Tyler Chartier
Photo of a mid-sized contemporary brick garden path in San Francisco.

Aviary for a formal garden. The garden implements landscape node design. This garden has three nodes: Alley of the Planets and Arbor; Koi Pond with floating orbs: and Aviary node for tropical birds........ This garden is featured in the 2012 book: A GARDEN MAKES A HOUSE A HOME, by Elvin McDonald.

Unique industrial aesthetic for this urban garden, in Trenton, NJ. Expression of the roof framing under the polycarbinate corrugated roof panels highlights the construction and industrial style. Galvanized roof panels were used for the shed walls. The window is a folly with mirror glass reflecting the surrounding greenery. A trellis in the open area is ideal for growing pole beans. andrewtuckerphotography.com

Example of a small classic one-story stone house exterior design in Philadelphia with a hip roof and a shingle roof

This is an example of a rustic side yard stone garden path in DC Metro.

Kerry Lewis
Inspiration for a large farmhouse full sun backyard brick formal garden in Boston for summer.

Aviary for a formal garden. The garden implements landscape node design. This garden has three nodes: Alley of the Planets and Arbor; Koi Pond with floating orbs: and Aviary node for tropical birds........ This garden is featured in the 2012 book: A GARDEN MAKES A HOUSE A HOME, by Elvin McDonald.

Example of an ornate pool design in Boston

Photo of a traditional partial sun backyard stone garden path in Charlotte.

Aviary for a formal garden. The garden implements landscape node design. This garden has three nodes: Alley of the Planets and Arbor; Koi Pond with floating orbs: and Aviary node for tropical birds........ This garden is featured in the 2012 book: A GARDEN MAKES A HOUSE A HOME, by Elvin McDonald.

The Garden Folly In Winter
Inspiration for a traditional landscaping in New York.

This year’s Garden Tour showcases a trio of gardens which comprise a ten-acre land parcel shared mostly by members of the same family. Each of the gardens has been professionally landscaped by Peter Strelkow, of HS2G Inc., yet each has a distinct identity. After ten years, homeowners Albert and Ana commissioned Peter to achieve a new vision for their garden. Peter was a natural choice since he had done the original design. To facilitate this new vision some plants were removed, others relocated, and many new ones were added in an altogether new design conceptualization. The result is an extraordinary, truly show-stopping landscape composition. This garden is a true oasis. Multiple layers of palms are the first vision. Elegant royal palms flank both sides of the driveway and smaller silver-thatched fan palms, Copernicia prunifera, line either side parallel to the street in double rows. The main entrance is marked with four large keystone columns crowned with a saucer of elegant cycads, Dioon mereolea. To the right, a trio of cycads, Dioon spinulosum, nest among the prunifera palms and continues the tropical feeling. Orange Epidendrum orchids add wonderful color. Adjacent are three sculptural small, leafless, spiny trees, Pacypodium rutanburgianum. This native of Madagascar looks more like a work of art than a plant. Notice the delicate white flowers at the branch terminals. A clump of Moroccan fan palms adds a sash of silver, while a large yellow and green bromeliad and Yucca filaments ‘Color Guard’ add texture and color. The foundation plantings to the right feature a large cluster of cabada palms surrounded by colorful bromeliads. Two large, elegant imperial bromeliads are the focal point here. Their red hues are echoed by red-flowering ginger and masses of brilliantly colored crotons, ‘Eleanor Roosevelt’. Two large cycads, Dioon rzedowski surrounded by creamy bromeliads mark the house entrance. The left side of the house features an extraordinary bed of palms – Licuala grandis and Kentiotopis oliviformis. Tall and shorter, palmate and pinnate, olive green and lime green planted in a checker-board pattern with Anthurium ‘Black Dragon’ filling the understory with spectacular form and color. The central part of the yard retains large clumps of indigenous saw palmetto, original to the property. They are enhanced by plantings of Farfugium and colorful ‘Dreadlocks’ crotons. Homeowners Albert and Ana love to entertain family and friends in their charming old-Florida styled home. “I believe that gardens are meant to be shared,” said Albert, who has a life-long passion for plants. “I want people to feel as if they stepped into a hidden island oasis.” We invite you to stroll through this amazing front garden, and then venture around back where a delightful surprise awaits!

Inspiration for a victorian pool remodel in Boston

David Ramsey
Huge rustic beige two-story stone house exterior idea in Charlotte with a metal roof and a gambrel roof

The Garden shed in summer.
Inspiration for a rustic shed remodel in New York

Inspiration for a victorian pool remodel in Boston

Mar Jennings
Design ideas for a landscaping in New York.

The The Garden Folly/Guest Sleeping Pavilion In Summer
Inspiration for a timeless shed remodel in New York

Small traditional one-story stone house exterior idea in Philadelphia with a hip roof and a shingle roof