Tell Garden, Plainfield, New Hampshire

A cheerful house filled with sunlight in a quiet rural setting suffered from unimaginative foundation plantings, an awkward entry drive, and many missed opportunities. The Tell family enjoys the fruits of their vegetable garden and wishes to bring wildlife close to their everyday lives. Working with landscape architect Pamelia Smith, we developed a master plan with an arrival court, stone paths that lead to the front door and define garden beds. I specified tree and shrub plantings along the edges of the property to promote wildlife, designed the plantings for the front border, and am now helping to establish a hundred-foot long mixed shrub and perennial border. Other than the masonry the Tells have done all the work themselves. They know the many trials, and the tangible rewards, that gardening can bring. Moths, butterflies and birds pick at seeds and berries nearly all year long, which the family enjoys observing from the dining room window.