21st Annual Ann Arbor Garden Walk
Saturday, June 11, 2011
10 am to 4 pm
Garden 1 -- Rocky Rain Garden
What is a new neighborhood, but skimpy trees offering little shade or variety of either greenery or color? In 1973, when the homeowner moved in, lawns were watered and fertilized in the then-common way, with plenty of weed killer applications. Unwilling to perpetuate this chemical process, the owner began to envision an alternative to the standard lawn: plants and shade.
With a small nearby grove as inspiration, the owner’s work began. She dug out an area, added topsoil, planted a river birch and dogwood bushes, applied mulch and loved it. Next came a backyard grove, raspberry patches, and some experiments that didn’t work. To bring it all together into a unified, pleasing and aesthetic whole, the owner worked with a local landscape designer to give definition to the yard, providing structure and beauty.
Today there are both sunny and shady areas, with paths, plants, and rocks of various sizes. A small rain garden captures some of the water run-off from the garage, falls along a stone course and under a stone bridge. A stone retaining wall replaced deteriorating railroad ties. For the owner, it is a modest and pleasing yard.
Garden 2 -- Pleasing Privacy
In this exciting small garden, exbury azaleas, rhododendrons, tri-color beech, and various ground covers create a blend of many interesting cultivars with vertical and horizontal shapes. The varieties and colors represent a trend in landscape design that includes abundant color and strategically placed specimens to create an exciting small garden that is very manageable to maintain and fun to share with family and friends.
The most difficult area was the patio, located very close to the sidewalk and street. The setting is like many urban gardens; the challenge is to construct a garden that screens a private area without obtrusive walls or enclosures. That goal is met here with tasteful detail that both residents and passersby can appreciate.
As you meander through the garden that separates the patio from the street, enjoy the beautiful and very unusual plants that include Acer pseudoplatanus ‘Alaskan Sunset,’ Cedrus atlantica ‘Glauca Pendula’ (blue atlas cedar), Metasequoia glyptostroboides ‘Dawn Redwood’ (an uncommon variety with yellow needles), and Abies koreana ‘Aurea’ (golden Korean fir). The robust Tsuga canadensis ‘Pendula’ (weeping Canadian hemlock) and the stately Cornus kousa (dogwood) frame the garden from the sidewalk and street with beautiful mid-sized, colorful vegetation. The garden is an enjoyable experience, appreciated both inside and outside the ornate wrought iron fence that marks the perimeter of the patio area garden.
Garden 3 -- Beauty in Simplicity
A great example of beauty in simplicity, many of the owners’ neighbors agree that this natural and elegant garden has been a landmark for many years. On most days during the growing season, she can be found working in her lovely garden. Her dedication has created a serene and beautiful work of art in a subtle valley-like setting that could be located in the country rather than on a suburban street.
The stone wall was constructed in 1983. A small water feature was added in 2000 that provides a soothing echo when sitting on the elevated porch overlooking the site. Taxodium distichum (Baldy cypress) are rapidly growing into majestic foliage and guard the rear line of the back yard. The unique respiratory “knees” of this species continue to propagate at the base of the trees.
Mature tree peonies are prominent, in addition to many other vigorous perennials in the west and south beds, all meticulously maintained. An informal stepping stone path winds its way through the ivy and ground covers in the front yard.
Garden 4 -- Sun and Shade
Since 2002, the owners’ have been building on the strengths of their sunny front yard and the shaded woodland in back to create two diverse and nature-friendly gardens that are a reflection of their love of plants and insects.
The front yard was overgrown with euonymous and autumn clematis, and shrubs that were too large or overgrown for the space. As old plants were removed, the owners gradually realized that a nice lawn would require more resources than they wanted to commit. So in 2008 the front lawn was removed and new soil added, and a double-sided Michigan fieldstone wall was installed. This allowed the creation of an informal perennial garden with many niches and a multi-layered, pollinator-friendly garden with textural, color, and seasonal variety.
The wooded backyard has the original paths and hardscape, and the owners have been gradually removing buckthorn and improving the plantings with a variety of hostas and many woodland plants, along with understory shrubs and vines. The unique garden shed was built in 2000 and blends in with the woodland garden, creating a harmonious and peaceful space.
Garden 5 -- Woodland Wonder
This wooded property is filled with a large variety of native and cultivated plants. The homeowner has spent many hours creating ponds, waterfalls, streams, and paths that wind around the lovely home. Keeping deer and native growth at bay is a constant battle, but this peaceful oasis is evolving into a beautiful garden.
