About three years ago, the Eagleson family was fortunate enough to find a beautiful spot of land in Sheridan between wide sprawling fields. They moved there excited to have an expansive yard as a clean slate to play with—practically no landscaping had been installed around the home by the previous owner. Bill, Elizabeth and Sam quickly began to build a new garden that would become a showpiece of the creativity of Eagleson Landscaping, as well as being home to their favorite plants and an outdoors they will enjoy for years to come.
“Unlike our client projects, ours was a design on the fly,” said Bill, “We started with what we knew—the view from the porch and kitchen area was going to be the dominant view. We positioned the centerpiece there, and it should be no surprise that a pond serves as that centerpiece! From there, things started sprouting up around that.”
There was another reason the Eagleson’s built their pond system first—they needed to move their koi from their previous home. The full water feature consists of a bog, which feeds a stream, which runs down to waterfall into the main pool where their koi live. It is a self-contained ecosystem that also attracts frogs and other creatures.
The Eagleson’s also transplanted hundreds of plants from their old home, including much of their hosta, daylily, dwarf evergreen and Japanese maple collection. “We move plants like people move furniture,” Bill joked.
Included in those transplants are examples of the Eagleson’s love for unusual varieties. “I really became excited about unusual plants after I got out of school,” said Bill. “Dwarf evergreens, beeches, Japanese maples and gingko offer so much variety in size, colors and shapes. It’s interesting to create the different textures within the garden.”
Did you know that hosta come in thousands of varieties? The Eagleson have collected over 300 and are always looking for more. “We got started in hosta at the old house because we were working predominantly with shade,” said Bill. “Of course we like the variety of size, leaf shape, color and flowers, but we also find their names as interesting as anything.” The Eagleson collection runs from blue and gold colored hosta, to giant and dwarf hosta, to hosta named after food and sci-fi characters. “It helps to have themed collections, because then I have a focus on what to get next,” said Elizabeth.
Names are what got Bill into daylilies as well, which are sprinkled throughout their landscape. “I got one daylily just because it’s name was ‘Primal Scream’,” said Bill. “Russian Ragtime” is another favorite name. “We have over 100 different daylilies, and what’s great about these flowers is that different varieties can bloom in a wide seasonal range, from June through the beginning of September.”
Putting together a garden that seems to be always in bloom is the aim of many gardeners. Elizabeth has been layering different perennials amongst their hosta, trees and daylilies to increase their garden’s flowering period. “We know some gardeners who have flowers blooming every month of the year; we’re not there yet, but we’re around April through September,” said Elizabeth. “But, this is only our third summer, and we haven’t even touched many areas of our yard yet!”
“Bill and I are really lucky in that we both love the outdoors and plants. The whole family really loves it. In a garden, not only do you get to be creative and have fun watching things thrive under your care, but everything is alive—the birds, koi, bugs, plants—it’s like your own little world.”
“What’s nice about going big with our own landscape is that we can showcase what we can do,” said Bill. “Our clients are not looking for cookie-cutter designs when they come to us; they’re looking for something unique. We don’t believe in a one-size-fits-all, and we find that each site has its own possibilities.”
Stay tuned for more articles highlighting the many aspects of the Eagleson Landscape yard.
