I had the good luck to attend a sneak peek of the seven gardens on this year's tour. The gardens were impressive, especially considering some of the site challenges they had to address. The theme of this year's tour seemed to be underground streams. Many of the homes are situated on properties with underground water issues.
#1 Terri's Garden
A combination of underground drains and wetland plantings combine to deal with the large amount of water flowing under this property. The garden is low-maintenance and designed to allow the owner to age in place.
#2 Letson-Gardner Garden
This steep yard was transformed into a spectacular terraced garden, perfect for entertaining or solo contemplation.
#3 Mill Pond Garden
I am still marveling over this transformed property. With a 110' vertical rise in the back, the property was terraced with 380 tons of rockwork. This garden is mind-boggling.
#4 Myers Garden
This asian-inspired garden employed a number of creative solutions to manage the large amount of underground water beneath the property. It's peaceful and lovely and you'd never guess that there's an underground stream flowing beneath your feet.
#5 Andora Gardens
This is the personal garden of Ann Nickerson, an ANLD designer. This is a small but incredibly usable garden, broken into different entertaining and resting areas.
#6 Peck Garden
This was my favorite garden on the tour. This is the personal garden of Marcia Peck, an ANLD designer. She has installed an interesting assortment of mosaic rockwork and the plant palette was exciting.
#7 Schmitt Garden
This garden suffered from, you guessed it, poor drainage! You'd never guess it looking at it now.
The ANLD Designers Garden Tour will be held on Saturday June 17th from 10am to 4pm. Tickets are available online. Or leave a message and be entered to win a ticket! I will announce the winner on Thursday June 15th.
