Kennett Square Cottage Garden

A Gold Award winner in the Residential #2 Category, from the Association of Professional Landscape Designers (www.apld.org)

Situated on a small, semi-urban lot, the owner wished to create a place for respite, cooking, reading, enjoying art and luxury furnishings with a strong connection between the indoors and out. The site is challenged by heavy soils and poor drainage that was resolved economically through strategic design and innovative plant selection, resulting in a vibrant and engaging garden that thrives in the given conditions.

The owner conceived of a home for respite and restoration that would be an expression of her tastes in art, architecture and gardens. She subsequently embarked on a two-year renovation of the house and grounds that was completed just before the COVID-19 outbreak when the project proved its true value. We envisioned the living spaces of the house opening wide and connecting with the bluestone patios, terraced to follow the floors and merge gracefully with the garden where steppingstones and gravel pathways link intimate sitting spaces and sweeping masses of plants. Every trace of turfgrass was eradicated and replaced with perennials and small shrubs that thrive in the varying conditions of sun and shade, dry and wet while blending seamlessly in a naturalistic, resilient tapestry of texture, form and color. The drama continues in the evening where subtle path lighting and bold, twinkling orbs suspended from the mature tree canopy glow reveal a new dimension in the garden.