There are around 50 trees on the 1 1/2-acre mowed yard, providing shade in both the front and the back areas. Growing well in the shaded areas is “Creeping Red Fescue” grass. Kathy prefers open spaces among the plants in the beds so that each plant can grow to its full size and shape. She appreciates the evergreen shrubs of “Green Giant” Arborvitae (Thuga) planted at the house’s corner, with Hetzi juniper (Juniperus chinensis “Hetzi Columnaris”), hemlock (Tsuga), a tall cedar tree (Cedrus) and “Blue Star” juniper (Juniperus squamata) shrubs growing among the beds that provide interest in the fall and winter. Rounded boxwood (Buxus) forms foundation plantings along the front of the house, while a mature orangey-red, spring-blooming azalea (Rhododendron), name may be “Hot Shot Girard,” stands 12 feet tall at the side corner. Other outstanding plants include “Twist-n-Shout”, a deep blue reblooming Hydrangea (H. macrophylla) of the Endless Summer Series, the “Shasta” Doublefile Viburnum (Viburnum plicatum f. tomentosum) with fragrant, creamy white flowers that bloom in the spring, and the Virburnum nudum “Winterthur”, which has all-season interest with creamy-white spring flowers, berries for the birds and waxy leaves that turn orangey in the fall.
Several varieties of daylilies (Hemercallis) providing summer colors are the yellow “Happy Returns”, the soft orange “Stella D’Oro” and the double orangey-red “Kwanso” daylily. An Oriental orange lily with black spots (Lilium lancifolium or Lilium tigrinum), commonly known as the Tiger Lily, is an interesting summer bloom, along with the yellow and red flower of Indian Pink (Spigelia) and the native Columbine (Aquilegia), the blue-flowered Little Blue Star (Amsonia) and the blue salvia (Salvia azurea). The spotted laurel or gold dust plant (Aucuba japonica) is an evergreen shrub with unusual variegated green and yellow leaves. A plant that you may want to add to your garden is the “Ivory Halo” dogwood (Cornus alba). This interesting dwarf shrub with white-edged green leaves shares a bright spot in the backyard perennial bed.
These are just a few of the many interesting plant varieties making statements throughout the garden. Our congratulations to the Touchettes for creating this beautiful garden and a thank you for sharing the numerous planting ideas.