With three small children one key ingredient was a lawn area for the kids to romp and play. This site has limited direct sun caused by an apartment building that abuts the rear property line coupled with surrounding trees. Trees have been removed or pruned where possible; the apartment building is a keeper. Chelsea will install shade tolerant sod with the hope that there will be sufficient sun to keep its vigor. If this proves not to be the case, the fall back will be one of the many new artificial play surfaces.
The owners also wanted an area for grilling and entertaining. This will be provided with the installation of a roughly 400 square foot brick patio (herringbone pattern) that will be sufficient in size to permit a portable BBQ grill and a table seating with for 6 to 8 guests.
The garden and planting beds have minimal space due to the overall size constraints of the backyard. We will introduce four of the trees listed below to add verticality to the site and make the transition from the patio up onto the grassy rear play area more appealing.
Plants & Flowers:
Acer palmatum Bloodgood – – Japanese Red Maple
Acer palmatum dissectum – –Thread-leaf Japanese Maple
Cercis Canadensis – – Redbud tree
Cornus Kousa – – Chinese Dogwood
Styrax Japonica – –Japanese Snowbell
Azalea – – Hino Crimson (red)
Azalea – – Delaware Valley white
Azalea Gumpo – –Dwarf pink
Boxwood Sempervirens – – Common Boxwood
Corylus – –Filbert
Cotoneaster – – Bearberry Cotoneaster
Hydrangea Petiolaris – –Climbing Hydrangea
Hydrangea Blue WaveLacecap Hydrangea
Ilex Helleri – –Mushroom Holly
Ilex Variegata – – Variegated English Holly
Lirope Big Blue – – Lily Turf grass
Leucothoe axillaries – – Coast Leucothoe
Prunus Snow Fountain – – White Weeping Cherry
Pieris Andromeda – –Dorothy Wycoff
Prunus Schipkaensis – – Skip Laurel
Rhododendron PJM – –Compact lavender flower
Rhododendron Chionoides – –Dwarf white
Skimmia japonica – –White flower/red fruit
The majority of the above listed plants are moderate to dense shade tolerant. There is some direct sun in sections of the rear garden, the actual amount however is still undetermined.
Assorted perennials will be incorporated into the planting in mid to late spring after further consultations with the client.
There will be a decorative cast stone planter placed on the rear dark cement slab, which is the transition area from the back door of the house out onto the herringbone brick paved patio. This container will more than likely have a specimen weeping evergreen in it, perhaps a weeping Atlas Cedar or White Pine. The other route for planting this container would be a combination of evergreens such as Blue Chip Juniper,
Gold Coast Juniper, Mound Juniper, Leucothe and Dorothy Wycoff Andromeda.
Please note that the idea for this planting is to combine blues, gold, green and red for winter interest. Hollies or cotoneaster can also be incorporated to gain fruit and berry interest. For the front of the house, the same mid-winter container planting formula will apply. We will place decorative planters on the stoop along with a specimen tree or evergreen to help soften the winter look.
Please note the above suggested plants will be subject to availability and winter appearance. We will gather the plants to be used from both our garden centers and other vendors and heel them in until the garden is ready to be planted in February.
Site Challenges
Delivery of materials is always a challenge. In this case, all the rear garden materials, including brick, sand, grit, quarry process stone, equipment, plants and soil amendments must be carried up the front stoop through the house and out into the backyard. The final route will be determined by everyone’s schedule as the house and garden come closer to completion. Needless to say, we are not pulling up the pickup truck to the driveway and going through a wide open back gate. The Challenge!
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