New book looks over the wall into Philly’s great gardens

Gardeners like the Thomases and Jennifer and Steve Bilt of Doylestown inherited the basic structure of palatial landscapes that needed to be transformed into a 21st-century garden. Craig Wakefield created a garden where one was never intended. He bought an old mid-century modern house in Abington, whose boxy structure and clean lines were meant to defy the organic structures of the plants.

Wakefield had to design a garden for an architectural concept that actively opposed the idea of ​​a garden.

“There is no garden movement for mid-century modern architecture,” Juday said. “He had to invent one.”

“Private Gardens of Philadelphia” is first and foremost a photo book. To capture the gardens photographically, Cardillo returned to each property several times in subsequent seasons.

As Cardillo sat for an interview on a terrace in Miller’s garden, he noticed that the landscape had already changed since the filming took place about a year earlier.

“To quote an ancient Greek philosopher, you never enter the same garden twice,” said Cardillo. “That’s part of the beauty of any garden. It’s always a back and forth with nature. It’s not static.”

Private Gardens of Philadelphia offers a glimpse into beautiful landscapes that are normally hidden from the public. Some are literally behind walls.

In contrast, Syd Carpenter’s garden extends into Mount Airy’s densely populated suburban street. Her townhouse on less than half an acre is surrounded by her ever-changing garden, which she shares with most of her neighbors. Her lushly planted garden flows seamlessly into the neighbor’s garden.

“It’s a permanent state. When you walk through the different areas of this neighborhood, you can see how intensely gardening is done here,” said Carpenter. “Gardening is part of the culture of this neighborhood.”