Project 1
Jane C.
Waban, MA, USA
A Garden Tour
Design Statement: A garden that’s evolved over 15 years from a small, mail-order shade garden to encompassing every inch of soil around our house.
Japanese Hollies form natural walls for the patio seating area.
A bench in our front garden. The Sweetspire is in full bloom on the left, and one Allium is holding on to the right.
From the front garden, the grasses and the Japanese Maple create a natural gateway and screen to the back garden.
A close-up of the planter with a Begonia and Creeping Jenny.
Arborvitae create a 30-foot high backdrop for an evolving mix of shrubs and perennials.
The shade garden. I added a planter this year to brighten up a dark corner.
Project 2
Susan Nock
Wellesley, MA, USA
Shady New England Garden
Design Statement: Ours is a shady New England garden surrounded by old oak and maple trees. We try to embrace the shade by selecting plants for their leaf texture, pattern and size. The front garden, which was planted three years ago, contains a boxwood hedge for winter interest. It is then layered with hydrangea wedding gown, astilbe, hosta, asarum and heuchera. A side garden which lies in perpetual shade holds hosta, solomon’s seal and multiple varieties of both goat’s beard and violets. For interest there is a planter filled with moss and concrete balls. Our back garden, which benefits from a bit of noon day sun, holds digitalis, heuchera, galium oderatum, and urns filled with a variety of plants. Finally a small garden along a fence and under an old American dogwood contains alium, hosta, astilbe and other shade loving plants. A young climbing hydrangea is starting to make its way up the fence.
Alium, Hosta and Astilbe garden by a fence with a climbing hydrangea.
Garden detail of hosta, heuchera and astilbe
Hostas, Solomon’s Seal and Heuchera.
Front shade garden.
Side garden in perpetual shade.
Back garden of digitalis, heuchera and sweet woodruff surrounding planted urns.
Project 3
Sarah Neidhardt
Portland, OR, USA
Relaxed Portland Garden
Design Statement: When I moved from California to Portland I wanted to retain the indoor/outdoor vibe I was used to and take advantage of the wet winter and spring and hot, dry Mediterranean Portland summers. I wanted lushness, texture, and scent (herbal and floral). My resulting garden is a blend of English cottage, Mediterranean, and California Bohemian.
Front of house planted with Parrotia persica, Azara microphylla, Spanish lavenders, English and French lavenders, ericas, daboecias, and calluna vulgaris, succulents, native arctostaphylos, etc.
Detail of front garden planting beds bordered with found tree limbs and bit of tomato plants in raised wooden bed.
Fence and gate along side of the house leading to our back garden with a plume poppy (which has not proved invasive in my yard) peaking out and the gate arch covered in climbing rose Cecile Brunner.
Detached garage (front part is a tool shed, and back part my husband’s office) with potted plants on driveway side of house.
Detail of front garden sculpture on a wooden stump pedestal and blueberries in terracotta planter with background of grasses, creeping white thyme, white potentilla, amsonia, and a bits of the branches of a small Salix eleagnos.
Project 4
Varner H
Bedford, NY, USA
my front garden
Design Statement: I try to vary the texture, color and shape of the leaves.
cotinus (purple smokebush) and clematis ‘Betty Corning’
one corner
looking through the gate
view from the front door to the road
Hosta ‘Sum & Substance’ and European ginger
annuals and red cabbage
Project 5
S. Wheeler
Surrey, BC, Canada
An Autum-Coloured Garden in May
Design Statement: First of all, may I say that I am passionate about colour and design. Although not formally trained, I have been doing garden design for many decades. For this garden project, colour was key, and the bold colours of this Japanese maple, ‘Villa Taranto’, helped me determine the colour-tone for this garden in early May. I knew that the traditional spring colours of pink, purple, yellow and white would not work with this amazing tree colour, and so, I planned everything in this garden to complement it. I took these photos as the western-setting, glancing sun was able to light up the garden, showing this tree at its best. It was a perfect day, with the sky as blue as can be, with long shadows falling across the street. At the front of this garden, where there is more sun, I have planted some Iris foetidissima “˜Variegata’ to provide some spikiness, as well as Euphorbia “˜Blackbird’ for its lovely lime-green colour.The pines provide a great look in winter, especially when adorned with tiny coloured lights in December. In fact, being from Ontario, originally, I did not ever want to look out in the winter and see my gardens disappear, and so I have a great deal of evergreen plants in all of my gardens. I rely on texture and leaf colour and shape to provide year-round interest.
