Rock garden, Sharon, Vermont

Mater stonemasons, Treestone Landscaping, created a series of south-facing terraces on a hillside between the house and conservatory. I designed and sourced plants for the 70-foot long gravel beds with a selection of slow-growing dwarf conifers and a variety of flowering groundcovers such as Phlox subulata and stolonifera, dianthus, geraniums, androsaces, and compact thymes.  A bed of lavender offers summer interest at one end while woodland beauties are tucked under the shade of a crabapple at the other. I created special niches for showy alpine plants such as gentians, saxifrages, sempervivums, and veronicas. The beds read as a colorful continuum from the house, while also rewarding closer inspection for the lover of alpine plants.