Landscape Design
Perennial Borders Transform a Lake House Garden
Dynamic new planting beds turn an upstate New York landscape into a sanctuary for butterflies and bees
Located just a stone’s throw from the edge of Cazenovia Lake in upstate New York, this home and garden nestle among deciduous woodland, with grounds that extend to the water’s edge. While the proximity to the lake has always been the property’s biggest draw, beautiful new perennial borders provide another reason for the homeowners, a retired couple, to spend more time outdoors. Now, they also enjoy colorful floral displays and watch butterflies flit from bloom to bloom.
We caught up with Mariane Wheatley-Miller, the project’s landscape architect, who described how she transformed a front yard once dominated by lawn and shrubs into a dynamic, pollinator-friendly perennial border.
We caught up with Mariane Wheatley-Miller, the project’s landscape architect, who described how she transformed a front yard once dominated by lawn and shrubs into a dynamic, pollinator-friendly perennial border.
Flowering Border Entry Walk
Before: One reaches the front door via this brick pathway — past the detached garage in the background — to the main house. The front yard consisted of large swaths of lawn and tight planting beds filled with shrubs pruned into various-size mounds. “Shrubs like spirea, juniper, potentilla and burning bush were repeated along the path but pruned heavily into globe shapes, preventing them from flowering,” Wheatley-Miller says. “The plants were too large for the space, only allowing a single-plant width.”
Before: One reaches the front door via this brick pathway — past the detached garage in the background — to the main house. The front yard consisted of large swaths of lawn and tight planting beds filled with shrubs pruned into various-size mounds. “Shrubs like spirea, juniper, potentilla and burning bush were repeated along the path but pruned heavily into globe shapes, preventing them from flowering,” Wheatley-Miller says. “The plants were too large for the space, only allowing a single-plant width.”
After: To open up more planting possibilities, Wheatley-Miller dug up the existing shrubs along the brick walk and expanded the planting beds from 4 feet to over 6 feet wide. The extra room allowed her to create a tiered effect, layering perennials by height in the beds.
A watercolor palette of deep purple, pale lavender, soft yellow, rose pink, silver-green and zingy magenta forms a tapestry of color, with abundant nectar- and pollen-rich blooms attracting bees and butterflies. Wheatley-Miller cites hyssop (Agastache spp.), beebalm (Monarda spp.), and knotweed (Persicaria spp.), among others in the border, as being particularly effective pollinator magnets.
Wheatley-Miller reused a number of perennials from the existing border, digging up, dividing and transplanting them to other areas of the garden — a move that reduced waste and helped save her clients’ budget. Plants reused in this border include dense blazing star (Liatris spicata ‘Kobold’), native white turtlehead (Chelone glabra), purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) and stonecrop (Sedum sp.). She also saved a large peegee hydrangea (Hydrangea paniculata ‘Grandiflora’), seen in bloom in the background, which helps anchor the new planting beds.
A watercolor palette of deep purple, pale lavender, soft yellow, rose pink, silver-green and zingy magenta forms a tapestry of color, with abundant nectar- and pollen-rich blooms attracting bees and butterflies. Wheatley-Miller cites hyssop (Agastache spp.), beebalm (Monarda spp.), and knotweed (Persicaria spp.), among others in the border, as being particularly effective pollinator magnets.
Wheatley-Miller reused a number of perennials from the existing border, digging up, dividing and transplanting them to other areas of the garden — a move that reduced waste and helped save her clients’ budget. Plants reused in this border include dense blazing star (Liatris spicata ‘Kobold’), native white turtlehead (Chelone glabra), purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) and stonecrop (Sedum sp.). She also saved a large peegee hydrangea (Hydrangea paniculata ‘Grandiflora’), seen in bloom in the background, which helps anchor the new planting beds.
Foundation Planting Beds
Before: The foundation beds around the home took a bit more prep work than the beds along the entry path. “There were some drainage issues along the building edge from the lack of gutters and incorrect [roof] pitch,” Wheatley-Miller says. They added a French drain, piping water that used to run across the entry steps into the lawn.
Before: The foundation beds around the home took a bit more prep work than the beds along the entry path. “There were some drainage issues along the building edge from the lack of gutters and incorrect [roof] pitch,” Wheatley-Miller says. They added a French drain, piping water that used to run across the entry steps into the lawn.
After: After resolving the drainage issues, the design team planted the foundation beds in a similar fashion to the front walk. The beds, which range from 6 to 12 feet wide, feature a spring-flowering kousa dogwood (Cornus kousa) planted at the corner of the home (on this photo’s left edge) and shade-loving perennials. The specimen dogwood and a few larger 5- to 7-gallon-size shrubs planted along the home were the project’s main splurges.
