2025 Frontenac Garden Tour

Garden Descriptions

June 21, 2025

 Discovering Unique Specimens

and Natural Wonders

As you approach this oasis, beautifully designed island beds line the road, showcasing specimen trees with unique forms, textures, and colors. Natural stone accents the organic flow, while sculptural evergreens and textured deciduous trees create depth and contrast. In the backyard, a bridge spans a serene creek, leading to a natural fire pit and water feature framed by trees of varied heights and silhouettes. A thoughtfully designed play area, enclosed by rare and striking trees, ensures both safety and beauty. Native grasses and perennials provide seasonal color while attracting birds, butterflies, and pollinators, enriching the environment. Throughout the property, weathered flagstone, dry-stacked boulders, and smooth river rock add depth and authenticity. Every aspect of this oasis has been carefully curated to offer a harmonious blend of natural beauty, functionality, and seclusion. This tranquil retreat is the perfect escape for those seeking peace and serenity in a truly enchanting environment.

Whimsy Meets Intentional Design

A gently winding path guides guests to the front door of the home, turning the expansive lawn into a walkable journey. The front yard offers a touch of formality with structured boxwoods and Wellspire Spruce, setting the stage for an experience that unfolds throughout the property. A flagstone spur branches off the front path, offering an alternate route toward the garage and the rest of the yard beyond. In the backyard, native cultivars and showy perennials burst with color and texture, with ornamental grasses playing a starring role. Plantings extend beyond the fence lines to soften boundaries and create seamless sightlines. A once-problematic retention basin was transformed into a visual feature, framed by water-loving natives and privacy plantings. Every detail was designed to create a landscape that invites exploration and joy, spark curiosity, stir the senses, and transform the landscape into something just a little enchanted.

An Abundance of Plantings Meets Pickleball

Welcome to “Papi's Garden!" This mature garden greets you with cardinal flower and fall phlox, with an abundance of hostas throughout the property. A giant clematis climbs the full height of a nearby light fixture. The center of the front garden features a weeping quince tree and guinea impatiens. There also is salvia and balloon flowers. Taking the arched pathway, you enter another garden with day lilies, black eyed susans and a Japanese maple. There is catmint on the right and to the left is a well-guarded vegetable garden with tomato and cucumbers. A highlight of the backyard is the large pool area surrounded by flowers, and even a pickleball court! The wonderful little pool house has giant geraniums and some lovely jade plants. On the east side of the area is a peach tree guarded from any takers but the homeowners. A banana tree and black elephant ears complete this lovely garden!

 Park-like Setting with Multiple Gardens

This yard is a tree oasis, full of some very interesting varieties, with shade, flower, and raised-bed growing areas. This is a can-do garden with the owners maintaining the gardens themselves, having researched and added most of the trees, plants, and bushes. Amazing hosta varieties abound. The waterfall and pool garden is filled with grasses, trees, low growing plants, and flowers. It’s a gorgeous setting while providing privacy for the pool area. Additionally, the beautiful outdoor pavilion and fireplace are a social and intimate gathering place for most of the year. An expansive patio has tons of room for dining, enjoying the sunset, and admiring the serenity of the woods-like setting. Flower pots, hanging baskets, and succulent gardens can be found in multiple locations. There is even a small cactus garden! The homeowners love plants, gardening, and outdoor living and it really shows throughout the beautiful front and back yards.

Enjoying a STAYcation!

Escape within this award-winning backyard oasis, which is a perfect example of a thoughtfully designed space offering endless comfort and relaxation. It features a beautiful outdoor pavilion with open-styled arches, vaulted hand-hewn ceiling, and retractable screens to keep out annoying pests. A wood-burning fireplace creates a warm setting for entertaining and dining while enjoying indoor/outdoor living under the stars. Dive into relaxation with a heated pool edged in rock, complimented by birch and black gum trees surrounded by hydrangea, rose hedges, and serene plantings with towering green arborvitae and flowing tall grasses. The scent of flowering viburnum and color of annuals expand the senses. The flora is complimented by more than 70 decorative lights and state of the art sound system. Finally, a private boxwood-lined pathway features a gas fire pit to enjoy comfortable, warm nights. Immerse yourself in the beauty of nature, unwind in luxury, and rejuvenate right at home. 

Making Beautiful Choices in the Sun and Shade

Purchasing the house seven years ago, the homeowners embarked on a major renovation, inside and out. They retained the stately structure of the home and garden with large oaks and mature shrubs for privacy. The new landscape would be a nod to a natural alpine look. The entrance delivers a warm welcome with a dry creek bed planted with perennials (astilbe, hosta) and a bubbling boulder. The homeowner's love of colorful foliage and unique textures is evident in their plant choices. The large number of planters provide an opportunity to develop unique, seasonal displays, experimenting with the tried and trues alongside more unique plants. From the driveway, stone steps and path through a hillside garden lead to an upper deck full of planters which work as a private extension of the main level of the home. With three active young adult children at home, there are beautiful spaces for multigenerational entertaining. 

Serenity in Bloom:

A Harmonious Woodland Garden Retreat

Tucked beneath a canopy of mature hardwoods, these enchanting gardens offer a peaceful blend of native woodland charm and cultivated beauty. Stunning hydrangeas greet you on both sides of the driveway as you make your way to the back where a large brick wall heightens your curiosity as to what could be behind. Enter the secret garden patio through an ornamental gate where you’ll discover a 3-tiered wrought iron fountain surrounded by ornamental trees and shrubs. The pool area beyond, is surrounded by garden beds bursting with daylily and hydrangea blooms. Behind the pool area, meandering stone paths invite you to explore a series of thoughtfully curated garden rooms, where lush hostas, astilbes, perennials, and ferns thrive in the dappled light. A graceful balance of formal and naturalistic elements defines the landscape—from the sculptural presence of hydrangeas, Japanese maples, ornamental grasses, and other flowering shrubs, to the whimsical integration of ornamental accents and birdhouses that evoke a sense of quiet wonder. Exit the backyard gate to discover even more beautiful front and side yard beds.