Transforming this sunny backyard has been a joy—especially for a client who shares our passion for plants packed from edge to edge. The garden, once structured but sparse, is now being reimagined as a vibrant blend of cottage charm and meadow ease, full of color, texture, and vertical movement.
At the back of the property, mid-sized shrubs were pulled forward to make way for larger trees and evergreens that offer both shade and structure. We’re introducing five new trees to create vertical height and provide much-needed relief from the sun. These specimens include the stunning Blue Atlas Cedar, elegant Lebanon Weeping Cedar, and striking forms of Bruns Serbian Spruce and Colorado Columnar Spruce. The graceful Hana Matoi Japanese Maple and light-dappled Skyline Honey Locust will bring contrast, softness, and seasonal interest.
Two new trellises now frame the space, and we’ve planted Flower Carpet Pink Roses at their base. These will soon be trained to climb and bloom in waves, adding vertical color and softness to the garden’s hardscape.
Our plant reshuffle was deliberate—mid-sized shrubs and perennials originally placed along the garden edges are being relocated to the center beds. This creates a dynamic layered effect, allowing taller specimens to shine without overwhelming the borders. Shrubs like Sky Pencil Holly, Chokeberry Low Scape Mound, and Burkwood Viburnum form the mid-height structure, supported by dwarf conifers like Spruce Globosa, Mugo Pine Slow mound, and Blue Chip Juniper.
To capture the spirit of an English cottage garden blending into a sunny meadow, we filled every space with flowering perennials in complementary waves of purples, reds, soft blues, and silvers. Coneflowers, Penstemons, Catmint, Salvias, and Yarrows bloom alongside Russian Sage, Aubrieta, and Neon Star Dianthus.
Groundcovers like Snow in Summer, Woolly Thyme, and creeping varieties of Heath and Sedum fill the outer edges, ensuring not a single patch of bare soil remains. The result? A garden that feels full, lush, and entirely alive—where every glance meets a bloom, and every corner tells a story.
Plantings Include:
Cedar Blue Atlas (Cedrus atlantica ‘Blue Atlas’), Cedar Lebanon Weeping (Cedrus libani ‘Lebanon Weeping’), Spruce Bruns Serbian (Picea omorika ‘Bruns’), Spruce Colorado Columnar (Picea pungens ‘Columnar’), Japanese Maple Hana Matoi (Acer palmatum dissectum ‘Hana Matoi’), Honeylocust Skyline (Gleditsia triacanthos ‘Skyline’), Winter Heath Kramer’s Red (Erica x darleyensis ‘Kramer’s Red’), Sky Pencil Holly (Ilex crenata ‘Sky Pencil’), Blue Chip Juniper (Juniperus horizontalis ‘Blue Chip’), Spruce Globosa High Graft (Picea pungens ‘Globosa’), Mugo Pine Slowmound (Pinus mugo ‘Slowmound’), Chokeberry Low Scape Mound (Aronia melanocarpa ‘Low Scape Mound’), Flower Carpet Pink Rose (Rosa ‘Flower Carpet Pink’), Burkwood Viburnum (Viburnum x burkwoodii), Yarrow New Vintage Violet (Achillea millefolium ‘New Vintage Violet’), Aubrieta Axcent Deep Purple (Aubrieta ‘Axcent Deep Purple’), Snow in Summer (Cerastium tomentosum), Dianthus Neon Star (Dianthus ‘Neon Star’), Coneflower Sombrero Salsa Red (Echinacea hybrid ‘Sombrero Salsa Red’), Coneflower PowWow Berry (Echinacea purpurea ‘PowWow® Berry’), Catmint Cat’s Pajamas (Nepeta ‘Cat’s Pajamas’), Penstemon Dark Towers (Penstemon ‘Dark Towers’), Penstemon Red Riding Hood (Penstemon ‘Red Riding Hood’), Russian Sage Little Spire (Perovskia atriplicifolia ‘Little Spire’), Salvia Caradonna (Salvia nemorosa ‘Caradonna’), Salvia Noble Knight (Salvia nemorosa ‘Noble Knight’), Sedum Sunsparkler Firecracker (Sedum ‘Sunsparkler Firecracker’), Woolly Thyme (Thymus pseudolanuginosus), and Jackmanii Clematis (Clematis x ‘Jackmanii’).
