• A garden design that exudes timelessness aligns with the architectural style of your home while addressing your daily requirements.
• Gardens featuring pastel-hued perennials often evoke a sense of tradition and classic beauty.
• Incorporating weathered materials and preserving mature trees can endow a garden with an eternal charm.
When Karli and Jim Hagedorn acquired their 1722 saltbox home on Nantucket Island, they enlisted the services of landscape artist Julie Jordin to revamp the property’s exterior. It was a daunting task to craft a garden that complemented the historic house’s design while catering to contemporary living. However, Jordin was unintimidated, confessing her passion for “fostering gardens that carry a strong sense of context.” Here’s how she transformed the unruly outdoors into a sequence of serene living spaces, along with her top pointers for designing a timeless garden in any setting.
Perennials are long-term companions, so select a color scheme that stands the test of time. Subtle hues of pink and purple possess lasting allure and can create as profound an impact as more vibrant shades. In the deep perennial border, Jordin artfully arranged resilient perennials that explode with color in mid-summer, such as catmint, ‘Millenium’ allium, ‘Cinderella’ milkweed, and clary sage.
For the firepit zone on the property’s edge, Jordin went with classic wooden Adirondack chairs nestled amidst an extensive planting of lavender—timeless elements that infuse any outdoor area with a relaxed ambiance.
Choosing aged materials that correspond to your home’s era helps unify the space. The new backyard shed, for instance, appears as if it were constructed alongside the main house, thanks to its use of reclaimed shingles and vintage strap hinges. It not only serves as a creative haven for the homeowner and her grandkids but also conceals modern amenities like a generator and irrigation system.
In the vegetable and cutting garden adjacent to the kitchen, Jordin installed an striking driftwood arch by the contemporary artist Kelley Jepson. “It fulfills the homeowners’ wish for a touch of whimsy, yet it carries an air of age that complements the garden,” notes Jordin.
Given the historical constraints that barred the Hagedorns from placing a pool near the house, Jordin positioned it downhill behind the garage apartment. Instead of extensive hardscaping, a lawn and plantings of Nantucket blue hydrangeas help the pool blend seamlessly with the rest of the yard.
Whenever feasible, design your landscape to highlight existing trees, granting the garden a mature feel. On this slope, Jordin built around the established chokecherries, complementing them with large boxwoods. The antique granite edging for the steps reinforces what Jordin describes as the “forever-present” sensation.
