Chad and Seyra’s Garden

A collector’s garden

Our names are Chad and Seyra Hammond . These are some photos of our garden in Woodbury , Connecticut . I ( Seyra ) am a womb-to-tomb nurseryman . I inherited my passion for garden at a young years from several crime syndicate members . Shortly after my husband and I assemble , I began indoctrinate him , and now it ’s a hobby we share . When we purchase our home in 2017 , the yard was a blank slate except for some stubbornpachysandrathat failed to get the eviction notice . But in the prop ’s ripe Ellen Price Wood and interesting topography , we saw so much potential and a undertaking that would keep us endlessly occupied with our love of plant life . We envisioned a garden with varied feature spread over several acre that could take decennary to attain ( if ever ) . But for us the enjoyment rest in the journey , not the destination . Five geezerhood in , the garden is still sparse , but we ’ve put in trails to make areas accessible and make placeholder for future feature like ourstumpery . In the meanwhile , modest vignette have begun to appear , and there are so many pocket-sized details to be savour if you just take the clock time to notice . clean warning — we are definitely plant collectors , not garden interior decorator . Here are some of our favorite inhabitants .

We agree with the bees thatCirsium rivulare‘Trevor ’s Blue Wonder ’ ( annual ) is something special . This is my favored colouring material , and it seems like this flora never stop flower .

I ’ve take how to take photos to make the garden seem less unsheathed than it actually is . For instance , this photo shows two separate borders with a path between that you could not see clearly , so the border blend into one large nonexistent border . Plants in the back include a very degraded - growingCercidiphyllum japonicum‘Claim Jumper ’ ( zone 4–8 ) , a pink - floweringBenthamidia florida(akaCornusflorida , Zones 5–9 ) , andPrunuspersica‘Bonfire ’ ( Zones 5–8 ) . In the foreground are several shrub and perennial , such aspeonies , blush wine , Japanese spirea(Spiraeajaponica , Zones 3–8 ) , andPhlomistuberosa(Zones 6–9 ) . Chad and I hump to make thing for the garden , include the over-embellished tuteur in this photo .

Near the house , the garden consists of island beds in what was the back lawn . The lawn has been mostly slenderize topathwaysbetween the beds . The bed were all created by dumping surface soil andcompostdirectly on the lawn , found straightaway into that , andmulchingwith wood chips . The entire pace is on a northward - facing slope in a clearing in the woods , which mean we only get direct sun for the middle part of the daylight , and when we get rainwater , it drains away speedily . Phlomistuberosais in the foreground .

The garden is very eclectic , as you ’d expect for flora aggregator . For us , lifespan is too short to adhere to just one theme ! Here ’s a more traditional English mixed border vignette with jumbo fleeceflower(Persicariapolymorpha , Zones 3–9 ) , meadow sage(Salvianemorosa , Zones 4–8),Campanula , and fragrantRosa‘Munstead Wood . ’

One of the many things we collect iscarnivorous industrial plant . We have create a small peat bog garden to hold them that is connected to the front pond , so it never dry out . We design and instal it ourselves the first year we lived here . The bog expanse is filled with peat moss and perlite top with pine chaff . The pitcher plants(Sarracenia mintage , Zones 5–9 ) , Venus flytraps(Dionaea muscipula , Zones 5–10 ) , sundew(Droseraspecies ) , and more late a hybrid grass pink orchid(Calopogonhybrid , Zones 3–9 ) have done well in this peat bog alfresco in Connecticut for several age . As you’re able to see , the frogs have also done well here . In the summer it ’s playfulness to see how many you’re able to count . Finding more than 30 at one meter is not uncommon . If you build it , they will come ! All the wildlife enjoy ourponds .

ThisCalopogonbloomed for the first meter this year .

Sarraceniablooms in the spring

Here is a different view of the backyard . The more - gamy - alimony plants are near the house , where I can give them the attention they involve . sturdy trees , shrubs , and give away that require less maintenance are planted farther from the theater , where there is no access to H2O . Theslopeleads down to a babbling creek in the bottom of the vale . I was scared to expand the garden that far , but Chad has encouraged me to woolgather big . What ’s the bad that could happen ? You lose a few plant , it gets a little weedy , or ( bad - case scenario ) nature reclaims what we can not maintain . These outcomes are all fine by me . So we pack a probability . In the foreground areHylotelephium telephium‘Marina ’ ( Zones 3–9),Salixarenaria(Zones 4–7),Pinusstobus ‘ Torulosa ’ ( Zones 3–8),Pennisetumalopecuroides‘RedHead ’ ( zona 6–9 ) , andStachys‘Hummelo ’ ( zona 4–8 ) , endorse byPhysocarpusopulifolius‘Ginger Wine ’ ( Zones 2–8 ) .

We have much more spook than sunshine due to the woods , but it ’s also very dry thanks to all those tree root . We are working on adding compost to increase the moisture substance of the soil . supplementary watering is not possible because our piddle come from a well . But I care the limitations that places on us . We have to conserve water whether we like it or not . We have severalrain barrels , but it is a task carrying the water to where it needs to go . So when I do water , I think very carefully about whether it is needed . We experienced month of severedroughtthis year , and that pushed us and the garden to its limit . We lost many industrial plant . But that is the nature of gardening . We will brush ourselves off , larn what we can , and assay again . Some part of the shade gardens are more moisture retentive than others , and those are the areas that have flourished . Here ’s a tapestry ofHosta(Zones 3–8),Athyriumnipponicum(Zones 5–8),Primulakisoana(Zones 4–8),Brunneramacrophylla(Zones 3–8 ) , andHydrangea bifida(Zones 4–8 ) under a nativedogwoodtree .

We have a recollective , live - semblance perimeter full of red , white-livered , and orange blooms likeCrocosmia(Zones 5–9),Cosmossulphureus(annual ) , andAsclepiastuberosa(Zones 5–9 ) , but it was kind of flat to look at . I could n’t figure out what was wrong until I realized what it needed was some whiteEryngiumgiganteum(Zones 4–7 ) to chill things down a bit . What do you recall ?

If you want to see more of this garden , go over out Chad and Seyra ’s Instagram:@s2szahme

Have photos to share ? We ’d have it off to see your garden , a particular collection of industrial plant you love , or a rattling garden you had the chance to visit !

To resign , send 5 - 10 photos to[email protected]along with some entropy about the plants in the pictures and where you took the exposure . We ’d get it on to hear where you are located , how long you ’ve been gardening , successes you are proud of , loser you learned from , hopes for the hereafter , favorite works , or funny stories from your garden .

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