Plantastrophy...Perfection is Overrated. Plants Disagree

About

A Garden of Seasons, Memory, and Discovery, Plantastrophy is a living reflection of everything I’ve learned and loved over twenty-five years of growing and observing. It celebrates color, texture, scent, and structure across all four seasons—a dynamic canvas that never stops changing.

Color drives everything here and is the heartbeat of the garden. It is the thread that connects the spaces and invites you to explore. Alliums, daffodils, and hellebores in spring, tropical cannas, lilies, and aralia in summer, Stewartia and hydrangeas in fall, and colorful-twig dogwoods, Japanese maples, and evergreens in winter. I think in layers, blending groundcovers, perennials, shrubs, and trees to create depth and rhythm.

Texture invites the hand—soft Amsonia beside Acanthus, feathery grasses against sturdy yucca—while scent connects me to memory: lilies, roses, Heptacodium, and pine marking the year’s passage.

Native, non-native, and tropical plants coexist here, chosen for both beauty and ecological value. Native plants anchor the garden, supporting pollinators and wildlife; non-natives bring historical and ornamental interest; tropical add a sense of exuberance and surprise.

The garden is organized around gathering spaces—a swimming pool, quiet nooks and open spaces that invite reflection and connection. A winter garden located outside the family room satisfies a need for the outdoors with early blooming plants and interesting bark while the gardens around the pool keep summer exciting.

Today, the garden continues to evolve, just as I do. It is part classroom, part refuge—a place that honors the past, celebrates the present, and welcomes the next surprise nature offers.

This garden's estimated size is 3 acres.

This Garden Host reports the following Terrain Notes about the garden: Visitors must traverse a steep driveway. The property and gardens are on a slope so it will be difficult for those with limited mobility.

2026 Open Day Date: Saturday, July 18

Open Day Hours: 10am–4pm