Western Gardens

Before

Like most of our property, the west facing lawn was largely a blank slate.

Gardens abutted the house with roses, various bulbs, daylilies, a big-leaf hydrangea, and evening primrose.

Some of these inherited plants still remain in the gardens today.

The Process

The western facing gardens slowly expanded each year beginning in 2017, with the largest (and perhaps ‘final’) expansion made in July 2021.

As I continued to work this section of the garden, I quickly learned about two invasive plants I was unfamiliar with; Snow-on-the-Mountain (Aegopodium p. Variegatum), and Creeping Bellflower (Campanula Rapunculoides). To date (with only using mechanical methods) Snow-on-the-Mountain is almost entirely removed, while Creeping Bellflower, persists due to its’ deep taproot, though it is drastically reduced.

Coming to Fruition

In 2023 a multi-stemmed Serviceberry tree was planted at the apex of the front garden, in front of two chokeberries – adding structure, multi-season interest, and a delicate sense of screening for privacy from within our home.

Four young red cedar tree cultivars (Juniperus Virginiana), along with three ‘Jetstream’ Oakleaf Hydrangeas (Hydrangea Quercifolia) anchor a wispy front garden, full of echinacea, baptisia, and potentilla. Yarrow is also a predominate plant, used throughout the Western facing garden, appearing in white and pink.