1. 15November Life on the Ridge14 Life on the Ridge November
Some of the plants I choose to add are listed below:
Achillea 'Paprika'
Echinacea 'Magnus'
Nepeta 'Walkers Low'
Geum 'Mrs. Bradshaw'
Hemerocallis ' Little Business”
Oenothera 'Sun Drop'
Steve and Alison love their new garden as
much as they enjoy the elk that come to rest
in the cool moist shade of their bristle cone
pine trees next to it. For a garden like this
one to succeed, you need a good irrigation
system, a sunny site, and patience because
many perennials grow roots underground
during the first season. I can't wait to see
what story the garden will tell next year!
For residents interested in reaching out to
Ryan Douglas, email him
at Ryanfd@gmail.com.
NeighborhoodNews
If you have a yard, garden, deck, or other outdoor areas that you’d like to have featured, or know a neighbor who
does, we want to know about it. All you have to do is snap a picture and email it to us at tim.grace@n2pub.com.
For this month’s feature of Outside Living on the Ridge, we interviewed Ryan Douglas,
who designed an extensive makeover of Alison and Steve Alfers’garden.
Like all creative individuals, I believe there are a lot of rules to be broken, and every
client and site offers exciting opportunities. The gardens that can occur are as endless
as a gallery of organic paintings.
The biggest challenges I had with designing the Alfers’ garden here in the high coun-
try is the altitude, the lack of natural moisture, and roaming elk that call the garden
space at the front door ‘home’.
I hoped to enhance the beautiful mountainous view backdrop by adding seasonal color
and variety. I wanted to remove the shrubs and open up the space by using natu-
ral perennials that would add to the daisies and Russian sage already planted there.
When I am done viewing a site like this one, I anxiously head to the nursery to see
what is available, rather than promising all sorts of plants to the client and ending up
delivering something different.
For this garden, I chose to visit the plant hospital, which is a place plants go when they
are overgrown or typically the last one left.Twenty years as an experienced horticultur-
ist and landscape designer have taught me this technique; a trustworthy client always
knows I will find some real surprises. While it can be daunting, I look to find the bal-
ance of ease of care for the customer and distaste to elk.
outside
on the ridge
living
The perfect yard for hanging out
1918 Bryce Court
NeighborhoodNews