Award Winning Garden
The following write up appeared in the May 2010 issue of American Nurseryman Magazine.
(Download the PDF version of this story - 843kb) | View photos of this garden
Elevation with Inspiration
by Dan Gronning | Spring 2010
Hearty, carefully selected perennials enabled a couple in Breckenridge, Colorado
to enjoy an English cottage garden, despite a 9,500’ elevation.
Each summer when the steamy heat began seeping into Washington D.C., Susan Propper and Donald Dankner couldn't wait to escape to their cool, quiet vacation home in the mountain village of Breckenridge, Colorado. Its east-facing back windows featured a postcard-worthy view of peaceful mountains, which was reason alone to make the getaway.
However, the front-facing kitchen window offered only a drab view of the street and neighbor's home just beyond. It was so uninspiring, it caused Susan Propper to dread doing the dishes. One day, she realized what was missing from that view: a garden.
Specifically, Susan envisioned a charming perennial garden resembling those found outside typical English cottages. Of course, planning such a garden at an elevation of 9,500 feet presents obvious challenges. The existing soil's organic matter is sparse, the air is dry, and the winters are harsh.
None of this deterred Susan. After consulting with neighbors and friends to find a good gardening company, she and Donald heard great things about Raindrops on Roses. Launched in 2003 by Juliana Maes, the Silverthorne, Colorado-based company had a reputation for extreme gardening passion, a spirit of diligence and compassion amongst its crew, and fanatical attention to detail.
In August 2008, Susan met with Juliana and described her vision for the property. The couple preferred a garden that was vivid and visually engaging, but completely natural in appearance. "When she said they wanted the look and feel of a mountain-style English cottage garden, I had a pretty accurate idea of what they were looking for and I knew exactly who to turn to for the design," said Juliana.
In addition, Susan required that her garden have an informal look with a wildflower feeling, and no "matchy matchy." It should have lots of color with different heights and textures including long-blooming perennials. Since the couple's primary residence is Washington D.C., Susan wanted to know that when visiting Breckenridge in the summers, something would always be blooming in her garden.
Planning the garden
For this project, Juliana chose to collaborate with landscape architect John D. Longhill who is also based in Silverthorne.
Prior to 2008 Raindrops on Roses had sub-contracted all of its garden designs to local landscape designer Jennifer Mantle. But she was offered an incredible opportunity to work full-time for a large, high-end landscape design/build firm.
In the spring of 2008 Juliana started looking for a new garden design sub-contractor. Fate led Juliana, who is a master gardener, to fellow master gardener John D. Longhill, who also happened to be an award winning landscape architect. Juliana valued his down-to-earth, easy-going approach, and decided to have him design the Propper/Dankner garden. "John loves designing beautiful gardens as much as Raindrops on Roses enjoys installing them," Juliana says.
After the initial meeting with Susan Propper, in which Juliana took plenty of notes, Juliana met with John Longhill and together they went over her notes. These included all of the homeowners requests like bright colors, long-blooming informal perennials, and nothing too over-the-top or pretentious.
"It's a garden that makes you smile," says Juliana. "There is great value and beauty in that simple quality."
John drew up a design plan, and then presented it to Juliana. Together, they developed a selection of plants that do well in Zone 3.
The plants were chosen based on Susan's criteria, as well as what had proven to do well at such a high elevation. No finicky plants were included; only tried and true high-altitude perennials. Throughout the project, Juliana remained the point of contact with Susan and Donald, serving as the project's "garden general manager".
The final selection included Baker's Blue Spruce (Picea pungens 'Bakeri'), Red Velvet Yarrow (Achillea millefolium 'Red Velvet'), Peach-Leaved Bellflower (Campanula persicifolia), Blue Harebell (Campanula rotundifolia 'Olympica'), Sunburst Coreopsis (Coreopsis grandiflora 'Sunburst'), Pacific Giant Mix Larkspur (Delphinium x Pacific Giant Mix), Blue Siberian Iris (Iris sibirica 'Caesar's Brother'), Alaska Shasta Daisy Leucanthemum x superbum 'Alaska'), and Vera Jameson Stonecrop.
While most of these plants are Zone 3, a few Zone 4 species were added because they had performed well for Juliana in past projects. With the right soil preparation, it is possible to push the limit just a bit with certain Zone 4 plants. The ones chosen for the Propper/Dankner garden are a good example.
"One of my favorite things that John added to the design were three small Baker's Blue Spruce trees," said Juliana. In fact, she believes these touches sealed the deal, giving the garden a good balance of mountain style combined with the soft impact of an English cottage garden.
