A Walk in the Woods
In this vast, wooded property, the homeowners have a garden sign that reads: “Peace begins in the garden.” Indeed, over the past 40 years, they have created a peaceful yard for all to enjoy.
The homeowners transformed this one-acre wooded lot into a Victorian home — where they raised their five sons — surrounded by beds that boast colorful blooms from bulbs in the spring, a garden path that meanders through a perennial garden, and mature trees that invite you to take a walk in the woods.
When you arrive, the front porch welcomes all who want to relax amid the flowers and enjoy the many birds who take up residence here. In the spring, the front yard is full of thousands of colorful tulips and daffodils. In fact, the homeowners add approximately 1,000 bulbs each season!
In the backyard, you’ll discover a mature perennial garden, established over many years. Today, it is full of allium, anemone, astilbe, asters, bee balm, butterfly weed, coneflower, daisy, daylily, forget-me-nots, goat’s beard, hydrangea, obedient plant, primrose, speedwell and wild geranium … just to name a few from A to Z! You can walk through the perennial garden via a stone path, a contemplative spot in the yard under the canopy of trees.
The homeowners’ five boys spent their childhood playing in their very own woods at the back of the property, which at the time had a playground of tree forts, pulley systems and teepees. Today, their grandchildren also enjoy the woods when they come to visit. Most recently, the homeowners threw a family carnival under the trees in the sprawling backyard.
The homeowners have kept many of the silver maple and elm trees that are original to the property and still stand tall today. They also have added decorative trees such as redbuds for additional visual interest and medium-height contrast. Be sure to walk to the way back of the yard and step onto the “trail” that enters the forested area — you will feel as if you’ve been transported to a camping trip, a hiking adventure or a woodland vacation.
A Colorful Haven for Butterflies & Bees
When this homeowner bought her home 18 years ago, there was nothing but grass in her yard. But, with a love of gardening with her own two hands, she has since created a welcoming haven for butterflies, bees and birds that abounds in color all season long.
This gardener first established her raised backyard beds, now a lush hosta and perennial garden. The yard has a natural slope, which makes it easier to keep these beds watered from rain running down. Like many gardeners, the homeowner battles bunnies who nibble on her plants in the backyard. Her pro-tip is to use black, wire-mesh wastepaper baskets from the dollar store to cage her plants until they are heartier and thus, more bunny-proof.
In addition, this garden is notable for being a certified monarch waystation and a pollinator pocket, which means it supports the local ecosystem and natural lifecycle of native pollinators like bees, swallowtail butterflies and monarch butterflies.
First, the homeowner has plenty of milkweed to attract monarch butterflies to lay their eggs, as well as parsley and dill for the swallowtails. She protects the eggs in a butterfly station as they develop into larvae, form chrysalises and eventually emerge as butterflies. The butterflies swarm the yard’s colorful, butterfly-friendly flowers like lantana before continuing their journey and migration. As one of the garden signs in this yard says, “If nothing ever changed, there would be no butterflies.”
Other standouts of this garden are 50-year-old peonies, a wide variety of irises, a collection of roses and a private front-yard garden where the homeowner can enjoy plated dahlias, trumpet vine, a rose of Sharon that blooms in turquoise, and many other flowers.
Finally, before you leave, look through the garden kaleidoscope in the front yard, a new addition created by Door County metal sculptor Robert Anderson. This functional art piece features a working kaleidoscope for viewing flowers planted in its container. The homeowner has planted a “ROY G. BIV” garden here to display all the colors of the rainbow for an interactive, sensory experience.
A Private Backyard Oasis
This is a nicely landscaped home with an inviting front porch. However, as you move around the side of the home, trellises, wall art and trailing plants hint at something you might not expect from the street.
Over the last 30+ years, the homeowner has created her own private oasis, with abundant seating vignettes and soothing water features that she enjoys throughout the day and evening. Her father was her gardening inspiration, and she still helps care for her mother's yard in the same home where she grew up.
