Gardening at an Arts and Crafts California Bungalow

I started the process of designing a garden for this property in Princeton Junction with the desire to honor the bones of the dwelling. This is a classic small, California-style bungalow built in 1928 by a local architect from Trenton, NJ.  It was designed at the tail end of the Arts and Crafts movement when the vision was for nature and our inside space to flow seamlessly from one to the other. The garden should invite you in, and the front porch should allow you to drift right out again. It should almost feel as though one does not know where the garden ends and the bungalow begins.

Wysteria climbs the roof and provides delicious shade as the summer heats up. Climbing roses balance the other side of the front of this home for a celebration of color and fragrance through the last week in May.

Since this house has had no additions to speak of, I really wanted to keep the feel of the garden old fashioned and sensible, just as the architecture is itself. I went to work planting heirloom bulbs, dwarf to large hostas, ferns and native woodland flowers. I especially enjoyed selecting the sun loving perennials.
Peonies, hollyhocks, Grahamn Thomas roses, Black Eyed Susans, Coneflowers, Bearded Iris, Japanese Iris, Hydrangeas, Clematis, Monarda and several tree peonies... just to name a few sun lovers.
These perennials keep the butterflies happy year after year, and a few goldfinch also.