Designing for Deer ResistanceEvery plant in this area of Janie McCabe's garden is deer resistant, with two exceptions: the tulips ('Apricot Impression') and the violas ('Lemon Sorbet'). "Happily, though both are vulnerable to deer, typically neither is bothered here thanks to their unpalatable neighbors," says the Northford, Connecticut (USDA Zone 6b) garden designer, who is accustomed to designing for deer resistance. This area of her garden, seen in mid spring, features perennials that animals don't like, including: white daffodils; purple-flowered Epimedium; purple flowered Helleborus; brilliant-blue Pulmonaria. The foliage of ferns and blue-flowered Linum (flax) is apparent. In summer and fall lush foliage dominates, with perennial color unfolding in waves.
Flawless Transitional ComboA beautiful plant partnership at the Conservatory Garden in New York City's Central Park caught the eye of Northford, Connecticut garden designer Janie McCabe. "This combo maximizes the transition from late spring into summer, with a layering of texture and color that feels flawless to me," says McCabe. The Conservancy design features reddish-purple Allium 'Purple Sensation'; fuchsia Gladiolus byzantinus; grassy Hakonechloa; white-flowered Aruncus; blue Salvia in the foreground. To the rear, a smoke tree's dark foliage creates a backdrop that sets off the whole scene.
Impressive Example of Color EchoingA plant partnership of Tulipa 'Formosa' and Hosta 'Ivory Coast' offers an impressive example of a garden design technique called color echoing. "There's unusual balance in this pairing, where the same shades of "tulip green" and soft yellow link the tulip and hosta, while their respective color configurations are nearly opposite," says Connecticut garden designer Janie McCabe. In the garden, she'd envision adding blue Brunnera and yellow, daisy-like Doronicum to enhance and extend the combo's bloom.
Allium Ambassador, Kniphofia and GrassesA dramatic shoreline planting on the Long Island Sound, by Connecticut landscape designer Janie McCabe makes powerful use of color, texture, shape and height. Says McCabe, "I love the interplay between the purple ball-shaped umbels of Allium 'Ambassador' and the bottlebrush spikes of orange-and-yellow Kniphofia.".
White-on-White Color SchemeMJ McCabe Garden Design created a white garden to complement the addition a new garage to an elegant 1909-built home. It features a latticed wall, fountain and cobbled paving. Boxwood hedging and dwarf crabapple trees anchor the garden beds. The white-on-white color scheme is appealing spring through fall. In spring, tulips and dwarf daffodils set the tone. After they fade, alliums bloom, followed by ground cover plantings of summer-blooming Scaevolia and Euphorbia. In fall, Anemone japonica joins in.
Hillside Mix of Spring Bulbs and PerennialsIn a new garden tucked along a wooded hillside facing her client's house, Connecticut landscape designer Janie McCabe added stone walls and steps, then filled in with many yards of local compost. By fall, she was ready to plant and focused on perennials, tucking in surprise clusters of flower bulbs, too. The next spring, her client was thrilled. 'After a long gray winter, he hadn't realized how much spring color would mean to him," she says.
Allium Purple Sensation and Snowball ViburnumFor a sloped site with rocky outcrops, Connecticut landscape designer Janie McCable paired Allium 'Purple Sensation' with Viburnum opalus roseum (old-fashioned snowball viburnum). Both bloom in late spring and carry dense, ball-shaped flowers on long stems. Says McCabe, "Repetition of shape plus the rich color contrast makes the combo sing."
Entrance Garden in SpringA flower bulb planting creates a bright carpet of spring color in this Connecticut garden designed by Janie McCabe. White tulips, cobalt-blue grape hyacinths and yellow dwarf daffodils are planted among white candytuft and pink-and-green hellebore. Later, emerging perennials will camouflage the declining bulb foliage after bloom. In the background are hydrangea bushes, soon to leaf out.
Alliums, Shrub Roses and PerennialsIn early summer, an entry garden by Connecticut landscape designer Janie McCabe features silvery purple Allium christophii, pink shrub roses, deep-blue lavender, periwinkle geranium, and chartreuse lady's mantle.
Narcissus, Muscari and Variegated EuphorbiaA colorful spring garden blooms alongside a Connecticut home. In early spring, the site receives abundant sunshine. By early summer, nearby deciduous trees shade the area. Janie McCabe's design features sun-loving spring bulb flowers that naturalize, followed by shade-loving summer perennials. In mid-spring, clusters of white Narcissus 'Thalia' and cobalt blue Muscari armeniacum bloom between early-emerging, Euphorbia characias 'Glacier Blue'.
Alliums and Double Tulips with Emerging PerennialsIn a residential garden, Connecticut garden designer Janie McCabe planted a long line of dwarf crabapples to define the space year round. In spring, the trees create a scented canopy of white and pink blossoms. Closer to the house, flower beds provide equally romantic splashes of color. In late spring, Allium 'Purple Sensation' adds dramatic height to an understory of soft pink, white and lavender double-flowered tulips. Following bloom, the declining bulb plants will be camouflaged by the foliage of the fast-growing peonies, phlox and delphiniums.
