Lavender garden wins Backyard Garden Spaces contest

Fine Gardening Editors, editor

36 users recommend

Add Comment
Print

Out of more than 140 entries, we have selected our winner: Northern Michigan Lavender Garden. Sandy Waldrop and her husband, John, have transformed an open meadow into a stunning space using drought-tolerant plants and a pergola. Sandy's prize is a 46-in. red cedar bench from CedarStore.com. Congratulations, Sandy.

The pergola is 10 ft. by 10 ft. and is John’s design. He built it from a combination of cedar and treated pine, with the corner posts placed on concrete piers. The decorative trim is stained Barn Red, and the main structure has just been allowed to weather naturally. John also made the bricks for the patio and the stepping stones for the paths from concrete he tinted various colors of rust, brown and gray and then poured into stone or brick forms.

Sandy works fulltime as a co-owner and manager of a mid-sized insurance agency, but like most readers of Fine Gardening, gardening is her hobby and my passion. She says that developing this lavender garden has been the most satisfying and fun project she has ever undertaken, and it continues to evolve every season.

Congrats also to the other entrants, whose creations can be viewed in our Backyard Garden Spaces gallery. You won't get a prize, but your photos will serve as inspiration to gardeners looking for design inspiration.

add to cart

Backyard Idea Book
by Lee Anne White Create Inviting Yet Functional Backyard Spaces $19.95 more info...

Add Comment Print

Five Step Program for SMS - Help Is On The Way

Back to List

The American Meadow Garden : Win A Free Copy of John Greenlee's Book!

Comments (4)

ddion writes: Just came across these gorgeous pictures. What's the soil and climate like there -- I've been a total failure when it comes to lavender in the midwest! Posted: 4:36 pm on July 13th

LaFlor writes: Congratulation's How beautiful. I am sure it was lots of work but! the results are outstanding. Beautiful!! Posted: 1:17 am on July 26th

Sandy7880 writes: Reply to Pamela50: John used some concrete forms he bought at Lowe's called "Odjob: Pathmate". The patio bricks were called "Belgian Stone", and the stepping stones in the paths were called "Random". Not sure if Lowe's still has them, but www.bargainoutfitters.com does, and they also sell two different little rollaround concrete mixers. Good luck, and thanks for your nice comments! Posted: 6:10 pm on July 21st

Pamela50 writes: I would love to know what forms John used for his path. This is beautiful. His path is just what I've been wanting to do to my backyard. Posted: 12:00 am on July 20th

You must be logged in to post comments. Click here to login.