This French family moved from the City to Pelham Manor — and as both spouses are from Brittany, their wish was to evoke the beautiful yet subtle, landscapes of coastal France throughout their gardens.

I always honor and respect all wishes to conceive or build upon an outdoor space that represents something special — whether nostalgic or a dedicated space in the garden for celebratory moments. For this client it meant inclusion of abundant. flowering and colorful Hydrangeas, orderly plantings creating charming, lively chaos, and a Fig row off to the side — paying homage to the clients’ late father.

Discovering and repurposing existing materials on site is akin to my delight for finding “treasures” in an antique shop. An empty, old stone bird bath bowl lay near the garage and we chose to install it within the “partial berm” on the south-west side of the residence. Because I’ve always had great success growing Lavender by driveways and stone materials, I planted four miniature Lavender plants within the pot which my crew placed strategically within a large cluster of existing (and edited) Solomon Seal.

The lighting on this side of the property is ethereal, therefore in lieu of dense plantings, I selected a Smokebush complemented by Pink Muhly Grasses, Asters, Plumbago, Goldenrod, Lavender and Gaura.

The sketch below at right is loose pastel of how I envisioned these colors coming together. The second sketch below shows the front walkway which is planted with low boxwoods, Heathers and a variety of Daffodils which will make their show in early spring.