Ellen Petersen

I have been gardening here for 41 years, but, thanks to the help of Danielle Giulian, I continue to make changes, refining the design, renovating older plantings, and beginning new areas. One goal is to have interest every month of the year. High summer is the start of the dahlias and phlox and other perennials. Our carefully assembled collection of plants includes more natives every year. I love finding interesting native cultivars like Liquidambar 'Slender Silhouette' but also enjoy the thrill of searching out exotic rarities. A meadow of Sporobolus heterolepsis (prairie dropseed) frames "Windblown Couch," a sculpture by Vivian Beer. Robert Murray's "Willow" is next to the pond, and "Portal" by Carla Edwards will entice you to take the path up a little hill. There is a beautiful big Franklin blooming behind the house. While I would definitely not call this a low-maintenance garden, we only occasionally water anything after the second year and fertilize only container plants. Compost suppresses weeds and feeds the soil without making it too rich. In spite of all the very tall perennials, we need very little staking. The garden was included in Jane Garmey's book, Private Gardens of the Hudson Valley.