DEEP DIVE: A GARDEN WITH BREATHING ROOM
THE EXISTING SPACE: The client wanted to update the overgrown landscaping in front of their house and replace it with a low-maintenance, blooming garden. The clients were planning on installing a small patio to the left of the front door as a front porch seating area and wanted to incorporate that into the surrounding garden beds. The front yard is north-facing so there would be shadows close to the house, but the yard receives a lot of sun elsewhere. The yard also has high deer pressure.
THE GOAL: A clean look with varying textures and blooms was the overall goal for this front yard. The client did not want a full garden and requested a lot of mulch space around the plantings for easy access when maintenance needed to be done. They also wanted shorter plantings in front of the new patio space and in front of the windows to not block the light entering the home.
THE DESIGN:
With the addition of the new patio, the beds in front of the house were enlarged to surround that area. We also enlarged the beds to include the front steps, which made the entire bed area more proportionate to the size of the house.
Since height was not a requirement, we kept the plantings on the shorter side - using only a 10’ tall Weeping Cherry on the left side of the yard for balance and a larger Korean Spice Viburnum to add a punctuation mark of height in the foundation planting.
The color palette requested was cool colors - mainly purples and yellows - and the client wanted to be able to see blooms throughout the entire growing season. For Spring color, we included shade-tolerant Hellebore under the existing Weeping Cherry tree. Later spring color was included with Deutzia Yuki and Deutzia Gracilis, followed by purple-blooming Salvia. Summer will include Lavender blooms followed by Black Eyed Susan, Butterfly Bush, and Caryopteris in the late summer and into fall. For winter interest, we included some small Spruces and Inkberry Holly.
Two to three feet of mulch space was included around each plant for ease of maintenance, but plants were still grouped in multiples for a bigger punch of color. Each plant is repeated in multiple places throughout the garden for a cohesive look.
THE RESULT: I love the addition of the beds around the front steps. It creates a much more welcoming experience when walking up to the house and I am so glad the clients wanted to include that! The patio space is a great area for them to relax and enjoy the colors of the garden. I think the succession of blooms and the various bloom shapes and textures will give them visual interest throughout the growing season.
The thing I’m most proud of with this design is the fact that it’s a balance between “landscaping” and a full-blown garden. It’s not visually overwhelming and should be fairly easy to maintain, but it’s several levels up from what I consider “stereotypical landscaping”, which is what someone else could have installed when the client said they want to have a lot of mulch space. I see a lot of gardens landscaped with (what I consider) too many evergreens and not enough blooms and visual interest throughout the rest of the 4 seasons.
Overall, the client says they love it and can’t wait to see it all come into bloom next year!
