Shoreline Village Garden

The garden of this former carriage house is both a functioning laboratory and a showcase for the designer’s work with native plant communities found in her southern New England locale.

Ms. Drake uses challenges to make opportunities: Solving a drainage issue revealed a centuries-old stone path that now passes through an ephemeral wetland. Filling the shallow front yard with exuberant native plants (a 21st century nod to traditional cottage gardens) animates the space with pollinators and piques the interest of neighbors walking by, all the while providing a privacy screen for the house itself.

Rain gardens and native plants aid sustainability, while the creative reuse of found material, whether in a wabisabi copper screen or paver samples (contributed by Judith Heintz, their designer), work together to enhance the charm of this cottage in its picturesque historic village.

Project Team: Diana L. Drake, Judith Heintz

Photos by dl drake