Garden Photo of the Day
READER PHOTOS! A grotto garden in Pennsylvania
comments (13) July 23rd, 2012 in blogs
Michelle Gervais, Senior Editor
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Grotto garden at twilight
Click directly on the photo to enlarge it in a pop-up.
Photo: Rob Cardillo
I think Jay sifford's successful last post has inspired a few more designers to send in photos of gardens they've designed for clients--I'm so glad! Especially when the gardens look like today's. Mary Bowe, a landscape designer in Richboro, Pennsylvania, sent these pics of a project she and her associates (at Gasper Landscape Design & Construction) designed recently. Mary says, "Our client came to us requesting a patio to extend their outdoor living space as well as a pathway and stairs to connect to a small patio on the side of the house for the in-law suite.
The site is semi-wooded with a mature oaks and hickories around the perimeter. A substantial change in grade exists from an existing deck on the back of the house to the in-law patio on the side, as well as an abrupt change in grade from the deck to the back of the property.
A retention basin which holds water through the entire year is located at the very bottom of the property. During early discussions we learned that this pond, although unseen from the house, was a favorite destination for the homeowners on their evening strolls.
We came back to the client with a design for the small curvilinear patio and woodland pathway they had requested but we also came to the meeting with a number of suggestions for taming some of the slopes which were becoming increasingly problematic and for creating and maximizing the unique views in the back yard.
Although not a part of the initial project program, it was impossible to ignore the existing pond and we wanted to make the most of this feature in the back yard landscape. Our solution was to make the most of the abrupt slope which actually hides the pond from view. We proposed that while in the process of "taming" the erosion-prone slopes left behind by the home's construction that we create a small "away room" for the garden visitor. This away room, or grotto as it came be known, is tucked in amongst boulder walls below the brow of the slope. Unseen from the house and patios, the grotto allows for a perfect view down into the pond and its new gazebo sitting area which floats above the water surface and is reached by a foot bridge.
Moss rock boulder walls were created along the slopes with pockets, shelves and crevices for planting. Plants installed in the crevices were selected for shade and drought tolerance, and were planted in a moisture retentive soil mix wrapped in an open weave landscape fabric. Over time many of the parent plants have seeded themselves into neighboring crevices or crept about by vines or stolon's to establish small colonies.
The grotto has also proven itself to be the best place for the outdoor summering of houseplants. Several heirloom needle point ivy's have rooted scions into the grotto where they have found a small micro-climate to keep their roots viable through the winter months." That grotto is pure enchantment, Mary! I want to BE there, like, right now!! Just dreamy.
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posted in: water, Seating, pennsylvania
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Comments (13)
pattyspenser: Thank you for letting me know you missed me, it's nice to feel appreciated. I needed a couple of days to tend to a sick cat, Blackie is a severe diabetic, I need to inject him with insulin twice a day, but only if he eats and he stopped eating... he's doing much better now. Blackie is twelve and I've been injecting him for ten years, he's a very good little boy.
Posted: 4:17 pm on July 23rd
Tractor1 - glad you're back - missed you! BTW - your neighbor's "pit" sounds so like a man cave - lol Posted: 11:10 am on July 23rd
My next door neighbor built a similar "grotto" himself near the rear of his house alongside a babbling brook. All refer to it as "The Pit". He ran electric to power lighting and most importantly a fridge. He also ran underground piping so there's fresh water for ice making, washing, and watering plants. I like those votives but there do exist LEDs that flicker. I don't think calling a fern a seedling is proper, ferns don't produce seeds, they reproduce from spores. I'm very impressed by the floating gazebo.
Posted: 10:59 am on July 23rd
Thanks very much for your comments. We're all thrilled to have one of our gardens included in GPOD - we're in some great company!
The lights in the walls are tiny votives we created nooks for in the boulder wall. We've been experimanting with outdoor LED fixtures in similar situations the past year. They work well but minus the flicker.
With the exception of the "before" images the garden is shown at about 10-11 years old. With the exception of a number of "deer resistant" plants which proved to be quite tasty to the local herd in the beginning, the garden has matured well. We love to see what is reproducing on its own - it makes us feel that the site is healing after the builder left.
If you wanted to create a similar grotto on flat ground, think about building it in realtion to a structure - maybe it is tucked into a pine grove or rooted in adjacent to a potting shed. Sculpt the mound to disguise the hill suddenly cropping up in a flat landscape and plant it to add a sense of time and age. Make use of the back of the mound (soil is expensive!) Incorporate a small water feature which trickles through the boulders.
Have fun! Posted: 10:01 am on July 23rd
Gorgeous! All your work transformed that backyard into something really special. Posted: 6:55 am on July 23rd
I dug out a sunken seating area in my woodland garden, in my front yard. I have a very cool arisaema which has seeded itself into the stacked stone wall and in the gravel below. I can't wait to see how they do, as I never thought they would do in a stone wall... but who knows. I love these little shots of serendipity.
I also love the walkway area from the garage to the deck. You have struck a great balance between hardscape and plants.
Thanks for sharing, Mary. Again, great work.
Posted: 6:08 am on July 23rd