Today we’re visiting with Terry Karpen.
My garden in Redding, Connecticut, is a study of interplay between the planned and the wild, the artistic and the practical, the ecologically sound and the aesthetically pleasing.
Woodland shade perennial borders, in which the native trees and shrubs comprise the upper story, surround my log home, which is adjacent to a 1,600-acre Nature Conservancy preserve.
The property is protected by a discreet deer fence that was installed to allow the forest to recover from the ravages of the excessive local deer population. In addition to emphasizing hardy perennial plants, the structure and composition of the garden precludes all use of chemical fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides, which minimizes both negative ecological impacts and maintenance costs. For example, fallen leaves are left on beds to provide natural mulch, invasive plant species are removed by hand, and volunteer native plants are encouraged. My goal with this garden, as well as with Queen of Spades, my garden and landscape design company, is to provide an example of how global concerns such as forest loss and chemical fertilizers and pesticide use can be addressed in gardening practices without compromising the grace and beauty of the landscape design.
This Acer palmatum ‘Bloodgood’ (Zones 5–9) is surrounded by Carex ‘Ice Dance’ (Zones 5–9).
Helleborus orientalis ‘Royal Heritage’ (Zones 4–9) blooms in the midst of variegated vinca (Vinca minor, Zones 4–9).
Hosta ‘Great Expectations’ (Zones 2–9) is side by side with the foliage of Helleborus orientalis ‘Royal Heritage’.
Hosta ‘Pacific Blue Edger’
Hosta ‘Regal Splendor’ dramatically edges the woodland with beautiful foliage.
View of the garden from the back of the house.
Again viewed from the back of the house, the garden is a beautiful, serene, green space.
Corydalis lutea (Zones 5–7) blooms all summer with small yellow flowers in the shade, complementing the foliage of Hosta ‘Regal Splendor’.
Garden shed with window boxes
Have a garden you’d like to share?
Have photos to share? We’d love to see your garden, a particular collection of plants you love, or a wonderful garden you had the chance to visit!
To submit, send 5-10 photos to [email protected] along with some information about the plants in the pictures and where you took the photos. We’d love to hear where you are located, how long you’ve been gardening, successes you are proud of, failures you learned from, hopes for the future, favorite plants, or funny stories from your garden.
Have a mobile phone? Tag your photos on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter with #FineGardening!
Do you receive the GPOD by email yet? Sign up here.
Fine Gardening Recommended Products
A.M. Leonard Deluxe Soil Knife & Leather Sheath Combo
Fine Gardening receives a commission for items purchased through links on this site, including Amazon Associates and other affiliate advertising programs.
Berry & Bird Rabbiting Spade, Trenching Shovel
Fine Gardening receives a commission for items purchased through links on this site, including Amazon Associates and other affiliate advertising programs.
DeWalt Variable-Speed Cordless Reciprocating Saw
Fine Gardening receives a commission for items purchased through links on this site, including Amazon Associates and other affiliate advertising programs.
Comments
Thank you for sharing your wonderful photos. Absolutely gorgeous gardens and I love all the stonework as well. I'd love to see more photos which would include how your home nestles in its' surroundings.
The garden shed is beautiful. Love the windows.
I would love to know what type of deer fence you are using. I am currently not having much success trying to convince the deer from leaving my landscape alone!
Do internet search for:
PVC Coated Steel Hex Web Deer Fence
There are local companies that do the installation or DIY and buy the rolls of fence and posts and accesscories.
Your garden is so inviting! Makes me want to grab a glass of iced tea and soak in the scenery! Thank you for sharing!
Remarkable, Terry!!
So natural and a very nice flow with the woods right behind your property. The garden and woods blend together so harmoniously. I love all the stonework, rocks, and walkways. To copy another commenter: "I'd love to see more photos which would include how your home nestles in its' surroundings."
Have a lovely day.
Wow, those hostas are amazing.
So beautiful so peaceful...I can almost hear the silence mixed with the sound of the birds (I live in the city and the sound of birds is mixed with HVAC, vehicles, construction).
The stone structures in your garden are so beautiful and substantial, such solid looking flagstone paths, etc.
Your Hostas are all so healthy, and I've never understood why people get excited about Helleborus , but your Helleborus orientalis ‘Royal Heritage’ really caught my attention, planted in a nice group and a great color, I actually saved that photo for inspiration!
PS...what a creative/clever website you have! I love your garden philosophy also!
Your gardens are so peacefully beautiful. The richness of the lush foliage shows that your natural methods of caring for your land is what is needed. They are wonderful,
I'm wondering about the Acer palmatum 'Bloodgood'. This variety is supposed to have dark red/purple foliage.
The leaves of my maple are dark red in the spring and brilliant red in the fall. Most summers the leaves change to the color you see in the photo.
Here's a bunch of explanations for the color change:
https://www.google.com/search?q=Bloodgood+Japanese+Maple+leaves+turning+green&ei=1dmrYq33K4uHptQP3-iS-Ak&ved=0ahUKEwjttZXlq7P4AhWLg4kEHV-0BJ8Q4dUDCA0&uact=5&oq=Bloodgood+Japanese+Maple+leaves+turning+green&gs_lcp=Cgdnd3Mtd2l6EAMyBQgAEIAEMgYIABAeEBYyBQgAEIYDMgUIABCGAzIFCAAQhgMyBQgAEIYDOgcIABBHELADOgoIABDkAhCwAxgBOgQIABANOggIABAeEAgQDUoECEEYAEoECEYYAVC8RViEe2D5ogFoB3AAeACAAccBiAGuCJIBAzUuNJgBAKABAcgBDcABAdoBBggBEAEYCQ&sclient=gws-wiz
This is a truly lovely garden - love all of the stone work and your hostas and hellebores are to die for! You must work hard defending the hostas from slugs...
The answer to the Hosta slug problem is to use the varieties that the slugs aren't attracted to.
Those are the Hostas with thick leaves.
There are lists of slug resistant Hostas on the internet.
Thanks for sharing your lovely garden
What a pretty garden! It looks so calm and peaceful
Log in or create an account to post a comment.
Sign up Log in