Project Details

My clients are a young family with little time to take care of the garden. The redesign is all about the basics and low maintenance. Due to budgetary constraints, this entire process will take three to five years.

We started with finding a good tree for their front lawn. They wanted the tree to grow tall and wide to provide good shade and be drought tolerant because they do not have irrigation. In the end, we chose a Sugar Maple because it fulfills those requirements along with having brilliant fall foliage.

We also worked on the side of the front yard. The client wanted a hedge that wouldn’t get too high (so it doesn’t block the neighbor’s view) or require a lot of pruning (low maintenance), and would be drought tolerant (no irrigation).

We began with a bed that was a mish-mosh of volunteers and one very large Taxus. After clearing all that out, we decided on Viburnum carlesii ‘Compactum’, and planted eight small ones last fall. Eventually, they will grow together to form one large hedge. Our next step was adding plants to the empty space in the tree bed.

The third step will be changing part of the front bed next to the house. First, we will take out the Bottlebrush Buckeye shrub that is growing by the porch and transplant it to the backyard. It is too crowded in its present space and is higher than the windowsill. This shrub will do much better in the backyard where it will have room to grow. I will also want to edge the bed where the Sugar Maple is growing so it will look neat.