home park

three generations of gardeners make a new center of gravity.

a daughter goes off to college and into the world, a mother cares for a grandmother in her final decade, and the home becomes a sanctuary for stem cell transplant convalescence while bare lawn transforms from unbroken green planes to carpets in cozy outdoor rooms.

this new farmhouse on a parklike acre of turf and tall maples, oaks and pines gets lush perennial borders, flowering shrubs and understory trees. Thickened borders soften, provide privacy and amplify wildlife habitat and corridors. stonewalls expand from year to year; seasonal displays of blooms, foliage and branches beneath the mature overstory rotate through the color wheel. understory of dogwood, elder, dappled willow, and crab apples have all grown from saplings to established fruiting anchors. oakleaf hydrangea, maidenhair and karl foerster grasses, baptisia, threadleaf bluestar, catmint, culinary sage, lemon balm, lavender, phlox, obedient plant, native mums, and peonies bring successional bloom spring through fall. rudbeckia, butterfly bush, rose campion, love-in-a-mist, and milkweed find new niches among the perennials from year to year.

watching the violent drama of dive-bombing hummingbirds, prowling neighborhood cats, and delicate butterflies in heat is high-art and blood-sport for a youthful centenarian—the goldenest years distilled to a garden. likewise, cancer recovery centers around the soap opera of coyotes, foxes, bunnies, and the occasional black bear alongside the daily cardinals, red-bellied woodpeckers, and flickers among the verdant views is primetime—garden television.