Derek Fell, a photographer and garden writer, has created many gardens spaces over his 40-year career. Many of these spaces were designed by his wife Carolyn. Their Bucks County home, Cedaridge Farm in Pennsylvania, is the best example of their work. They have created more than 20 theme areas at their home, Cedaridge Farm in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. These include shade gardens, sunny perennial border, tapestry gardens that involve trees and shrubs, and a cottage garden, herb and cutting garden as well as an ambitious water garden.
Derek was a consultant to the White House on garden design during the Gerald Ford Administration. Following his ‘Win Speech,’ Derek designed Ford’s Win garden. It was one of ten ways that the nation could fight inflation.
Derek Fell has designed many garden designs without ever inspecting the location. Frank Lloyd Wright, the great architect and designer, designed stunning homes for his clients entirely using photographs.
Fell’s gardens have been featured in magazines, books, newspapers, and television including Architectural Digest and Gardens Illustrated. Country Gardens, HGTV and QVC are also some of the TV shows that Fell has appeared in.
Derek is the author of more than 60 books and calendars on gardening, including 550 Home Landscaping ideas (Simon & Schuster), The Encyclopedia of Garden Design(Firefly Books), The Complete Garden Planning Manual(Friedman), Garden Accents and Home Landscaping.
To brighten up your property or make it more appealing to potential buyers, you need to create an ambiance and curb appeal. Derek is happy to answer any questions you may have about your garden, no matter how large or small.
SOME GARDEN TYPES
Water Garden. Water is nature’s music. You can trick it by dropping from great heights so that it crashes onto rocks. It can either fall as a sheet or as silver threads. You can find beautiful water gardens with waterfalls or stepping stones in either sunlight or shade. Cedaridge Farm is home to the water garden. The water garden includes a pool that can be used for dipping and a variety of hardy and koi lilies. One of the most popular water gardens features a koi swimming pool with a series waterfalls. The water is then re-circulated through filters to maintain the water’s purity.
Sunny Perennial Border. It can be informal or formal, square, rectangular or round, and can even be backed by a wall, fence, or decorative hedge. You can choose plants to produce a variety of colors throughout the year, or a specific season. You can choose to have a variety of color themes, including a rainbow or monochromatic. This is great for weddings, and it’s also possible to use an Impressionist color harmony such as yellow, purple, red, silver, blue and pink. Two parallel borders with a grass path leading towards a central point, such as a sculpture or pergola, are a popular perennial garden design.
Tropical Garden. A beautiful tropical garden does not require you to live in an area that is frost-free. Cedaridge Farm has two gardens. One is in tribute to Roberto Burle Marx’s design philosophy, which created dramatic tropical gardens all around Rio. It’s located in a light shaded area. The plants are hardy (like Sum & Substance’ Hosta) but still look tropical. Tender plants (like banana trees or tree ferns), can either be moved indoors in winter or discarded as annuals at the end. The patio features tropical plants that have been grown in containers.