On the arch is a ‘Montana’ clematis and an Akebia. Tamarix, a weeping spruce and a red cedar soften the big falls. Petasites, houttuynia, and water iris thrive on the banks. To the left of the arch is a path that leads to a Forest Pansy redbud, pink dogwood, white spire birch, kousa dogwood and established patches of brunnera, leatherwood fern and variegated solomon’s seal. The weeping cherry by the dock is gorgeous every year. The flower beds would be considered English-style, filled with many varieties of perennials.
By the house are several specimens of Chamaecyparis, a cypress, along with an Osakazuki Japanese Maple, a prostrate hemlock and white flowering dogwood. Nearby are a Korean fir, an Olga Mezzit rhododendron, and a bloodgood maple. The steps lead you past pink-flowering carolina silver bells to the north of the house, where the garden is quieter. Big patches of hellebores and hakonachloa grass spread happily, and a Japanese maple grows over a pond, which flows to a waterfall down to a second pond below.
*Garden 5 features the Artful Garden Marketplace
Garden 6 -- Collector’s Delight
The owners could never have imagined that their grandchildren would be swinging under the boughs of the white pine seedling that they planted 35 years ago. The garden has been a labor of love for both that has grown slowly over the years. Five distinct gardens are edged in rocks gathered from the area. The red stones that line the driveway and back walk are sandstone native to the Keweenaw Peninsula, brought home five or six at a time from the owner’s hometown.
The one-acre site features a wide variety of trees, including 10 dogwoods that bloom in spring and surround the house so they can be seen from every window. More than 25 Japanese maples are placed throughout the garden. The juxtaposition of the lacy-leafed Japanese maples with the large-leafed hostas in the shade garden provides dramatic textural contrast. The hosta collection has grown to more than 100 cultivars, interplanted with brunnera, trillium, heuchera, variegated solomon seal, and other spring wildflowers.
Many trees and unusual conifers, with a particular interest in weeping forms, have been collected. The tri-colored beech is one of the true gems and is most beautiful when the afternoon light shines through it. Birdhouses and accents are thoughtfully placed in the gardens to add color, whimsy and winter interest.
Saturday, June 11, 2011
10 am to 4 pm
Garden 1 -- Rocky Rain Garden
What is a new neighborhood, but skimpy trees offering little shade or variety of either greenery or color? In 1973, when the homeowner moved in, lawns were watered and fertilized in the then-common way, with plenty of weed killer applications. Unwilling to perpetuate this chemical process, the owner began to envision an alternative to the standard lawn: plants and shade.
With a small nearby grove as inspiration, the owner’s work began. She dug out an area, added topsoil, planted a river birch and dogwood bushes, applied mulch and loved it. Next came a backyard grove, raspberry patches, and some experiments that didn’t work. To bring it all together into a unified, pleasing and aesthetic whole, the owner worked with a local landscape designer to give definition to the yard, providing structure and beauty.
Today there are both sunny and shady areas, with paths, plants, and rocks of various sizes. A small rain garden captures some of the water run-off from the garage, falls along a stone course and under a stone bridge. A stone retaining wall replaced deteriorating railroad ties. For the owner, it is a modest and pleasing yard.
Garden 2 -- Pleasing Privacy
In this exciting small garden, exbury azaleas, rhododendrons, tri-color beech, and various ground covers create a blend of many interesting cultivars with vertical and horizontal shapes. The varieties and colors represent a trend in landscape design that includes abundant color and strategically placed specimens to create an exciting small garden that is very manageable to maintain and fun to share with family and friends.
The most difficult area was the patio, located very close to the sidewalk and street. The setting is like many urban gardens; the challenge is to construct a garden that screens a private area without obtrusive walls or enclosures. That goal is met here with tasteful detail that both residents and passersby can appreciate.
As you meander through the garden that separates the patio from the street, enjoy the beautiful and very unusual plants that include Acer pseudoplatanus ‘Alaskan Sunset,’ Cedrus atlantica ‘Glauca Pendula’ (blue atlas cedar), Metasequoia glyptostroboides ‘Dawn Redwood’ (an uncommon variety with yellow needles), and Abies koreana ‘Aurea’ (golden Korean fir). The robust Tsuga canadensis ‘Pendula’ (weeping Canadian hemlock) and the stately Cornus kousa (dogwood) frame the garden from the sidewalk and street with beautiful mid-sized, colorful vegetation. The garden is an enjoyable experience, appreciated both inside and outside the ornate wrought iron fence that marks the perimeter of the patio area garden.
