The last time I saw this fenced perennial garden, several years ago, some of the interior beds had a wire fence around them and overhead as well, to keep the critters from marauding through the vegetables and the birds from getting all the blueberries.
And in this photo, the building to the right was once the old chicken coop. (Click on photos to enlarge).
The half-acre property belongs to Janice and Michael Donaroma, owners of Donaroma's Nursery in Edgartown on Martha's Vineyard. During a Garden Conservancy tour last month, Janice explained that she "didn't want to deal with all the bugs" in the veggie garden, and she got tired as well of trying to outfox the raccoons that went after the chickens.
Beyond the coop and garden shed, there's a circular drive with a circular bed in the middle. The drive takes you around to the main house, originally a barn, pictured here.
The circular bed is Janice's "transitional garden," which contains perennials of different colors. If you look at it from one side, all the colors are hot, yellows, oranges and the like. From another view, it's all cool blues. She changes it from time to time to suit her mood.
The guest house is covered with a New Dawn rose that was planted more than 20 years ago. This was once the main residence, but when the family outgrew it, they made the decision to renovate the barn and gain quite a bit more space.
The swimming pool, along one side of the main house, is surrounded by a garden with nothing but white blooms. It hadn't yet flowered during our visit, but it must be wonderful on summer evenings when everyone's ready to cool off after a day at work.
On the opposite side of the house is a patio for dinners and entertaining, seen here from the shade garden that is accessed via a small stone stairway at the far end of the patio.
It's all cool greens and blues and pastels, a perfect place to sit on the bench (not seen here) and contemplate the view, which includes, yes, a whale rib bone that was already in place when the Donaromas arrived in 1984. They decide to leave it in place, and it's now a most unique garden focal point.
It looks so peaceful and tranquil, it would be amazing to live somewhere like that.
Posted by: Jane @ My Organic Vegetable Gardening | July 18, 2010 at 08:15 AM
You have got a nice garden out there. I think a connection with plants means a connection with the nature itself.
Posted by: Ann Flower | July 15, 2010 at 06:34 AM
It looks like a lovely place to live or even visit!
Posted by: Sheila | July 14, 2010 at 05:32 PM