Steve and Linda have worked hard to make a lovely home for themselves. They hired out Cite Design to make a plan for their hardscape and then Steve did the actual labor to install it. Bluestone and brick are surrounded by a fence he built of wood and metal that work beautifully with the period of the house. He has uplighting and irrigation-two very important details that make any garden stand out. Steve wanted to make a fountain in the side yard and repurposed a metal frog that he gave to Linda 10 years ago. The frog spits into a bowl and has now been upgraded to his forever home! Part of what made this install so fun was seeing the quality of Steve’s work because it is so inspiring. I was honored when they asked me to make a garden for the edges of their patio. I am also lucky enough to do the maintenance on this garden, so I literally get to watch it grow!
Here’s what we started with:
Steve tore out the existing butterfly bush for me because it could not be trusted to keep its shape. Butterfly bushes are beautiful but they can be unruly. Steve dug in the hardscape of the fountain and I did the plantings around it. We decided to remove the existing planters and create a cohesive look with new planters that were similar in shape and color.
Here’s a look at the progression of the right side corner. There is some type of internet wire access point under that green rectangle that a technician may need to get to, so I picked out a large planter that they could move if needed. When I first planted everything it looked little and muddy. I placed a large mock orange in the planter with petunias tucked in. The fifth picture shows just how much change had happened in a few months.
This area needed more of a frame work to hide storage but the gutter/pole only created a a small opening and the door behind still needed to be accessed. I brought in 2 planters that matched the others and an obelisk (hard to see in the photos), from Plow and Hearth. The idea is for the double blooming Duchess of Edinburgh Clematis to climb up the obelisk and up the post. It’s not seen in the photo because it takes longer to establish than the annuals seen below.
The only thing else that gorgeous fence needed was some trellises and white climbing roses! I went with black wrought iron to play off the black planters. We flanked one trellis with 2 poly wood Adirondack chairs the owners already had. They face the built-in grill Steve made. These shots also show off the gas fire pit he made as well.
And now for the fountain reveal! This frog makes me think of Beatrix Potter’s character Jeremy Fisher, a wee frog who wears a macintosh and almost gets eaten by a fish. I found a wall fountain planter that fit the dimensions of the brick alcove and planted a mix of shade loving annuals and perennials. The frog fountain is fully operable and even has a light that changes color on it at night!. I look forward to continue watching this garden mature and get lovelier each year! SM
