nce one is
inside, the sky
and surrounding
seaside environment
are obscured. A person is oblivious to everything
outside. It is as if time stands still in
this natural cathedral where sparkling light
and shadow interplay.
The forest is a true aviary. It is loud with
the squawking and song of many species of
birds. Dappled light filters from the canopy
above, dotting the forest floor and reflecting
off of the glossy leaves of the evergreens
that inhabit this garden.
A driveway and pathway assembled from
concrete pavers assist the visitor up the steep
grade of the tall dune through the gnarled
and twisted environment of the forest garden,
eventually reaching the two houses.
This is the Schindlers’ world, belonging
to Andy and Ellen and their family. They
bought the property in 2002 — two lots
totaling just under three-quarters of an acre
on the north end of Figure Eight Island.
When they purchased the property, the
Schindlers hired architect Michael Kersting
to renovate and upgrade the existing home
for a guest house and design a new primary
residence and garage. The main house,
finished in 2006, sits on one lot while the
guest house and garage occupy the more
heavily wooded second lot. Fran Colangelo
of Kingpost Construction completed all of
the construction.
Kersting began the landscape design
process for the guest house and garage area,
then Ellen Schindler hired Tony Parker of
Classic Landscapes to complete her master
plan for the garden.
The concept for the garden, Schindler
says, was to work with nature as opposed
to controlling it. And Parker agreed saying,
“We didn’t fight the site. Rather, we let the
site tell the story.”
60
WBM august 2011
Instead of clearing the land, Schindler
and Parker worked within the tangled,
knotty framework of the existing trees
and shrubbery, saving everything they
could, including the thicket of oaks and
bays. Taking their cues from the site, they
identified what was growing naturally
and added more. Schindler added areas of
dwarf yaupon holly, boxwood and a small
grass lawn. This helped to “civilize the
wildness,” she says.
All of the trees in this garden are natives
with the exception of a Russian olive that
Schindler had planted in the sunny lawn
area. The understory plantings consist of
shade-loving evergreens such as cleyera,
viburnum, ligustrum, pittosporum, podocarpus
and fatsia. They grow tall here,
stretching up in search of the sun.
On the forest floor, holly ferns, liriope,
spreading yew, cast iron plant and ivy
thrive in the dry shade. While all of the
outdoor spaces