How stunning is this Newtown Square garden? All photos courtesy of Wallace Landscape Associates
With help from Wallace Landscape Associates, a Newtown Square landscape becomes a space for peace, play—and growing.
A large residential plot in Newtown Square provides so much more than peaceful green space. The land nourishes a local family’s body and soul with a vegetable garden, a lily pond and alfresco dining beside a sparkling steam. Just a few years ago, the property consisted of a large but underutilized hill, sloping from a circa-1830 stone millworker’s house to the stream. The homeowners envisioned a deeper connection to the land, where they could grow organic vegetables and gather eggs from their hens. Instead of swimming in a pool, their kids could frolic in the stream.
Enter Linda Miller of Wallace Landscape Associates, a design-build firm in Chadds Ford. Her master plan for the eight-acre property included zones for agriculture, entertaining, relaxation and recreation. “A master plan is the foundation for a seamless landscape,” says Miller. “You know the next step will flow nicely with the last step.”
In summer, the kids pick berries from the garden.
The formal entrance garden and brick walkway are sheltered from the road by an evergreen hedge, while a rain garden captures runoff from the driveway. “All the pollutants are removed as the water moves down into the ground,” Miller says.
The gardens are lush with catmint, baptisia, bee balm, and prairie drop seed. Yellow coneflower and black-eyed Susan leave thistles for songbirds to nibble in winter. In spring, the lily pond comes to life. The homeowners are passionate about native plants, which now populate the meadow, shaded by indigenous dogwoods, sweet bay magnolia and swamp white oaks. A zipline runs from the vegetable garden to a big tree in the meadow. “It’s a really quick and fun way to get from one place to another,” Miller notes.
In summer, the kids pick berries from the garden. An informal patio is nestled into the hillside, a quiet enclave where family and friends enjoy views of the flower gardens and meandering stream below. “It’s a wonderful, collaborative project for a great family,” Miller says.
The homeowners envisioned a deeper connection to the land, where they could grow organic vegetables and gather eggs from their hens. Instead of swimming in a pool, their kids could frolic in the stream.
Wallace Landscape Associates INC.
1598 Baltimore Pike, Chadds Ford, (610) 444-6161, wallacelandscape.com
