The Kain Residence

Before

After

The Kain family is one of my most favorite clients.  Elizabeth and Allan contacted me two years ago to work on their front yard.  The existing garden was just a long un-imaginative narrow strip. A drier vent on the front of the house had long been a thorn in their side, the wood retaining wall had seen better days, and a tree had recently had been removed and the garden that was once shaded for most of day now was getting a great deal of sun. 

From the road the house appears very long, but because it’s on a pie shaped lot the driveway and ramp occupy most of the space directly in front of the house.  I wanted to create a garden that would provide the illusion of a foundation planting that goes across the front framing the house and softening the overall look.

The plant material was selected to reflect the bright and cheerful demeanor of its residents and to provide a relaxed atmosphere.  Blue Spruces, dark purple Nine Bark, and cheerful yellow flowering perennials and shrubs dot this garden from spring to fall. 

Not more than a month later I got called back to work on a garden in their back yard.  I took a similar approach as I did in the front, keeping with the relaxed cheerful planting scheme, but with more intricate perennial plantings.  People tend to spend more time in their backyards and see their garden from a closer range, whereas larger more bold plantings are necessary when the garden is to be viewed from the road. 

This is a poolside garden, and although this garden has good colour most of the year, I really wanted a great show when this area gets used most: summer.  Yarrow, Salvia and Monarda, start out the summer, then Russian Sage, Ornamental Grasses, and Rudbeckia carry on right into the fall.