All-Green Garden Design - Southern Living

Photo by Roger Foley

The American Boxwood Allee

The Big Idea: Reclaiming this monument to classic Virginia garden design necessitated shearing the inside to open the 12-foot-tall tunnel for easier passage. At the far end, Camille removed several boxwoods that had died from disease. A new gravel pathway invites leisurely strolls down the allée.

The Plants: American boxwoods planted in the 19th century are maintained with regular fertilizing and mulching.

Photo by Roger Foley

The Boxwood Parterre

The Big Idea: A sloping side lawn offered the ideal place for a garden between a new porch and an arbor. Camille wanted a feeling of intimacy and shaded beauty without burdensome maintenance or worry that deer would eat everything.

The Plants: Boxwoods dominate this garden, with low-maintenance and deer-resistant evergreen foliage that provides structure and year-round interest. Two semicircular borders of 'Green Mountain' boxwoods set off a square of pea gravel planted with four white 'Natchez' crepe myrtles. 'Green Mountain' boxwoods are clipped into tight ovals and are also planted in large pots along the bluestone coping.

Photo by Roger Foley

The Stone Garden Shed

The Big Idea: The grass was high and the stone walls were falling down when Camille began to reclaim what looked like a meadow beside a charming stone garden shed. The shed, which matches the stone arches of the allée, had overgrown ivy blocking the door and windows. Camille cleared the ivy and replaced the old door.

The Plants: Over a hundred single and double herbaceous peonies in pink and white emerged in long borders after Camille cleared away brush and stones beside the fallen-down walls. The peonies are deer resistant and provide Tudor Grove's primary floral color.

Photo by Roger Foley

The Arbor

The Big Idea: Camille erected this arbor on the foundation of a tumbled-down cabin. On axis with the boxwood parterre, it lines up perfectly with the new porch. Here, it is seen from the side looking toward the American boxwood allée.

The Plants: 'Green Mountain' boxwood and serviceberry flank the sides. A 'Forest Pansy' Eastern redbud (above left) has heart-shaped purple-red leaves and offers a vivid contrast to the verdant spring foliage.