Garden 3 -- Beauty in Simplicity
A great example of beauty in simplicity, many of the owners’ neighbors agree that this natural and elegant garden has been a landmark for many years. On most days during the growing season, she can be found working in her lovely garden. Her dedication has created a serene and beautiful work of art in a subtle valley-like setting that could be located in the country rather than on a suburban street.
The stone wall was constructed in 1983. A small water feature was added in 2000 that provides a soothing echo when sitting on the elevated porch overlooking the site. Taxodium distichum (Baldy cypress) are rapidly growing into majestic foliage and guard the rear line of the back yard. The unique respiratory “knees” of this species continue to propagate at the base of the trees.
Mature tree peonies are prominent, in addition to many other vigorous perennials in the west and south beds, all meticulously maintained. An informal stepping stone path winds its way through the ivy and ground covers in the front yard.
Garden 4 -- Sun and Shade
Since 2002, the owners’ have been building on the strengths of their sunny front yard and the shaded woodland in back to create two diverse and nature-friendly gardens that are a reflection of their love of plants and insects.
The front yard was overgrown with euonymous and autumn clematis, and shrubs that were too large or overgrown for the space. As old plants were removed, the owners gradually realized that a nice lawn would require more resources than they wanted to commit. So in 2008 the front lawn was removed and new soil added, and a double-sided Michigan fieldstone wall was installed. This allowed the creation of an informal perennial garden with many niches and a multi-layered, pollinator-friendly garden with textural, color, and seasonal variety.
The wooded backyard has the original paths and hardscape, and the owners have been gradually removing buckthorn and improving the plantings with a variety of hostas and many woodland plants, along with understory shrubs and vines. The unique garden shed was built in 2000 and blends in with the woodland garden, creating a harmonious and peaceful space.
Garden 5 -- Woodland Wonder
This wooded property is filled with a large variety of native and cultivated plants. The homeowner has spent many hours creating ponds, waterfalls, streams, and paths that wind around the lovely home. Keeping deer and native growth at bay is a constant battle, but this peaceful oasis is evolving into a beautiful garden.
On the arch is a ‘Montana’ clematis and an Akebia. Tamarix, a weeping spruce and a red cedar soften the big falls. Petasites, houttuynia, and water iris thrive on the banks. To the left of the arch is a path that leads to a Forest Pansy redbud, pink dogwood, white spire birch, kousa dogwood and established patches of brunnera, leatherwood fern and variegated solomon’s seal. The weeping cherry by the dock is gorgeous every year. The flower beds would be considered English-style, filled with many varieties of perennials.
By the house are several specimens of Chamaecyparis, a cypress, along with an Osakazuki Japanese Maple, a prostrate hemlock and white flowering dogwood. Nearby are a Korean fir, an Olga Mezzit rhododendron, and a bloodgood maple. The steps lead you past pink-flowering carolina silver bells to the north of the house, where the garden is quieter. Big patches of hellebores and hakonachloa grass spread happily, and a Japanese maple grows over a pond, which flows to a waterfall down to a second pond below.
*Garden 5 features the Artful Garden Marketplace
Garden 6 -- Collector’s Delight
The owners could never have imagined that their grandchildren would be swinging under the boughs of the white pine seedling that they planted 35 years ago. The garden has been a labor of love for both that has grown slowly over the years. Five distinct gardens are edged in rocks gathered from the area. The red stones that line the driveway and back walk are sandstone native to the Keweenaw Peninsula, brought home five or six at a time from the owner’s hometown.
The one-acre site features a wide variety of trees, including 10 dogwoods that bloom in spring and surround the house so they can be seen from every window. More than 25 Japanese maples are placed throughout the garden. The juxtaposition of the lacy-leafed Japanese maples with the large-leafed hostas in the shade garden provides dramatic textural contrast. The hosta collection has grown to more than 100 cultivars, interplanted with brunnera, trillium, heuchera, variegated solomon seal, and other spring wildflowers.
Many trees and unusual conifers, with a particular interest in weeping forms, have been collected. The tri-colored beech is one of the true gems and is most beautiful when the afternoon light shines through it. Birdhouses and accents are thoughtfully placed in the gardens to add color, whimsy and winter interest.
