Lake Forest -- Hull Residence, The

The one-acre property had a few trees and no garden in 1970; since then the owner and the late British garden designer John Brookes have created English-inspired formal and woodland gardens. The entrance court/parking area is patterned gravel and brick enclosed by curving brick walls with in-ground crabapple standards that appear to be planted in Versailles boxes set on brick paving. Curved steps lead down to the woodland garden in front of the house where a decorative shed appears as a folly. In spring primrose, hellebore, columbine, daffodil and lily-of-the-valley bloom under dogwood and magnolia. In summer white accents from hydrangea, birch and variegated hosta show through evergreen and woody shrubs. A winding path with deep garden borders leads to formal gardens that surround the back lawn. Clipped boxwood and yew add structure at the intersections of curving beds, a seating area overlooked by a statue of a seated deer, gravel garden and terrace. Towering pines and other trees were planted around the perimeter of the property and act as both privacy screens and backdrop to the borders. David Austin roses in shades of pink grow in curving beds accented with perennials, tuteurs and an armillary sphere for height. Flowering trees and shrubs add color before the roses take over in summer. At one end there is a formal gravel garden where rope swags between columns support climbing roses with rose bushes, peonies, lady's mantle and clipped balls of yew at ground level. A terrace of mixed hardscapes along the back of the houses is planted with clipped shrubs and pots of annuals and bulbs. Planting beds and a small pond are cut into the hardscape, and opportunistic perennials including mosses are encouraged. The gardens are dotted with antique and inherited statuary and an urn on a second story balcony. Layered details include ivy trained in a crisscrossing pattern on a brick wall and running along flagstone steps. Persons associated with the garden include: John Brookes (garden and landscape designer, late 1980's-2018).