The perennial beds receive no supplemental irrigation, save for occasional hand watering. They require deadheading and occasional staking. The planting is only a year old, but Wheatley-Miller says some of the perennials will be due for dividing and replanting in three to five years.
Although the perennial garden was only planted last fall, by midsummer the plants had fully taken off and filled the beds with color — a show designed to last until the end of autumn, with boxwoods and holly adding winter interest. “Plants now provide color, texture and scent from spring into late fall,” Wheatley-Miller says. She says her clients see lots of butterflies and enjoy the small happenings in the garden, from bulbs emerging in spring to perennial peonies bursting into bloom.
With the entry plantings done, the team is turning to the next item on the phased-installation landscape list. “We’ll make improvements to the waterfront side next, adding a play area along the inlet waterway for the grandchildren, a woodland walk and a treehouse,” Wheatley-Miller says. It sounds like the fun is just beginning for the Cazenovia Lake house garden.
Although the perennial garden was only planted last fall, by midsummer the plants had fully taken off and filled the beds with color — a show designed to last until the end of autumn, with boxwoods and holly adding winter interest. “Plants now provide color, texture and scent from spring into late fall,” Wheatley-Miller says. She says her clients see lots of butterflies and enjoy the small happenings in the garden, from bulbs emerging in spring to perennial peonies bursting into bloom.
With the entry plantings done, the team is turning to the next item on the phased-installation landscape list. “We’ll make improvements to the waterfront side next, adding a play area along the inlet waterway for the grandchildren, a woodland walk and a treehouse,” Wheatley-Miller says. It sounds like the fun is just beginning for the Cazenovia Lake house garden.
Plant List
The perennial beds include the following mix of natives, hybrids and pollinator-friendly plants: Beebalm (Monarda ‘Scorpion’), boxwood (Buxus ‘Green Mountain’), cornflower (Centaurea sp.), Culver’s root (Veronicastrum virginicum), dense blazing star (Liatris spicata ‘Kobold’), fall phlox (Phlox paniculata ‘David’), hyssop (Agastache sp.), lamb’s ears (Stachys byzantina ‘Big Ears’), masterwort (Astrantia major ‘Moulin Rouge’), mountain fleece (Persicaria amplexicaulis ‘Firetail’), purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea ‘Fatal Attraction’), Russian sage (Perovskia atriplicifolia ‘Little Spire’), shasta daisy (Leucanthemum x superbum ‘White Breeze’), stonecrop (Sedum ‘Autumn Fire’) and white turtlehead (Chelone glabra).
How to Find the Best Plants for Your Yard
The perennial beds include the following mix of natives, hybrids and pollinator-friendly plants: Beebalm (Monarda ‘Scorpion’), boxwood (Buxus ‘Green Mountain’), cornflower (Centaurea sp.), Culver’s root (Veronicastrum virginicum), dense blazing star (Liatris spicata ‘Kobold’), fall phlox (Phlox paniculata ‘David’), hyssop (Agastache sp.), lamb’s ears (Stachys byzantina ‘Big Ears’), masterwort (Astrantia major ‘Moulin Rouge’), mountain fleece (Persicaria amplexicaulis ‘Firetail’), purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea ‘Fatal Attraction’), Russian sage (Perovskia atriplicifolia ‘Little Spire’), shasta daisy (Leucanthemum x superbum ‘White Breeze’), stonecrop (Sedum ‘Autumn Fire’) and white turtlehead (Chelone glabra).
How to Find the Best Plants for Your Yard
Designer Tips for Creating a Dynamic Perennial Border
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- Plant a variety of contrasting leaf sizes and shapes to add distinction and texture to the planting.
- Choose flowering perennials with different bloom times so your garden will feature color through the season.
- Use a few structural plants that add drama to the planting scheme.
More on Houzz
Tour other inspiring gardens
Browse thousands of photos of landscapes
Work with a landscape architect near you
Shop for outdoor products
Garden at a Glance
Who lives here: A retired couple who frequently host their children and grandchildren
Location: Cazenovia, New York
Designer: AJ Miller Landscape Architecture
The homeowners had lived in their home in Madison County, New York, for about four months before hiring AJ Miller Landscape Architecture — the firm Wheatley-Miller and her husband, Anthony Miller, run together — to redesign the landscape. Wheatley-Miller and Miller designed a new master plan for the entire yard, which the clients intend to install in phases.
The designers tackled the front yard first. Creating a stronger sense of arrival, ditching the run-of-the-mill foundation plantings and adding more color, plant diversity and seasonal interest topped the homeowners’ list of priorities.
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