September 2009 Garden of the Month

Garden of the Month: 16 Swan Street –
In this elegant, well-designed Italianate garden, formal elements are used to create a balanced, symmetrical design, in perfect scale and proportion to compliment the handsome architecture of the house. On the street side, wide lushly planted beds along the perimeter and front walkway are anchored by a tall hedges of magnolias along the elegant iron fence, and serve as a dramatic backdrop for the linear formal plantings of African iris, variegated caladiums, and soft-colored flowers, and fronted by a low hedge of clipped boxwoods edged with clumps of monkey grass. On the lane side, the imposing masonry façade is enhanced and softened by foundation plantings of evergreen topiaries, tall bushes, and a rectangular rose-bed, bounded by low clipped boxwood hedges. A wide lawn provides visual distance and perspective to further offset the mass of the house. On the west side front of the lawn, a large oak tree, encircled by a wide bed of lush greenery and flowers adds its beauty to the lovely scene. The use of a variety of sizes, shapes, hues, and textures in the foliage and flowers -- the light green of huge tropical leaves and holly leaves; the large, glossy, bronzy-green magnolia leaves with their big, sensuous white flowers; the soft plum-green foliage of the rosebushes; and the tiny, dark-green glossy leaves of the boxwoods in complimenting shades of green, red, orange, and white – all provide additional interest.