Leigh Mill Garden

About

For original homeowners of three decades, the 2-acre site presented challenges of forest, terrain, and water movement. In 1991, original forest was thinned; architectural bones of the garden were established. A conceptual plan was developed, featuring front and back gardens (with an emphasis on native plants). Sun and shade gardens were envisioned with garden rooms, meadow, and a grassed berm. Making the conceptual plan a reality was a period of decades. The enjoyment of the process was the journey. Selecting plants; trying out seeds; having ideas succeed or fail was a constant source of satisfaction and accomplishment. Large oaks, maples, beeches, and gum trees populate our property. Patios, benches, statuary, millstones, dry stack walls, garden rooms in a quiet rhythm provide opportunities for reflection and contemplation. Front gardens feature deer resistant shrubs and perennials including boxwood, pieris, mahonia, hellebores, ferns, calamint, allium, coneflowers, anise hyssop, astilbes, cardinal flower, stokes aster; Agastache, ‘Hummelo’ betony. Back garden, deer fenced, features azaleas, viburnum, Epimedium, Joe Pye weed, Illicium, arum, Chlethra, winterberry, acuba, bottlebrush buckeye, Solomon’s seal, day lillies, hydrangea, clematis, elderberry, peonies, Filipendula, roses, sedum, hollies, Vitex. In the back garden, sweeps of hostas are a delight for us. The pandemic gave a great opportunity to plant hundreds and hundreds of hostas coupled with the necessity for a hip operation.

This garden’s estimated size is 2 acres.

2025 Open Day:  Saturday, May 17

Hours:10-4