In August 2011, Oehme, van Sweden (OvS) Principal Eric Groft was on site to bring the New American Garden to the shores of Carlin Bay on Lake Coeur d’Alene near Harrison, Idaho. Assisted by Jim Fink of StyleBuilt Construction for grading and hardscape and Aspen Nursery for landscape, the garden was laid out and installed. The hardscape included new decks and verandahs, stone terraces and paths using the local Cabinet Gorge paving stone, re-alignment of the driveway paved with a rainbow gravel, enormous slabs of the Cabinet Gorge stone placed along the shore, and the placement of “basking rocks” for sunbathing. The steep slope is traversed with a new 10% gravel path that will allow gator traffic as well as a Porters Rope to negotiate the steepest slopes from the house to the water’s edge.
The Lake Shore features the remants of enormous Cedar stumps up to 12’ in diameter, as well as a greensward of lawn for passive recreation. A new rustic outdoor shower, boathouse and tent platform are organized around a Cowboy Cauldron for outdoor fires and cooking.
The site is covered with towering Logpole Pine, Spruce and Fir trees. Perennials, grasses, sedges, ferns and ground covers were installed in large swaths to provide a lush backdrop to the rustic garden features as well as sustainable erosion control for the steep slopes that exceed 30% in some areas. In addition to the OvS regulars of Panicum North Wind, Senecio aureus, Pynanthem muticum, Rudbeckia maxima and ‘Herbsonne’, we also used the native Andropogon/Big Blue Grass, Boutelua/Blue Gamma Grass, Bergenia and Mahonia to naturalize the site.
Lake Couer d’Alene, just 30 minutes from Spokane Washington, tranlates in French as ‘Heart of the Owl’ and is an ancient glacial Lake stretching 25 miles and covering 30,000 acres, with a depth that is not documented! Please take a look at OvS in the Rocky Mountians in this remote and enchanting Northern Idaho panhandle location…
Thanks for sharing – that plant palette looks way more appropriate than when some try it here in Albuquerque! (can’t make this stuff up…) I really like the rock retaining walls and flagstone work, too.
Really stunning design… I would appreciate knowing the names of tall grasses that Wolfgang frequently used that would work for our 2nd home in Maine.. Mt.Desert Island… both in a dry section of the property as well as an area that tends to be on the wet/soggy side. They need to survive very cold winters and neglect, as we are only there in the summer.
Thanks..
Bob, We’re so sorry it took us a while to respond to your comment! It somehow got lost during the holidays. Our sincerest apologies!
Panicum (Switch Grass) is one of our tall grass favorites that we often use in mass. Panicums are extremely cold hardy (hardy to zone 2) and thrive in dry conditions once established. Some of our favorite selections are Panicum ‘Northwind’ which has a bluish color and is very upright growing about 5-6′ tall and Panicum ‘Rotstrahlbusch’ (P.v. ‘Hanse Herms) which has more of a reddish color grows to about 4-5′ tall. Sometimes it’s fun to mix Panicums with tall flowering perennials such as Rudbeckia maxima.
For the wet/soggy area, we often look to the Carex and Juncus varieties. Depending on how wet the area is and the amount of sun vs. shade, here are a few suggestions: Carex pendula, Carex stricta, Carex grayi, and Juncus effusus.