Vienna -- Tregaron

A five-acre parcel from a defunct 68-acre farm with an abandoned farmhouse was purchased in 1979 and over the years has been transformed into a rambling, European inspired garden by the owners. Boxwood hedges were planted and more boxwood was started from cuttings to create a parterre centered by a stone basin on a pedestal. An iron gate at the end of the dirt and gravel road that leads to this hilltop property is sided by white stucco walls planted with boxwood and pyracantha. The first garden installed after the new house was built, known as the wildflower-shade garden includes rhododendrons, azaleas, alliums, ferns, spring bulbs, ivy, Virginia bluebells, hellebores and whatever the birds and squirrels bring. This cottage garden is enclosed by stucco walls with plantings, primarily shrubs, on either side. Other beds were laid out with curving borders edged with Belgian block and low dry stone walls built by the owner. A long serpentine dry stone wall defines a garden room separate from the lawn, and more rooms have been added including beds for perennials and parterres for vegetables and flowers. Antique and other limestone features have been added over the years, including birdbaths, urns, statues, and obelisks.

The garden has been enclosed in a deer fence, allowing hostas, roses, daylilies and other flowers and flowering shrubs to thrive. Honeysuckle and clematis vines were planted inside the fence and varieties of tall grasses were planted outside the fence. Flowering shrubs are taking precedence over perennials and are trimmed after they bloom.