The Rhodo’s Buds Enhance the Tree’s Colour
Warm Tones of the Rhododendron
Enkianthus and Rhododendron Buds
The Autumn-Coloured Garden in May
Rhodo Truss Contrasts with Lime-Greens
Supporting Plantings
Project 6
Karen Carlson/Rice
Fergus Falls, MN, USA
My practical garden
Design Statement: I moved from a 5 acre space with lots of mowing and gardens to a 45 x 142 foot lot which includes a house with attached garage and detached double garage. I didn’t want to mow anymore and I wanted the space to have a place for a firepit, deck for dining and relaxing, and veg., flowers, and fruit. Got it all.
Black raspberry plants and strawberries fill in the space between the sidewalk and the vegetable and herb garden. My husband build a new storage shed for me with exterior storage units on each end for hoses, tools, garden stakes, etc.
Perennials, annuals, strawberries and herbs are intermixed throughout the space.
Sitting on the deck I can look down on the entire garden space which includes three bird feeders and a birch and pear tree.
A meandering path follows the side of the house, to an arched yellow double door gate. A single yellow gate is at the back of the property and 4 yellow rocking adirondack chairs are used as pops of color and rhythm throughout.
Small retaining wall accentuates curve of garden path. Small cubbies for tools are attached to the inside of the french doors of the garden shed.
Project 7
Jane Handel
Ojai, CA, USA
Jane Handel’s Front Garden in Ojai
Design Statement: A drought tolerant garden on a minimal budget that compliments the quasi mid-century linearity of the house.
Aloes in Bloom/Summer
California Potter Collection on Porch
Aloes in Bloom/Spring
Steps to Porch
Aloe and Agave parryi
Project 8
Molly Boxer
Richmond, MA, USA
Molly’s Folly
Design Statement: My garden is filled with texture and shape, curved paths and areas for sitting, as well as plants, objects and often people that I love. A gardener’s garden, it is not about perfection but process. It has evolved over the past 31 years and is becoming simpler and cleaner as my needs and tastes change.
The tree lilac behind the pool hedge is in full glory.
Copper bird bath surrounded by hosta, rogersia, goat’s beard and korean wax bells.
White astilbe and ligularia edge a shady bed.
Pool house in the mist at the end of a row of persicaria just beyond the raised vegetable bed.
Harry Lauder’s walking stick abuts a non-vining clematis above geranium alba and autumn bride heuchera.
Project 9
dean isidro photography
Flanders, NY, USA
garden 20 pierson road
Design Statement: garden
boxwood
rhodie garden
garden
garden
garden
backdoor
Project 10
DIANI Living
Santa Barbara, CA, USA
Canyon Garden
Design Statement: Living in a canyon, we wanted to have our garden fit in with the surroundings, so used a lot of the shades of greens and pants that are around us. We wanted it to all flow with our insane view. There are areas like our vegetable garden, fountain, pool and seating area that are all distinct yet complimentary of each other.
Mexican weeping bamboo and loosely trimmed boxwood gently frame the perimeter of the garden
We painted these terracotta pots to jazz up our garage wall and filled them all with succulents
Our vegetable and herb garden that my husband built. The framing was inspired by a henna garden that we saw in Morocco with a similar bamboo gazebo built over it for shade
Palms and weeping bamboo planted for their different textures and shades of green
Our water feature surrounded by rosemary and daisies in our pea gravel courtyard
Shells collected from a recent trip to the West Indies and lay next to our meditation area by our pool to remind us to breathe and take our vacation with us everyday
