DEEP DIVE: A SENSE OF BALANCE IN A LARGE GARDEN
THE EXISTING SPACE: This 3-acre property was a complete blank slate but had a couple of aspects that we had to work around: a very large septic field that could not be planted on, a lot of slope, and very high deer pressure.
THE GOAL: I helped this client with both hardscape layout planning and a complete planting plan. The client wanted a flowing, cohesive space that incorporated a large perennial bed, multiple hardscape areas for the family to hang out in, several large shade trees, an orchard, and a vegetable garden. She loves patterns but wasn’t interested in a formal garden. The backyard is also set down the hill from the house so the view from the house was also considered. The color palette was to lean heavily on shades of purple, white, and blue blooms.
THE DESIGN:
After speaking with the client and getting the full list of must-have spaces, I set to work on two preliminary designs to help determine the flow of the hardcsape & garden bed layout. One was rectilinear and one was curvilinear and the client ended up liking elements of both, so they were combined in the final plan.
The plant and hardscape placement was ultimately decided by the location of the septic leach field. No trees or large shrubs were able to be planted within 30’ of the leach field and no hardscaping could be placed on top/near it, so the two main hardscape areas - a dining patio and a fire pit patio - were placed on separate ends of the back yard. These patios would be surrounded by gardens and large shade trees. In between, we used the full sun area near the leach field for our long, cottage garden-inspired border.
To design an area with patterns but not have it feel too formal, I created several small areas with subtle symmetry. If you look closely at the final planting plan below, you will see that the major access points and any important vantage points have symmetrical plantings - using either a path or a tree as the center point. I found this to be the best way to keep things natural-looking but give the client the order and balance she was looking for. For very informal areas like the cottage border, the plantings are in large drifts and plants repeat - but not in a pattern. The sense of pattern in this space comes from the repeating boxwoods lining the grass pathway. The design choice here was to have a sense of repetition but not have it be obvious.
As for the plants themselves, the deer actually chose them! Since deer were in the yard every day and we didn’t have any existing plants to know what they would be interested in or not, I had the client purchase several plants and plant them in the yard while we were still finishing the design. We gave it a few weeks and ultimately chose the plants for the final plan that the deer left alone. The main list that came from that experiment were Butterfly Bushes, Lavender, Salvia, Russian Sage, Catmint, and Lamb’s Ear. Plants with various shades of purple were the main focus, but I included different foliage colors and textures throughout the entire garden - pink and yellow colored grasses tucked into the perennial border, soft/fluffy evergreen textures in the shrub beds, and various shades of red and green foliage colors for the large shade trees. Since a large portion of this garden will be full sun at planting but will eventually become more shaded, I chose plants that could adapt to those conditions like Rhododendron, Boxwood, and Diervilla.
THE RESULT: Unfortunately, I do not have any progress pictures of this garden yet. However, from a planting plan point of view, this is one of my favorite ones I’ve ever designed. I’m so happy I was able to give the client repetition and patterns without it feeling boxy and formal. I think the entire space (the garden is over 250’ long!) will feel cohesive but each area will have a bit of individuality. Even with the challenges of slopes, deer, and a leach field, this will be a beautiful garden to walk through, entertain in, and view from the house above.