A Yard Goes From Dirt Patch to Perennial Paradise
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Built for Entertaining
Built for Entertaining
Photo by Courtesy of Joyce Hannaford
"Maintaining the garden takes about 60 hours a week—but I love it!" —Joyce Hannaford, Natick, Massachusetts
Try reaching Joyce Hannaford in peak growing season and you may get nowhere. "I don't take my phone with me anymore," she says of her forays outside. "The last time, I left it in Zone 12—luckily before the sprinklers kicked on."
Wondering where that growing zone is on the map? Turns out Joyce has subdivided her own third-of-an-acre yard into a dozen irrigation zones fed by an automated system hooked up to a 150-foot-deep well. She still hauls 100 feet of hose around the garden, though. "I like to really soak certain plants. I do it late in the day. I find it soothing. It forces me to take a harder look at a spot."
Shown: After clearing a yard that had been ignored for years, homeowner Joyce Hannaford created two brick gathering spots surrounded by curved stone walls, conifers, and azaleas.
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Constant Garden Surveillance
Constant Garden Surveillance
Photo by Courtesy of Joyce Hannaford
Friends may wonder how Joyce could look any harder than she already has. Since her first attempt at bringing the then-desolate yard to life 12 years ago, when she planted 70 daylilies passed along by a friend, Joyce has managed to pack trees, perennials, and annuals into every available inch. "This is my passion," she says simply, adding that before reaching retirement age she thought of work as a way to support her growing habit. And, no, she can't tell you how much she's spent over the years. "I don't want to know," she adds.
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Torn Apart and Put Back Together
Torn Apart and Put Back Together
Photo by Courtesy of Joyce Hannaford
When Joyce and her husband, Charlie, bought their house, the yard was mainly spindly cedars and overgrown brush. After taking care of much-needed repairs inside, "we started tearing apart the yard," Joyce says. "It looked like a logging operation back there." Surviving trees, bushes, and daylilies were pruned or moved to new spots, clearing the way for two brick patios linked by stone steps—followed by an avalanche of color.
In a mad dash to find the best flower varieties and color combinations, "I drove all over New England," Joyce says. Ultimately she settled down with a nearby nursery, where she loads up her tarp-lined SUV on a regular basis.
Shown: A layered perennial bed on the left starts with mounding 'David's Lavender' phlox and gains height with 'Little Goldstar' black-eyed Susans before rising to near eye level with 'Party Queen' and 'Chicago Rosy' daylilies.
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A Few of Her Favorites
A Few of Her Favorites
Photo by Courtesy of Joyce Hannaford
Fragrant oriental lilies require full sun and well-draining soil. Their sensational blooms, unlike those of daylilies, last for weeks.
'Belonica'
Double pink flowers with white margins open on 4-foot stems in July and August.