As you head to the backyard, you are greeted by Annabelle hydrangeas lining the walkway near a large water feature, a propane-fueled fire pit and hanging planters that add color. The paved patio extends along the entire back of the home, allowing for a dining area and seating for relaxing. A screened gazebo off the back of the patio provides for bug-free evenings.
This peaceful backyard has changed over the last 30 years. Can you imagine it as a basketball court? When their kids were younger, this was their space. However, as the family’s needs changed, so did the use of the property as they transitioned it to the lovely structured outdoor living areas you see today.
Deeper in the backyard is a living fence of Emerald Green arborvitae, which creates a backdrop for an outdoor wood-burning fireplace and a waterfall that spills into a pond. Mature trees create shade and areas of dappled sun throughout the day. Dinner plate hibiscus, ferns, hosta, coneflower, cranesbill geranium, lady’s mantle, spiderwort, zinnia and salvia are placed according to their sun needs, showing that partial sun can still support colorful perennials. Many of the decorative, vintage elements came from trips to Door County.
This garden peaks in mid-July … and the gardener loves to show it off. Note the milkweed growing in the side border; it arrived on its own and attracts monarchs every summer. Also, before you leave, take a few moments to enjoy the peaceful sound of water as you choose which space would be your favorite hangout!
The Vintage English Garden
When the homeowner and her family purchased this Georgian-style brick home in 2004, the yard lacked plants, trees and curb appeal. However, she has proven that with patience, elbow grease and a little bit of vintage flare, any Midwest garden can become a charming English garden.
The homeowner has always loved horticulture and has collected vintage items from local estate sales over the years. Those two passions are on display as you enter the garden from a stone path that leads to the backyard. The garden features an abundance of plant varieties that appeal to pollinators and birds — Black-eyed Susan, cleome, climbing hyacinth vine, coneflower, ligularia, penstemon, Solomon’s seal and many more. Notice the tricolor beech that was recently planted in the front yard, as well as a Morton Arboretum elm tree that the homeowner got on sale three years ago.
In fact, nearly all of the plants and trees on the property were purchased on sale at the end of each growing season from local garden centers or box stores — a great way to experiment while managing gardening costs.
As you ramble through the yard, you’ll find something surprising to enjoy. The homeowner tucked tomato plants and 70-year-old rhubarb into the garden beds rather than creating a separate vegetable patch. A cluster of chimney flues, a copper candy kettle and old milk cans serve as planters for container gardening. Creeping sedum nestles between each step of a stone path in the backyard. An attractive outdoor sink is a convenient stop to wash up after digging in the dirt. An antique dress form, trellises, a mid-century gate and even gas lamps — reclaimed streetlights from Evanston — unify the garden’s vintage yet natural aesthetic in warm shades of rust and copper.
From the expansive deck and patio, as well as in a seating area surrounding a fire pit, the homeowner and her family can enjoy their yard from many views — underscoring the idea that a garden should be a relaxing place to unwind in the outdoors
Midwest Meets California in Tree-Filled Oasis
This homeowner is an urban forestry expert from Bartlett Tree Experts and, together with his wife, has created a hidden oasis where the Midwest meets California. This home features a stunning outdoor living space, interesting trees that benefit from his professional expertise, and personal touches that pay homage to their Midwestern roots.
Look up and around to discover numerous trees — foundational elements that provide structure and height for the beds and hedges. The homeowners planted a Prairifire crabapple and a chinkapin oak when their daughter, now 27, and son, now 31, were babies. The oak is a favorite among squirrels, thanks to its sweet acorns.
Other trees include two aspens that gently rustle in the wind, a European beech, a dwarf Korean pine, a tricolor birch, a Cherokee flowering dogwood, a Kentucky coffee tree and a sweet birch whose bark smells like wintergreen.
The backyard oasis is where the couple’s California theme especially comes to life. They bumped out the back of their home and lined it with windows and glass doors to flow from inside to outside. With no window treatments, the homeowners enjoy views of their backyard through the seasons as if it’s “living wallpaper.”