Raindrops on Roses had been hired because the homeowners simply wanted to add a perennial garden. All of the existing hardscapes had been installed by the original landscaper many years before.
Installing and maintaining the garden
The actual project took five days to complete in late August of 2008.
In addition to Juliana, the Raindrops on Roses installation crew included foreman Robin Macri, foreman Josey Smith and assistant foreman Meghan DeCourcey.
The installation was not without challenges.
The crew had to dig out the grass and weeds that had overtaken the areas where they needed to plant. They also had to dig out the sad-looking, not too healthy, low growing junipers. The soil was initially compacted, making it hard to work with. Fortunately the Raindrops on Roses crew were able to save some of the existing plants like catmint, lupine, iris, and aspen.
Juliana explains, "People hire Raindrops on Roses because they want to add a perennial garden. They are happy with their existing landscape but they want to add color. We specialize in adding some pizzazz to what they already have."
Juliana's team purchased the plants from a reputable, high-quality greenhouse. They tilled the existing soil to a depth of 12 inches, after which they added a three-inch layer of compost and mixed it into the freshly tilled soil. They also added a handful of Alaska humisoil to the bottom of every planting hole. Finally, they spread a two-inch thick blanket of mulch and thoroughly watered-in the newly planted perennials.
As a member of the Associated Landscape Contractors of Colorado (ALCC), Juliana felt it important to follow the Best Management Practices (BMPs) which the organization promotes. BMPs are guidelines on how to reduce water consumption and protect water quality while producing, designing, installing and maintaining healthy and beautiful landscapes.
In the case of the Propper/Dankner garden, following the guidelines entailed amending the existing soil prior to planting, preparing the site for the arrival of materials, and choosing plants proven to do well at high, arid elevations. Amending the garden allowed for improved pore space, translating into additional water storage, efficient water distribution and, therefore, less frequent waterings.
Amending the soil also helped to protect water quality. Healthy, hearty soil translates into strong, sustainable plants. No chemical products are needed to care for this garden, so there is never a risk of polluting groundwater supplies.
Since the installations, whenever spring arrives, Raindrops on Roses topdresses the garden with a mix of Maes' favorite amendments — composted cotton burrs and humic acid.
After that, they make routine maintenance visits every two weeks, which consist of weeding, deadheading and staking the heavy perennials.
Because the soil was prepped properly, it has become a healthy garden, and there haven't been any insect or disease problems.
Ultimately, every idea Propper had envisioned was implemented in this garden. Upon arriving in Breckenridge one year after the garden's inception and seeing it in full bloom for the first time, she exlaimed, "Spectacular!"
Nominating the garden for an industry award
As a member of the Associated Landscape Contractors of Colorado (ALCC), Juliana felt the Propper/Dankner garden would make an ideal submission for the organization's annual Excellence in Landscape (EIL) Awards. The EIL Awards honor unique Colorado landscapes that are designed, constructed, irrigated, renovated and managed by members of ALCC.
Categories ranged from landscape construction and Xeriscape to renovation, water features, special areas, design/build, landscape maintenance, interior landscape and use of color. Raindrops on Roses entered the Propper/Dankner garden in the "Use of Perennials" category.
The judging panel consists of experts that represent a cross-section of Colorado's green industry. Winning entries are selected on the basis of the design impact, attention to detail, degree of difficulty, overall appearance, work quality, the incorporation of the industry's Best Management Practices (BMPs) and quality of plant materials.
One day in January of 2010, several months following the submission of her awards entry, Juliana stopped by her post office box on her way home. She discovered a letter from ALCC, which began, "Dear Mrs. Maes: We are pleased to inform you that your project has been selected for our 2010 Excellence in Landscape (EIL) Awards."
"When I opened the letter and began reading it, my fingers started trembling," said Juliana. "I was so caught up in the moment, I actually lost my way home from the post office."
The award was significant for the young company because it put them shoulder to shoulder with more established, better-known entities that made up the 37 other winners.
Juliana is quick to acknowledge that the project's success would not have been possible without her crew. "Robin, Josey, Meghan, and the rest of my crew are amazing," says Juliana. "My company would not be where it is today without them."
As for Susan Propper and Donald Dankner, the couple couldn't be happier with the results. Susan even revealed to Juliana that Donald, who is a businessman, is so proud of their garden he uses a picture of it as a screen saver on his computer.
View more photos of this Breckenridge, Colorado award-winning garden >
