A Remarkable Garden Begins its Eighth Season

Our 'garden' in June 2015 

Double-click on any photo to see a full-screen slideshow

In early June 2015, the firm of Scott Dolan & Company carried out an unusual project: instead of creating a landscape for a new residence (his usual assignment), Scott was charged with removing one. Over the course of two weeks, he removed the top 18 inches (947 cubic yards) of what is accurately called 'builder's crud' and brought in 950 cubic yards of screened loam. He also built a permeable, crushed-stone driveway; an elegant, geometric sidewalk; and a Pennsylvania flagstone patio. When his crew departed, there was half an acre of ready-to-plant soil; lately covered with two inches of brown mulch, but nary a hint of green.

The Magnolia bed

When we designed our 'dream retirement house' Betty made it clear she had in mind a very different landscape: a native plant garden without a blade of grass anywhere within its perimeter. I said it was a great idea, and I would provide at least half the labor. By the end of that first summer we had planted nine specimen trees to serve as anchors for beds, and several dozen shrubs. It looked, frankly, rather forlorn. Each year we added additional shrubs, together with bulbs, perennials and ground covers. Gradually, the garden began to form a coherent whole. Year by year, Betty's vision became more apparent.

The same view in 2022

The garden has now reached something approaching maturity. In a month it will be dominated by sweeps of flowering perennials as rudbeckia, penstemon, monarda, shasta daisies, and betony bring their colorful blooms. Right now, though, there is something different (and, in its own way, more elegant) to see: dabs of color made by shrubs, ground covers, and early-blooming perennials collectively forming an every-shifting canvas.

Viewed from the front porch

In the 'Magnolia bed' closest to the house, from one vantage point there is a succession of blue-flowering Amsonia, behind which are white and yellow peonies; all framing a flaming red honeysuckle (Lonerica sempervirens) that climbs fifteen feet up one wall of our garage. Walk up the sidewalk a few feet and that same honeysuckle is now the backdrop for white Baptisia, a yellow-flowering bush honeysuckle, and purple and blue geraniums.  Getting closer to the front porch (see photo at left), the color comes from flowers of  brilliant red mountain laurel (Kalmia 'Sara') and the multi-colored foliage of Leucothoe 'Girard's Rainbow' with its tiny, ivory flowers.

Our redbud with Baptisia

Elsewhere in the front garden, our redbud (Cercis canadensis 'Burgundy Hearts') has show-stopping dark red foliage. Depending on which path you take through the garden, it can be the backdrop to a stand of blue Baptisia, the stark white flowers of a maple-leaf Viburnum, or the brown leaves and pink-white flowers of a pair of ninebarks (Physocarpus opulifolius 'Diablo'). At the far corner of the front garden, a dwarf black birch (Betula nigra 'Little King') presides over a brilliantly yellow bed of golden ragwort (Packera aurea). 

The rear garden with fringetree in bloom

In the rear garden, our diminutive fringetree (Chionanthus virginicus) bloomed with white flowers for the first time this year. Beyond it is a sea of unusual, colorful groundcovers ranging from columbine to phlox to false strawberry (Potentilla indica) and blue ajuga. Multiple viburnums are coming into flower.

This essay is being written from that porch

All this was just Betty's vision in June 2015; a gamble, really. Could a retired couple in their mid-60s possibly plant such a large space?  How would they maintain it? Who would every buy it if they had to sell? Well, we did manage to plant it on our own (thank you, ibuprofen) and its maintenance is considerably less than a 'traditional' lawn and shrubs (and a lot more fun). As to selling it, we built a home into which we could age gracefully. We only wish everyone could have a garden as well-planned for long-term enjoyment coupled with ease of care... and a home with views as beautiful as the ones we enjoy every day.

Year 7 Begins

 

Our dream retirement home, April 20, 2021

On April 8, 2015, Betty and I moved into our ‘dream retirement home’; the abode we have every expectation of being our residence until we’re dragged out by our feet after our demise. The house was our own design: built to allow two adults to ‘age in place’.

We began in 2015 with a blank slate

Like the house, the garden began as a tabula rasa – a blank slate upon which to create ‘one last great garden’; built from the knowledge gained from predecessors dating back four decades. Betty is the architect of the garden; I am the guy who digs holes and moves rocks.

This final garden is designed to fulfill two purposes. The first is that it should be low-maintenance. For too many years, we had gardens that, in season, required upwards to 20 hours each week for maintenance. Betty’s goal was to have a property that required most of its care at the beginning and end of the season, and would both show well and need minimal care through the balance of the gardening year. In short, a garden that could be managed by a retired couple with lots of outside interests.

A flicker at our suet cage

The second – and perhaps more important – purpose, is that the garden should be pollinator and bird friendly. It should, to the greatest extent possible, use native plants and should be an extension of the conservation land we abut. Trees, shrubs, and perennials have been chosen for how well they fit the ‘pollinator-friendly’ requirement. There’s no grass – not a blade – nor are there any of the garden-center staples like Bradford pears (from China), Norway maples (from the Carpathians), or Kousa dogwood (from Asia). If it doesn’t host native birds, bees, or butterflies, it has no place in the garden.

Which doesn’t mean the garden is dull. Our trees put on spectacular shows, and our shrubs and perennials become blankets of durable bloom. You’ll see those photos over the next several months.

Our amelanchier about to bloom

The garden has grown organically.  In our first year we planted the specimen trees and a few dozen shrubs. The second year saw many shrubs and lots of perennials. Everything wasn't perfect: shrubs changed locations as we got to know where we had the best shade and sun. Some perennials simply didn't like the location. Others became too aggressive. It has been a learning experience.

This, the garden’s sixth season, should be the one when the vision becomes reality. We went to Garden in the Woods last week and came home with a single Ceoanthus americanus (New Jersey tea). In Aprils past, we would return with a car stuffed with shrubs and perennials. My goal this year is to document the garden as it reaches its mature status.

Our hyacinth border

I begin with bulbs. We have planted more that 4000 of them. We readily recognize they’re the most ‘foreign’ aspects of the garden (most spring bulbs originated in western Asia) but, if they are aliens, they’re friendly ones and, better still, they’re ephemeral. We are also cultivating our share of natives, like Mertensia virginica (Virginia bluebells), which have established themselves in the shadier spots of the back of the property, along with Jeffersonia diphylla (Twinleaf) and Trillium.

Twinleaf (white flower)
and bluebells

Our bulbs provide the first color of the season, and are placeholders until our flowering trees and shrubs begin putting on their displays.  Today (April 20), we have an Amalanchier ‘Autumn Brilliance’ just a day or two away from being a blizzard of white flowers.  The maples, in turn, all are showing their proto-leaves. Our native Dicentra (bleeding hearts) are doubling in size every few days and will be flowering before the end of the month.

So, sit back, enjoy the photos, and check back regularly.