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Everything that contributes to the pleasure and ease of outdoor living. That, in a nutshell, describes the garden of Jacob and Karin Walsh old friends of mine. Gardening has long been a favorite family pastime for Jacob and his family, who helped to redesign the grounds for “livability” after his return from service overseas. The outstanding results have made the garden a neighborhood attraction for entertaining and relaxation.

Although the property is suburban, it has a rural feeling. Its country-like quality was secured by keeping the garden layout informal and rambling in design. No attempt was made to create the feeling of seclusion often found in small suburban lots. Forsythias and a few hemlocks were planted along the boundary, however, to form a background for the spring garden.

The outdoor living area is 95 feet wide by 115 feet deep; yet the property has the component parts of a small estate. Every convenience is at hand to make the job of maintaining the garden as easy as possible. There are four coldframes for growing and wintering plants. The compost pile is convenient to both the frames and the flower garden. Space is allotted to a vegetable plot and a raspberry patch. An outdoor firepit contributes to the families outdoor dining pleasure, while a lily pool and an abundance of colorful flowers add their share of beauty and interest to the garden picture.

Now, let us consider each feature separately: first, the large flower garden. Karin calls this her “summer and fall garden.” Shrubs planted along the boundary and a privet hedge on a neighboring property only suggest an enclosure. The flower beds, which are laid out in an informal circular design, are planted with roses, carnations, delphinium, columbine, baptisia, Oriental poppies, astilbe, lilies (candidum, regale and speciosum), Canterbury bells, sweet william, Shasta daisies, lythrum, phlox and eupatorium. To insure late-season bloom, annuals which have been raised in the coldframes are worked in among the perennials and biennials.

Flowers Everywhere

Karin likes to have flowers everywhere. When the season is in full sway there is a touch of color wherever one looks. The coldframes placed against the side wall of the garage are used in winter to protect the perennial and biennial plants grown from seed during the summer. When spring comes and these plants are transferred to the garden, the glass sash is removed and the frames filled with annuals. Some of these remain here to be used for cutting, while others are transplanted to the flower beds. Snapdragons which bloomed continuously until frost last season are carried through the winter months in the frames. When planted out in the garden again in the spring the plants are even sturdier and the flower spikes larger.

Spring Bulbs

What about crocus, daffodils and other early spring blooms? Karin and Jacob planned their spring garden close to the house where she could see it from the windows. “In early spring,” she explains, “the weather is often cold and the ground is muddy, so naturally one is not so apt to walk through the garden. For this reason, the spring flowers are planted underneath the forsythias and hemlocks which border the lot. The forsythias themselves are an important part of the spring display, while the usual early bulbs and perennials are used in abundance. Crocus, narcissus, tulips, bluebells, bleeding-heart, lilies-of-the-valley and iris are all included within a pansy border. Among the perennials which provide later color in this garden are July-blooming daylilies, bergamot and phlox.

Another part of the spring garden is the foot-wide flower border which surrounds the lily pool. Here many early blooming native flowers are planted. Hepatica, wild geranium, alum root, shooting star, violets, forget-me-nots and polemonium nestle below ferns, leucothoe and a few hybrid rhododendrons. The irregular shaped pool lies within 20 feet of the porch. This is how it was made:

The curves were first outlined on the grass with a hose, then marked with an edger. The soil was excavated to a depth of 24 inches at the deepest point and 12 inches at the shallowest. A 2-inch layer of concrete was laid over a 4-inch foundation of cinders. A rough stone coping was placed in a concrete base along the edge of the pool and the interstices between the stones filled with topsoil. During the winter a terra-cotta pipe is placed in the bottom of the pool as a refuge for the 50 goldfish. In severe weather a tarp is used to cover both the pool and the flower border.

Stone Fireplace

Tied in with the shrubs and flowers along the boundary is a natural stone fireplace built of unfinished serpentine stones which the Watts collected. The 10-inch foundation was filled in with cinders and scrap iron. Over this foundation was laid a 5-inch concrete base. The chimney, sides, front and back of the fireplace are made of the serpentine stones. The fire-box, which slopes toward the front to let excess water flow out the door, is constructed of fire bricks. An opening on the side of the fire-box provides a convenient receptacle for keeping wood and papers dry. A 2-by-2-foot grill allows room for a cooking vessel and coffeepot, so that an entire outdoor dinner can be prepared while the steak broils. Grouped around the fireplace for convenient dining are plenty of chairs, a table and benches.

A raspberry patch, which was started with 18 plants, now yields a rich harvest of berries. Adjoining this is a small vegetable garden which supplies the Watts with lettuce, onions, chives, Swiss chard and string beans.

Rear of Garden

At the back of the property is the compost pile that is enclosed on three sides with cinder blocks which have been cemented together. Screening has been attached to a wooden frame in a size that will just fit over the “garden jeep,” so that the tasks of sifting soil and loading the wheelbarrow are accomplished with a minimum of effort. A rose trellis and a 7-foot privet hedge screen it from the garden.