We are Bill and Grace Wald. Our home and gardens are located along the banks of the Sheyenne River in Harwood, North Dakota. We are in Zone 4. Our property is protected from river floods with a permanent dike/levy and has a drainage ditch running through it. Because of the various elevations, we have made many terraces with natural fieldstone in order to minimize erosion. We have many mature native river-bottom trees consisting of mostly ash, boxelder, and oak. With all of the shade these trees provide, we primarily have shade-loving plants and ground covers. We have over thirty varieties and several hundred hostas. We do however, have a couple of sun spots with sun-loving perennials. The following photos were taken over a two-to-three-month period.
Early spring showing some of the rock wall terracing.
This is our patio, which at one time was our basketball court, sandbox, and firepit. The concrete was poured in 4-foot squares with boards between. The boards rotted, and we are planting Irish moss (Sagina subulata, Zones 4–8).
Hosta ‘Krossa Regal’ (Zones 3–8)
A river bed (dry) in a drainage ditch and a stairway leading to the patio. The garden is planted with a variety of hostas, penstemon, and ground covers.
Hostas, with Hosta montana ‘Aureomarginata’ (Zones 4–8) in the center.
Side sunshine yard, with daylilies, hydrangeas, hostas, and a few annuals.
Side yard with snow on the mountain (Aegopodium podagraria ‘Variegata’, Zones 4–9), sedums, lily of the valley (Convallaria majalis, Zones 3–8) and hostas.
Hostas line the pathway to the terraced dike wall, with a variety of ferns.
The front-yard sunshine garden includes Karl Foerster grass (Calamagrostis acutiflora, Zones 4–8), bluestem, roses, delphinium (Delphinium elatum, Zones 3–8), Asiatic lilies (Lilium hybrid, Asiatic group, Zones 4–9).
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Comments
Great ideas, love all those greens. North Dakota can be harsh- you have done great.
It appears from the photographs that you have made a paradise there. Very well done to be sure! Gorgeous.
I love your garden, Bill and Grace. Many would have just thrown up their arms and accepted defeat in such a shaded property. You have turned it into a magical place by focusing on what will do well: shade-loving plants, ground covers....and hundreds of hostas (and all the other plants of course). I also love your front yard with its tall grasses and various colourful additions. Not a boring suburban "go-to" in sight (that I can see). Congratulations!!!! :)
Love those stone terraced areas you made, such an amazing accomplishment.
I love a woodland garden like this, and your patio area is really nice too.
Great collection of Hostas, they look very natural there.
What a lovely place! Everything looks so natural and fits in perfectly where planted. Thank you for sharing!
Love that patio!!
Beautiful gardens! I especially appreciated the spring photo showing the stone walls. A lot of work but a nice way to create the framework for the plants. Thank you for sharing.
Yours is truly a stunning patio, a textural dream, with the varied materials, raised beds, Irish moss and fabulous stone walls. The hostas are beautiful and I love how they are interplanted with various ground covers, flowering shade plants and stones. You must have a great source for stone !!! Lots of work I am certain but unusually lovely ~~~~~ and with what I assume is a mighty short growing season. Great job !
Wow! Beautiful garden. And I thought we had lots of rocks here in W. WA where we joke that the glacier dropped it's load. You have made masterful use of them in a lovely garden. Love the patio with the moss between the pavers.
This is just beautiful. It looks so cool and calm. I love all those intersecting paths with beds lining them. Great work.
How long did it take you to get all this done? Looks like a lot of work and planning went into it.
Absolutely amazing! I have looked at your photos about 3 times...so far. Such planning! Thank you!
Oh my, I'm just in love with all the stonework! What a perfect backdrop for your garden.
omgosh! so many gorgeous shades of green, done to perfection!!! Thanks so much for sharing this beautiful garden.
I have come back to this many times. Truly wonderful.
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