KDN: This pandemic-era commission began rather simply as a planting for a friend, recently widowed, who sought a deeper connection and identity with the place she called home. Beneath the canopy of established oaks and redbuds, a vision for a meadow came into focus. The planting recalls the shifting tempos of an open woodland giving way to more light at its edge, all on a picturesque slope that faces the deck and rear of the home. Standing proud on this slope is a handsome Siberian elm, an appraisal I’ve never written about this species and surely never will again. The tree confounded my feelings: as badly as I wanted to stamp out its existence, I couldn’t risk destabilizing the slope further. The loss of shade would have been detrimental, too. Curiously, unlike most of its kind, it had remarkable architecture that didn’t seem to pose a risk of falling limbs on the property. We decided to just leave it and embrace the hybrid reality of life in the urban landscape today, with all the uncomfortable feelings. In the years since installation, the client has continued to make the garden her own, adding alliums and other species alongside elements that bring the neighborhood’s rich bird life closer for observation. The meadow reaches a biodiverse apex from a more traditional procession of garden perennials on either flank closer to the house. A teak bench in the small stone gallery, nestled at the crest of the hill, provides a destination for reading, birdwatching, and contemplation. The planting matrix is slowly overcoming the joints in the hardscape, yielding a patina that will only grow with time. In deeper shade areas downslope, a new sedge lawn (Carex pensylvanica), mowed no more than twice annually, replaces struggling turf and serves as a rugged understory for a high-energy dog.

Full plant list.

Landscape architecture and planting design: Kelly D. Norris, LLC

Landscape Contractor: Country Landscapes, LLC

Photos by Grant Webster Photography.