Several white birch trees running the length of an outdoor dining table create a cathedral effect overhead — a definite standout — and, in the winter months, the white bark pops off the green arborvitae behind them.
Beds featuring different heights, textures and shades, offer interesting sightlines while surrounding the entertaining and seating areas. A groundcover of creeping lily turf unifies the beds, setting off decorative plants like a tree peony, Japanese maple and more. The patio is banded with limestone from the couple’s home state of Indiana. Pawpaw trees — the “Indiana banana” — are another nod to their Indiana roots.
As you leave, you’ll see several espaliered trees. With this pruning technique, woody plants can be trained to grow flat against a wall, trellis or fence — a space-saver for growing ornamental trees in smaller gardens and a way to encourage better production in classic fruit trees.
A Cottage-Inspired Garden
There were virtually no plantings when the homeowner moved into her house in 2000, but over the years the expansive front and back blank slates were enhanced to establish a cottage-style garden. She drew inspiration from the English walled garden at the Chicago Botanic Garden and — even more importantly — from her grandmother who taught her about gardening years before.
Only three years ago, the front yard changed dramatically when a large locust tree blew over in the wind. This created a sunny front yard and a chance to develop an inviting showstopper of a garden. A new tree is growing in the center of the front yard, with a redbud adding seasonal color nearby. The homeowner divides and adds perennials to the garden as it evolves — ranunculus, hosta, phlox, coreopsis, coral bells — as well as annuals from seed.
The cottage-inspired theme continues as you proceed into the back and discover winding beds wrapping around the perimeter of the yard. In the center, a fountain planter creates a focal point and is surrounded by hosta, stepping stones, more flowers and greenery. Birdhouses, ornamental features and handpainted touches are sprinkled throughout the garden for additional visual interest, and, by the height of summer, the backyard is teeming with birds and bumblebees. Tucked in the corner is the homeowner’s potting area.
Some of the most meaningful plants are those she inherited from her grandmother, such as red bee balm, along with roses that have traveled with her from her old home to this one. Cultivating these over the decades keeps the homeowner connected to her grandmother — and, as she says of her plants, “wherever I go, they’ll go.”
Her advice to other gardeners is simple: “just do it.” Put things in the ground, trim them, pull them out, move them somewhere else — experiment to see what grows best in different areas of the yard, especially as you learn the shifting patches of shade and sun.
A Garden in Transition
This homeowner is a garden influencer who shares helpful advice and insights to thousands of online followers on social media. But, it all starts from her home where she has built an appealing and structured native garden that changes every year as she experiments and evolves as a gardener herself.
When she bought her home nine years ago, the yard was comprised entirely of turf grass. She planted traditional ornamental shrubs and flowers at first, and now her goal has changed to transforming it into a showcase for native plantings. She stresses the idea of working with the yard you have, adding bit by bit and learning as you go.
Today, her front yard abounds with native plants and flowers in a wide range of varieties, color combinations and textures. Tall grasses serve as a drifting backdrop, setting off flowers that are attractive to pollinators, such as penstemon, coneflowers, stachys, St. John’s wort, coral bells and more. She uses the front bed to test different native plants and understand their growth patterns. Don’t miss the newest addition in the front yard: a pond waterfall!
Notice the side yard that is loaded with vegetables and herbs, a climbing rose and this year’s experiment, a native wisteria. She also has milkweed to attract monarch caterpillars, planted in a container to keep the plant from spreading in garden beds.
The back features a number of trees that serve as “foundational pieces” for the yard, and semi-native plantings including Joe Pye weed, ligularia and hydrangea — as well as a “cathedral walkthrough” of three seven-son flower trees that will offer huge flowers in bright magenta by October. The backyard has an outdoor kitchen and seating area to create a welcoming living space. The homeowner also added a retaining wall at the back of her property for water management due to a significant downward slope from her house. She has a hidden cutting garden in this space.
As a master gardener and natural problem-solver, the homeowner hopes others embrace native gardens, too. She encourages budding gardeners to plant things they love, while working in native plants to give Mother Nature — and time — a chance to do the rest.
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