Labor of love
Exeter Township garden is created between rocks and a high place.
When Mike Foster and his wife, Carolyn, were looking at an Exeter Township property back in 2004, they know a garden would be a high point when they built their new home, and that there would be a rocky road to creating it. Literally.
“When I first saw this property it was covered in trees and thick undergrowth,” Mike said. “The rise in elevation was obvious but not indicative of what it would look like after site preparation.
“After the house was completed the builder intended to shore up the base of the grade with boulders then grade the remaining elevation up to the tree line, then hydro seed the grade and be on his way. I traded the cost of grading and seeding for the use of his track loader.
“The operator and I placed many huge boulders in strategic locations along the hill of stone and scree giving me the raw canvas to plan the garden.”
Mike discovered his property was in the heart of a rock formation that he said runs from Lancaster County through Kutztown.
“So much of the initial work was to keep the hill from spilling into the back of our house,” he said. “Terrace building was the answer, and I had plenty of rock to work with. Each had a place and purpose.”
Over the last 16 years, Mike, 70, who is retired from Brilliant Graphics, Exton, has worked diligently to make that garden a showcase that has a more than a touch of his free-spirited personality.
“As it flows and interacts with the natural landscape, it has little of the discipline associated with formal gardens,” said Mike, who described himself as an outdoors person who likes the challenges and rewards of gardening. “I enjoy classical music but would probably be a jazz musician. I love Longwood’s symmetrical gardens but feel more at home wandering the paths.”
As with most gardens, there were things that didn’t go as planned, but Mike doesn’t necessarily look at those as mistakes.
“Garden mistakes do not exist unless you are feeding your family with the produce,” he said. “Every misstep suggests what needs to be adjusted moving forward.
“A plant may not be right for location No. 1 but is perfect for location No. 2. You will get it right eventually.”
Mike said his favorite plant in the garden is a 16-year-old Japanese redwood.
“My concern is that one day it will need to be harvested due to its size,” he said. “What a glorious tree!”
Mike said for inspiration he looks to the book “Perfect Plant, Perfect Place” by Roy Lancaster, as well as to Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Chester County, and Winterthur in New Castle County, Del.
He said he’s not really comfortable giving other gardeners advice, but he did share a few tips he’s picked up over the years.
“Evaluate your site carefully and amend, as necessary,” he said. “Plan with both eyes on the future if you want your garden to evolve over time.
“Prioritize understanding that some of your efforts may take years to fully impact the overall look of a mature landscape.”
Mike hired a contractor to build the deck but has done the rest of the work in the garden himself.
“Landscape gardening requires so much physical engagement that it keeps asking me to get back to it,” he said. “The challenges and rewards check all of my boxes for time well spent.”