Haverford -- St. Anne Terrace

A property of about one-and-one-quarter acre had to be cleared of thick vives, fallen trees – even a disused swimming pool that was filled in and grassed over – before a new garden could be designed and installed, beginning in 2016. The area slopes downhill below the house, which, along with water dispersal, were the main challenges. The solutions included building undulating stone walls that define terraces. Some of the planted beds are edged with built walls and others are edged by natural-seeming piles of boulders. Plantings include native perennials, ornamental grasses, and shrubs. A rain garden comprised of rocks, hosta, stonecrop, and thyme was planted on a shaded slope next to the house, with a pipe system under the rain garden that directs run-off to a sunny meadow at a lower elevation. The meadow is crescent shaped, seeded with native wildflowers in the soil and between the rocks of the wall above it. Wildflower seeds were selected that were most likely to succeed in this location and mixed with wood chips before sowing. Other seeds were planted in the rock wall, again chosen as most likely to succeed. At the lowest elevation there is a creek to collect any run-off not absorbed by the meadow. There is a play area for a young family, a patio paved with bluestone, and Belgian block edging for the driveway. Persons associated with the garden's design: Elise Geyelin (landscape architect, 2026); Larry Weaner (landscape consultant, 2016).