As a designer, watching a garden mature to its potential is a joy. As
our client, you will watch the garden mature from tiny plugs to a full
and lush garden that changes throughout the seasons and supports an
ever-rotating cast of bees and birds and butterflies
This yard had severe flooding in spring and other areas that remained very dry. By the end of the summer, the whole property was dry.
We visited in the fall of 2017 and began designing in the winter of 2018.
We needed to take many factors into account in this garden. In addition to the water and light conditions, the clients needed a yard where their large dog could run, as well as a place to sit and enjoy the garden.
The garden was installed in April 2019 over the course of several days. In some areas, installation was delayed because standing water needed to dry out.
We installed temporary irrigation to ensure everything established well in the garden's first few years.
By late summer 2019, establishment has begun. There is already a dramatic flower show. Here you see cardinal flower, two species of goldenrod, and black-eyed susans in flower.
Native gardens are subtle in the spring, full of small blue and white flowers, sedges, and ferns.
The summer flowers in a sunny garden mature shockingly fast. These pink and purple blooms are already three to four feet tall and fill the beds with bees and butterflies.
Here you see liatris, coneflower, monarda, queen of the prairie and Culver's root in flower.
See how much the plants have matured between the first and second year.
In late summer 2020, the garden is dominated by reds and yellows, with a touch of brown as the midsummer flowers go to seed.
In addition to the goldenrod, cardinal flower and black-eyed susans here, you can see the seedheads of queen of the prairie, which will persist into the winter.