Our home was built in 1911 as the Ludington family gardener’s cottage. It has gone through four major renovations, including the 2-year, 6-month remodel that we completed in 2023. Part of rethinking the house included creating a special, abundant garden.

Profiting from the opportunity to start from scratch, we planned.

The special challenges were that the old garden looked like a neglected construction site and had a level change from east to west of thirty feet and from south to north of ...

These Quick Fire hydrangeas were planted after they were used to decorate the dance floor at my daughter’s wedding reception in 2011.

Our garden began as a project to restore the land surrounding the long-abandoned historic carriage house that became our home in 1989. It was 1.5 acres of volunteer Norway maples, ivy (English and poison), and rotting stumps ...

When we bought our house in Haverford in 2010, the garden contained some beautiful trees and shrubs, but had been rather neglected. I have been working since then to restore its beauty. A huge swamp white oak and a large cut leaf Japanese maple are the most striking features of the garden. They stand in a large lawn edged with rhododendrons, azaleas, viburnums, hollies and other understory trees under some tall pines, maples and young oaks. The shrubs and trees ...

Under the styrax japonicus are West Tisbury hybrid azaleas propagated by my mother-in-law, Polly Hill.  She named these plants after members of my family:  bright red in the front is ‘Joseph Hill’,  pink in the back is ‘Alexander’, to the left in front is ‘Michael’.  On the left is a potted Clivia which spends the warm days of spring, summer and fall in the shade, followed by the winter in my garage.  It blooms in March in my kitchen which gives joy at the end ...