envisioned, because it was only one zone difference ... oh all this
stuff is going to translate. No, because our nights are so much
warmer, everything grows a little bit differently. Things I thought
I’d be able to bring down, a lot more conifers, some of the rhododendrons,
it just doesn’t do as well here.”
Along with the warmer nights, the soil temperature is also
warmer. “It’s a huge factor in zonal difference,” Karen says. That
and the heat factor, she says, are now often paired with species
identification. “The two of them help you decide what will and will
not grow. But on the other hand, every garden has a lot of micro
climates.”
With seven running water features, the rustle of leaves high in
the tree canopy, the trill, warble and cackle of song and nesting
birds along with the honk of Canada geese across the lake, that’s
an understatement. With thousands of varieties of trees, shrubs,
flowering perennials and a little bit of turf grass, the Root garden is
a haven for man, insect, bird and beast.
“I made a lot of choices because of the birds which also happens
to work in my favor, of course, for some really nice plants. And we
With thousands of varieties of trees,
shrubs, flowering perennials and a little bit
of turf grass, the Root garden is a haven for
just got into bee keeping; we just got bees,” she says.
From the crest of the hill, where Moorefield designed a breezeway
that suggestively links the main house to the guest wing, a
cantilevered master bedroom provides a roof above an outdoor
living area that looks across a cascading waterfall and infinity pool.
Adjacent to the outdoor living room is a screened porch and dining
room sighted for views of sunsets across the lake and the swimming
pool. From these elevated vantage points and all corners of
the upper garden story, there are several paths to the lake. Where
the grass dips toward the Savannah hollies and the reflection bench,
another course outlined in flagstone follows the babbling brook.
An arched wooden bridge, spare of handrails and elegant in its
simplicity, crosses the stream as it spills into the lake and links to a
wooden boardwalk that follows the embankment.
Arborist Scott McGhee prunes the tree limbs Karen cannot
reach. “Scott and I have a great relationship ... he’s a talented, talented
guy,” she says. “My little crape myrtles in the front yard were
my size when I put them in. Now I’m on a 12-foot ladder and I’m
trying to prune them.” And with help from Drew Thorndyke, she
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WBM june 2011
man, insect, bird and beast.