Cara Davies remembers the day the city inspector came to take a final look at her garden before signing off on the building permit: “He came around the corner and he was quite surprised—and he said, ‘Oh my gosh, it’s a little bit of paradise.’” The garden shed gets the credit.
No one would have described the .3-acre property in downtown St. Helena as paradise in 1999 when Davies and her husband, Tom, moved into the Napa Valley house. “There wasn’t much here, just a little lawn with a deck, so we completely redid the backyard,” she said. Landscape architect Josh Chandler designed the garden as well as the galvanized shed, which owes its charm both to its unusual proportions and facade of corrugated steel panels salvaged from old chicken coops.
Photography by Mimi Giboin for Gardenista.
Above: Chandler designed the 10-by-10-foot square shed to sit alongside Davies’ edible garden, next to the swimming pool. The shed’s unusual height–it’s 20 feet tall–and peaked roof make it the center of attention. Above: The shed’s siding is vintage galvanized steel panels, salvaged from a former farm with chicken sheds that dated to the 1920s. Growing next to the shed is salvia whose deep purple color is intensified by the gray backdrop. Above: The shed sits on a solid concrete pad etched with lines to evoke the look of pavers. A path of permeable pea gravel leads to the shed. (For more ideas about how to use pea gravel in the garden, see Hardscaping 101: Pea Gravel.)
Oftentimes landscape designers are called in to execute a one-time overhaul or to create an instant landscape for a site that’s been ravaged by construction. Every once in a while, though, they’re enlisted for more nuanced work, such as when a mature garden needs a new steward and editor. The “before and after” results may not be as dramatic, but the process of refinement can take a garden from good to great. Such was the case when landscape designer and ISA-certified arborist Ashley Lloyd, of Lloyd Landwright, was brought in to usher a garden in lower Westchester into its next chapter.
The garden had been lovingly designed and tended by a fine gardener for many years, but after his departure, weeds had overtaken the property and much of the perennial layer had been lost during construction projects, including a new retaining wall. “The goal was to create layered texture, seasonal contrast, and movement—and to design with the garden’s future evolution in mind,” Lloyd says.
Arriving as the homeowners were in the midst of rethinking the garden, ended up being a gift. “I had time to observe the land—its microclimates, light shifts, drainage patterns—and respond accordingly,” Lloyd says. Building on the existing palette of shrubs and evergreens, she brought in more native and pollinator plants and created moments that would consistently surprise and delight the clients. She also designed dozens of seasonal planters and new outdoor lighting.
Through her years of working on this garden, Lloyd learned that “the best design happens in relationship and collaboration with the land and not from a fixed plan,” she says. Lloyd recently relocated to the West Coast, handing this garden off to its next steward in much better shape than she found it.
Take a tour of the resulting garden, a layered landscape that evolves through the seasons.
Above: “This wasn’t a ‘look but don’t touch’ garden,” says Lloyd. Rather, it was designed to invite interaction, with the client choosing to leave the front garden unfenced, so neighbors could enjoy it too. However, no fencing meant intense deer pressure, so Lloyd focussed her plant palette on those that were unpalatable to deer, including floss flower and allium. “Grasses, including sesleria, really knit everything together there,” she says. Above: Lloyd says she tries to place plants that deer don’t like around plants they prefer; for example, lamb’s ear and allium are positioned to protect asters. As part of a local Pollinator Pathway, the garden is pesticide-free and designed to support bees, birds, and butterflies.
Post-renovation, the back yard was filled with debris, including shards of concrete. “Instead of dumping the stuff, we used what was there to create what I call an urban berm,” says Arrington. The berm was built on shards of concrete that were covered with a little landscape fabric, and topped with about two feet of soil, which was brought in for the entire yard. “When we pop elevations into a garden, the shadows change, the way we can see the plants inside changes. If you’re in the hot tub and you’re looking at a berm, it’s like the plants are surrounding you. That sense of privacy is something we wanted to create,” says Arrington.
3. Focus on local materials.
With the naturalistic aesthetic, hot tub, and gravel as their starting points, Arrington and Green leaned into local materials and native plants. Arrington notes that because the rock steps, pea gravel, and cedar are all locally sourced, they are more sustainable—and just feel right. “The colors are already a part of the landscape,” he says.
4. A small garden needs curves.
Sarah Jefferys Architecture Brooklyn Backyard
To create the wild, rambling feeling their clients desired, curves were essential, says Green. Using cedar shakes to edge the beds allowed them to perfect each swooping bed design. “The curves are informal, but still there is an art to creating and finessing them to feel natural, ” says Green, who describes how one of them would look down from the deck while the other placed the edging.
5. Rethink the privacy fence.
Not all fences are created equal. “The first day we stood back there, it was so hot and the air was really stagnant,” says Green of the existing fence. To get better air circulation in the garden, Arrington and Green proposed a louvered design. Crafted from rough cedar, it provides natural texture and will become grayer over time. Because privacy was still a concern, they designed the angle and span between louvers to be on the tighter side; relaxing the span would bring even more air in.
Caption: The bed at the base of the stairs is the sunniest spot in the garden, the amsonia turns golden yellow in fall. Photo courtesy of Verru Design.
