• Foundation Plantings around your home using the architectural vernacular to inform plant choices & placement
• Ecological, Native & Xeriscapes  Landscapes – creation of biodiversity & climate resilience/balance
• Wellness/Healing & Memory Gardens – spaces which give one a sense of healing or peace
• Color Palette Designs-using color to create beauty, mood & harmony

Rain Gardens

Rain Gardens help the environment with water management by capturing & releasing water in a more controlled manner. Stormwater management implementation primarily uses native plants, but non-natives plants can be added for diversity & interest. Many Connecticut communities mandate a rain garden for new property development.

 

 

 

 

 

Shade and Woodland Gardens

Wooded properties have unique requirements for landscape design. I make architectural beds that incorporate a host of shade loving plants. There is a strong need for area s of shade as a perfect counterpoint for sunny landscapes. Mosses, ferns, deer-resistant plants and bulbs are ideal. Woody plants can serve as the backdrop to support flowering plants.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wild Gardens & Wildflower Meadows

A wild garden is a dense planting of native and/or non-native perennials what require less maintenance, encourage pollinators, & have an informal appearance, whereas Wildflower Meadows are purposeful and create beauty & need to be mown annually. I use the hardiest of species with the addition of dramatic flora. They both can have open borders to enhance spaciousness, compliment surrounding views or be framed by a grove of trees.

Formal, Walled or Secret Gardens 

Certain properties lend themselves to the structure of a walled or formal garden. These were fashionable in the Renaissance period & continue to flourish today. They require more maintenance than a wild garden. This style type uses axial structured lines, & geometric shapes creating a well-balanced landscape. Perennial borders are lush with texture, color & soft forms. Focal points are made with can be climbers, sculpture, & fountains. Secret gardens are a quiet place for retreat or contemplation.

Herbal and Potager Gardens

I create formal herb or informal herbaceous & perennial border gardens. A potager is an ornamental kitchen garden, with ground level patterns within a geometric framework. In an herb garden I can include spices for cooking or health, annual or perennial herbs for teas, or culinary herbs, or purely decorative ornamental cabbages.

Summer Annual Cutting Garden

Cutting gardens contain both annual & perennial plants are known for their color, form, & fragrance. Some favorites are dahlias, sunflowers, zinnias, marigolds, cosmos,  & rudbeckias. I favor viburnum, dogwood, quince, witch hazel, shadbush, lilacs & Chinese lantern. These shrubs are great to grow for cuttings. Bulbs can be allium, daffodils, fritillaria, iris & tulips and other beauties!

 

Dry & Mediterranean Gardens

In unique circumstances a xeriscape (i.e. dry landscape) is an excellent solution for drought prone locations. Spaces filled with terra-cotta pots, scented hedges, silver-leaf plants, subtropical specimens, rough-hewn textures create inviting areas of repose.  Succulents are great to use for their low water use and interesting forms & are essential to a Mediterranean garden.

 

 

Indoor and Outdoor Rooms–Connecting Spaces and Creating Unity

 

I favor connecting the house and the garden in interesting ways! An addition of a pergola or a small greenhouse room so that the home and the landscape are more intertwined. Seasonal plantings create beauty & serenity. Outdoor living spaces can have permanent seating or seasonal seating. The Also, complementary lighting & structural elements can create an area of relaxation & retreat. Sun porches with a covered roof are a vital design component for providing cooling shade.

 

Sundial & Moon Gardens 

Observing the route of the sun throughout the day can be highlighted in a Sundial, Evening, or Moon Garden. In Japan, both the sun and the moon are considered “borrowed elements.” Observing the path of light and feeling the natural rhythms offers a connection with the  environment. Moon or Evening Gardens are filled with plants that open or release their aromas after the sun is down filling the air with the rich scent of lilies, honeysuckle, lady’s trumpets, jasmine, gardenia, & roses (hardier northern plants). This garden style is always romantic, light, maybe white plants that “glow” in the twilight & a soft, flowing design.

The moon is beautiful when seen in a source of water.

Rock and Gravel Garden Design 

A rock garden originally from Asia, can look larger than it is and it works very well with nature by using what you have. Rocks are excellent at keeping erosion to a minimum. Usually drought tolerant plants thrive in a rock garden. This garden concept ranks high on sustainability charts.

 

 

 

 

Container Gardens Designs 

Using one-of-a-kind vessels or practical containers that make a design for a season and add a focal point to your home or business. Mosquito repellant plantings can be moved on and off the the patio. Herbal and edible plantings are located outside the kitchen door.

Weathered troughs make great container gardens are look great with alpines, dwarf plants, cyclamens, bulbs, corms, bonsai, seasonally rich & flowering plants.

I can help sell your home with our container home staging for both the interior and exterior. 

Wetlands, & Preservation Habitats 

Wetlands ( seasonal or permanent) are critical to maintain since they clean away a portion of the man’s pollution. As conservation sites, they may need restoration or removal of invasive species. Staggering the waterfront edge creates more garden area. Great diversity of flora and fauna exists in a wetland. Whether planning a pond, improving wetlands, or building a rain garden these designs can be beautiful & create environmental sanctuaries or habitat or both.

Coastal & Exposed Gardens

Plants, trees and shrubs provide structure & lasting quality for the landscape healing erosion, & offering protection from high winds, sun, and salt water.

For seaside, I use extremely hardy or xeriscape (drought-resistant).  Re: ocean views, we can provide a more dramatic design to frame their beauty with wind-, and salt-tolerant plants.

Jennifer Yates won the Golden Trowel Award for the best urban landscape design in Greenwich, CT.

 

Climate Change Landscapes – “The more you increase the diversity of what you grow the more resilient the land becomes.” – Mark Diacono

These days due to difficult climate & weather fluctuations, the foundation laid needs to be certainly built of brick as in the little pigs story! My goal is to analyze the positives & negatives of a site & plan accordingly. Thus, I design for you a lasting, project with beauty & ability to weather all the changes of nature.

Japanese Inspired Gardens

I enjoy creating a garden in the Japanese style for its ability to make a connection to the natural world. Another goal is the feeling of the sense of place whether that be inspiration, contemplation or peace & relaxation.Plant selection is carefully curated & there is more maintenance involved than in a wild garden per se.