Living History

A garden entrance layered with color and texture draws the eye up to the first of many terraces. Stairs lead to a koi pond, shaded by a spreading Japanese maple. Underplantings of ligularia, fuchsia and black mondo grass (Ophiopogon planiscapus ‘Nigrescens’) set the tone for this charming garden, where twenty varieties of Japanese maple can be found. Cross over the pond towards the 100+ year old Tudor house – once an antiquities museum– and take a moment to note numerous design elements of the era, repurposed and incorporated into the current landscape, including the Chinese bittersweet vine (Celastrus orbiculatus) trained up to the balcony.

When Renée and Geoff purchased this historic home in 2021, much of the garden’s renovation and updating had been completed by the previous owners – restoring the koi pond, adding the flagstone patio under an old dogwood. The Franks have enhanced the multiple terraces and plantings, while “keeping the lovely contours of the original garden, working with an arborist to carefully prune many of the overgrown trees and shrubs, opening up pathways, and adding new plantings.”

At the house, you may turn right to the flagstone patio or left to terraced gardens, artfully planted with dwarf evergreens, small trees, shrubs, and perennials. Make your way up the stone stairs and under a pear tree, said to be original to an orchard that predated the house, and into the level backyard with fruit trees, herbs and vegetables, lawn and deck.

Renée and Geoff find joy “sitting on the bench next to the koi pond feeding the fish, on a nice day in April when the crabapple and cherry trees are blooming. Our home and garden have been tended and loved by many families over the last 114 years.”