6. Select a strong color theme.
A pale blush color theme holds the plant palette together in this garden. Designed to bloom throughout the year, Arrington and Green included Magnolia virginiana, which blooms a a silky white-almost blush color in spring; Geranium Biokovo, which is really light blush on the inside; and ‘Limelight’ hydrangea, which turns a twinge of blush at the end of the season.
All week, we’re republishing some of our favorite Garden Visits that have a personal connection to our writers. No public gardens here, no vast estates, no professionally designed landscapes—just the backyards, vegetable patches, and flower beds that remind our writers of home. This story by Gardenista founder Michelle Slatalla is from 2017.
Whether it’s a new patio or a complete garden overhaul, any landscaping project can quickly outgrow its budget unless you plan ahead. I speak from experience.
In the six years since I moved into my house on a small lot (0.15 acres in downtown Mill Valley, California), I’ve changed nearly every aspect of the outdoor space, from the backyard to the front garden. The upgrades included a new patio, garden beds, paths, a gate, and a privacy hedge. Every step of the way, there were decisions to make on where to splurge and where to save.
As with most budgets, mine required more saving than splurging. Here are the top 10 ways I saved money on landscape design without cutting corners.
Photography by Matthew Williams for Gardenista.
1. Don’t toss; transform.
Above: My backyard gate is a repurposed vintage iron trellis, which we discovered leaning against the facade soon after we moved to the house and began to liberate the garden from years of overgrowth.
“Don’t toss; transform” is a lesson I learned from my friend Jean Victor, who wrote the chapter on Expert Advice: Garden Design in our Gardenista book: “Avoid the temptation to rip out and discard everything in your existing landscape,” Jean recommends. “Repurpose bricks from a planter for a new pathway; use old fence pickets to make a gate; dig up hardy perennials and move them to a new bed.”
2. Embrace the slippery slope.
Above: Rather than trying to change the grade of my sloping front garden, I planted perennials and grasses that would accentuate the lay of the land.
Todd Carr has been obsessed with plants for more than half his life, whether it’s designing landscapes for clients, leading garden coverage for Martha Stewart Living magazine (RIP), tending his own garden in upstate NY, or creating otherworldly botanicalexperiences for visitors to Hort & Pott, the by-appointment-only, self-described “speak-easy shop” that he co-owns with his partner, Carter Harrington. The store opened seven years ago, and today, fellow plant obsessives drive hours to immerse themselves in the magical, flora-focused worlds they create for each season. (Read more about it here.) The couple’s current project? Overhauling the landscaping surrounding their 1890s house in Freehold, NY. In addition, “I have been creating a new line of ceramics, and Carter has been pushing the envelope developing a new collection of outdoor cast concrete containers and sculptural accessories for the garden,” says Todd.
Below, Todd reveals the popular flower that he just can’t stomach, his favorite gardening hack that saves hours of yard work, and why he’s conflicted about the rise of meadow gardens.
Photography courtesy of Hort & Pott, unless otherwise noted.
Above: The pair moved into Arkwood Knoll, the name they’ve given their new property, this past winter after extensive renovations. “We have now been working on a myriad of garden projects that we have been documenting. It’s been an adventure and challenge doing so much exterior work with just the two of us,” says Todd (left), pictured here with Carter. Photograph by Mia Allen.
Your first garden memory:
I must have been 6 or 7, picking fresh snap peas, still warmed by the sun, enjoying the beauty in the shadow of my mothers incredible vegetable garden. That memory forever planted the endearment of being immersed in nature.
@cultivatedbychristin: She has such an evocative way of discussing the true nature of flowers and is inspiring through her arrangements and writing.
Describe in three words your garden aesthetic.
Big, bold, and textural.
Plant that makes you swoon:
Above: Cephalaria gigantea growing in front of their former house.
Any plant that can get taller than me in one season will captivate my attention every time. Over the years I’ve used such annual giants like castor bean ‘Zanzibar’, and 15-foot-tall broom corn, but fast growing vines like hyacinth bean and birdhouse gourds also make my heart sing. The structural perennial Cephalaria gigantea is a top favorite.
Plant that makes you want to run the other way:
Roses—just never found myself enthusiastic about them, and not a fan of their scent or the maintenance required to care for them.
Favorite go-to plant:
I have a few signature plants here that I like to incorporate in each garden, but by far the most used here at Arkwood is the native shrub Physocarpus or ninebark. I’ve got quite a few varieties here and growers keep bringing out beautiful new ones that are fun to collect and trial here in the gardens. Physocarpus ‘Amber Jubilee’ is a stand out here at Arkwood from spring to fall and throughout the winter with its shedding bark.
Unpopular gardening opinion:
A few weeds in the garden and blurred border edges are okay—trying to control nature to the max always feels too constrictive to me. Being a little loose and casual with my gardens puts me at ease and I’ve come to accept the blurry lines between the natural and cultivated.
Gardening or design trend that needs to go:
Meadow gardens everywhere. I think there is a right place for them of course and I’m not saying this trend needs to go; I know how beautiful and beneficial they are. I’d just like to see more layered gardens using native trees, and shrubs like sumac, willows, and dogwoods. I’m really enjoying the urban decay garden movement that I have been seeing, with the use of colonizing plant material and weeds being celebrated for the beauty they can possess.
