Shortest commute in history! This yard is across the street from us (hence, the bizarre drone-like aerial perspective in that first pic that was shot from our bedroom window). There are three existing large beds that were over-run with Sea Oats making a monoculture mess of the place (this grass is native to southeastern United States but is very aggressive elsewhere despite being very popular with native and conventional gardeners alike). The existing structure of the beds is a gorgeous layout so I just kept that in place with minor changes to the bed on the exterior of the fence which I expanded and installed a steel border to create a clean line for the wavy bed shape that will now echo the beds of the interior fence area.
I went with a formal design approach that will have repeating elements from bed to bed because this yard is too elegant to have a haphazard aesthetic. Species were aesthetically chosen for a composition that will have an undulating arc of blooms beginning with a slow release in early Spring, peaking in July/early August and cascading into early November. In addition to aesthetic values, I created this plant list for high functionality for pollinators and songbirds as well as for their resistance to deer browsing and diversity of root systems to create healthy soils.
All plants will be Michigan native genotype from Hidden Savanna Nursery.
When this yard is established it will be the gem of Kalamazoo and we'll get an amazing view to wake up to every morning!
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