What's growing here

A 250-year-old native oak anchors the front corner lot. Tolerates wet clay soil beautifully. Golden-bronze fall color and exfoliating bark add year-round drama. On mast years (every 2-4 years) it rains massive amounts of acorns and feels like we're living in a popcorn popper from late September-November.

Multi-stem small tree in the northwest corner of the backyard. White flowers in early spring, edible blueberry-like fruit in summer, and red-orange fall color. Accent-lit at night to highlight its layered branching.

An existing multi-stem specimen near the garage with white peeling bark. Underplanted with Oak Sedge and lit at night. One of those plants that looks best in winter when everything else has gone quiet.

Three upright hornbeams on the east side that provide privacy without taking up much ground space. Dense and tidy, they hold some leaves into winter and are lit from below.

Three plants near the garage that put on a vivid show in fall with clustered bright purple berries. Low maintenance and very effective. Nothing in the fall garden stops people the way this one does.

Along the south bed border. Large white snowball blooms in summer that fade gracefully and dry well into fall. A native hydrangea that is happy in part shade and requires very little fussing.

A compact panicle hydrangea that stays around 3 to 4 feet tall. Blooms open white and move toward deep pink-red as summer winds down. Very cold-hardy and one of our personal favorites in this garden.

An existing hedge along the back property line. Bright yellow flowers arrive in early spring before the leaves, often before anything else in the garden has woken up. A reliable signal that the season is starting.

Existing along multiple borders, with several new plants added to close the gaps along the south side. Dense and fast-growing. Good at doing the job of a hedge without asking much in return.

One of the most cold-hardy boxwoods available, holding its dark green color through winter when most plants have gone brown or bare. Used in multiple spots in the garden for structure and year-round definition.

Dinner-plate-sized lavender-pink flowers in mid to late summer. Herbaceous, meaning it dies back to the ground each winter and returns reliably in spring. The blooms are hard to walk past without stopping.

A clump-forming ornamental onion with lavender-pink globe flowers in mid-summer, well after the spring bulb alliums have finished. Deer-resistant, attractive to pollinators, and the dried seedheads carry interest into fall.

Sky-blue star-shaped flowers in late spring, then golden-yellow foliage in fall. Groups of Amsonia tie together both sides of the front walkway. It earns its space across two distinct seasons.

Dark bronze-purple foliage that holds its color all season, with soft pink tubular flowers in early summer that hummingbirds visit regularly. As good for foliage as it is for bloom.

Dense upright spikes of rosy-purple flowers from late June into August. Bees find it quickly. Bred to resist powdery mildew and stays tidy throughout the season without much attention.

A fragrant cranesbill geranium that spreads as groundcover in sun or part shade. Bright magenta-pink flowers in late spring, and the foliage turns red in fall. One of the more drought-tolerant geraniums we have found.

Violet-blue flowers from late May through frost, without much interruption. It mounds and spreads as a groundcover filler and has become one of the most widely planted perennials for good reason.

In the south border mix. Fragrant lemon-scented leaves that bees love. Useful in teas and cooking. It grows with enthusiasm, so it is kept contained within the border rather than given free rein.

Native black-eyed Susans in the south border that bloom in late summer and pull in pollinators. Currently also the preferred snack of the backyard rabbits, who are otherwise not particularly welcome here.

A native prairie grass with unusually stiff upright form. Blue-green foliage in summer, reaching 4 to 5 feet. It holds its shape through winter and catches light well in both seasons.

A tough semi-evergreen groundcover that handles dry shade without complaint. Delicate flowers in early spring and foliage that stays attractive long after. Planted under structures and trees where not much else will grow.

A fine-textured native sedge that forms a soft low mat in shade. Planted under the Swamp White Oak and the Clump Birch. Requires almost nothing once it is established.