where I found a gated courtyard with brick pathways bordered by boxwood. The focal point, a brand-new Old World cast iron fountain still waiting for the plumbing and wiring, sits within a circular boxwood hedge. Katharine Davies said that it was a challenge to find "the perfect fountain," which she recently purchased at Market Imports near the State Farmers Market.

As we progressed through the arbor flanked by mandevilla vines and Lady Banks roses at the back of the courtyard, and on past the potting shed, we entered a fairytale woodland complete with a natural babbling brook. Pathways through the shade led to the renovated rose garden.

"A couple of months ago, an enormous branch came crashing to the ground, flattening well-established shrubs and decimating the rose garden," Davies said. Then she added, "In hindsight it did us a favor as it was time for the rose bed to be reworked. It enabled us to create a much more pleasing young bed comprising lavender, roses and camellias."

The Davies family brought their national symbol with them when they moved to Raleigh -- a bright red Welsh dragon tucked beneath the shrubbery near the rose garden reminds them that the Southern garden they so clearly love has roots in their Welsh heritage. Katharine's father and Nick's mother grew gardens where friends, neighbors and family gathered to chat over a cup of tea.

And a touch of France

A few blocks away, on Lewis Farm Road, is Laura and Bob Bromhal's French-style garden. Bromhal's approach to gardening is centered on her love of houses. A busy Realtor, with little time to spend in the garden, she says, "I know how to hire the right people."

Her gardener of many years recently retired so Bromhal enlisted a longtime friend and regional representative of the Garden Conservancy, Helen Yoest, to help with the overall design and to meet with her new gardener Patrick Barkley, owner of Elysian Fields.

Barkley cleared out overgrown ivy and brush, pruned the shrubs and added new plants. Then Yoest stylized Bromhal's brick patio -- more like a hidden courtyard off the home's master suite -- using items the Bromhals had on hand.

Bromhal said, "I like pinks and blues with a classic feel." When they purchased their home, it was a ranch-style red brick. With paint and architectural details, they gave it a more French feel.

They like to entertain and wanted the deck, patio and garden to be an extension of the inside.

"When we come home from a busy day, my husband Bob and I like to sit outside and listen to the pond and the wildlife it attracts. Bob enjoys feeding the fish and hoping the herons leave them alone."

The Bromhals' garden provides a panoramic view from every window inside the house. Old magnolia trees shade a man-made stream that feeds Bob's fish pond, which is surrounded by lush greenery and beautiful pink and blue hydrangea blossoms.

"I love houses and beautiful gardens, but I'm not a gardener," Bromhal said. She felt she couldn't refuse when asked to participate in the Garden Conservancy tour.

"If opening my garden will help raise money to support the JC Raulston Arboretum and other important and historical gardens in North Carolina, I'm happy to do so."