The homeowner enjoys the full and lush plantings in the garden but could see that it had become overgrown. An overgrown garden landscape has diminished beauty; specimen trees like the corkscrew hazel are hard to distinguish and the beautiful dwarf Japanese maple trees were at risk of disease with the tips of branches buried in the soil. This garden was long overdue for pruning, weeding, editing and mulch.

The path to this sweet garden room is clearer once the garden beds were weeded, trees pruned, pebble paths tidied and relined and beds mulched. Corkscrew hazel, masses of limelight hydrangea, magnolia and dwarf Japanese maples are among the beautiful plants in this area of the garden.

We have never seen a hinoki with such presence; its sheer size and beautiful bark make it an impressive front garden specimen tree. Overgrown hosta, Solomon's seal and groundcover perennials were stealing the show from blooming peony and climbing roses along the front entrance.

Once this bed was weeded and pruned, we discovered treasured mountain laurel in a shady area and the ferns jumped out of the garden. Fresh mulch was installed on a rock border that had been tidied for an inviting front garden.

Long neglected, this back garden path and border beds were weedy and in need of maintenance.

A redefined path and border invites visitors to rest in a foreground sunny sitting area or explore yet another garden room at the end of the path where we found the rarely seen native cloudberry plant.

Lovely and lush….but also crowding a mature dwarf Japanese maple that had regrettably become misshapen. The stone path and bed were weeded, and the perennials pruned and edited to allow the valuable maple to get adequate light and room for its branches to grow.

The back garden path is now a lovely passage from the driveway to the back entrance. The dry stack stone wall with peony, Joe Pye weed, Solomon’s seal, stunning ferns and hosta create a lovely perennial border.

Weeds everywhere…and in the middle a misshapen black laceleaf Elderberry shrub crawling with ants. We removed the shrub and recommended the client consider planting an evergreen to provide year-round structure given that the bed is largely planted with perennials.

The perennial bed comes to life with garden phlox, ferns and peony. A tidy border defines the garden and fresh mulch provides contrast and offers valuable soil building and moisture retention qualities.