Ruth Foster, a landscape consultant, oversees the planting of the perennial flower border in the yard. Smaller plants fill in the front, moving to the tallest flowering plants in back. Foster has chosen deer-resistant plants like summer asters for the front, with echinacea or cone flowers behind. Foster has also selected a vivid, neon autumn joy for the garden. She and Bob look at the early blooming magnolias that have been planted in the yard and the euonomous hedge that will grow to eight or ten feet and turn red in the fall.

Ruth Foster, a retired horticultural columnist from the Boston Globe, joins Bob to review the landscaping plan and plantings for the Rowley yard. Foster has selected a Euonomous hedge to screen the yard from the street. Kelly Brothers landscaping is planting the hedge plants, trees, and gardens. Foster has selected evergreens to round out the corners of the yard and shield the yard from the neighbors. Kelly Brothers plants dogwood trees and flowering magnolias that will grow to about 20 feet. Foster warns against overplanting and reminds Bob that small trees grow much quicker than large ones. She then explains the best way to plant a tree, which is wider than the root ball but with a hard bottom in the planting hole so that the tree won't sink. Foster says to keep the flair at the base of the tree above the soil line. Closer to the deck, Foster has created a flowering border that will enclose the vista and bloom throughout the season.

Bob watches as Kelly Brothers plants bulbs while Ruth Foster explains how to do it well. The small, blue scylla are planted in the front fo the garden, with taller alium behind. Foster shows the pointed end that should aim up and suggests that they be planted as a group, in bouquets, so they will blossom in groups of color. Bob uses a bulb planter to prepare holes for the bulbs. These bulbs, from DutchGardens.com can be purchased as good quality, double-nose, and bargain bulbs. Foster tells Bob that the deeper they are planted, the less likely they are to split. If they are planted too shallow, there will be no blooms in the second year. Once planted, the bulbs will be mulched and left to sleep for the fall and winter. The turf that was damaged during construction is ready to be reseeded. Foster suggests a relaxed approach to lawn planting, using perennial rye and fescue scattered over the surface and raked in. Foster stresses that a "freedom lawn" is mown high and overseeded in the fall and again with the melting snow. Foster uses fescue for shade, blue grass in sun, and perennial rye everywhere.

Bob discusses landscaping and the stone terrace with Ruth Foster, landscape consultant. They stand in the diamond shaped courtyard with a series of diamond shaped planters. The first is filmed with herbs, the second with roses and the third a perennial garden. The fourth and outermost garden is a white garbed with maroon accents to match the trim on the Victorian�s windows. Ruth added sandy loam from a farm, as much of the soil on Martha�s Vineyard is almost a sandy beach type soil. In the herb garden she plants Lavender, Thyme, Basil, Parsley, Chives and Artimesia, which is in all the beds to tie them together. Ruth also selects a Japanese Red Maple and �New Dawn� climbing roses to highlight the garden. Bob then meets up with Fred Portinier, the hardscape consultant. He started with a baseline and worked his way out from the house using bluestone and a base of native island stone dust, gently sloping out to the driveway.

…a variety of plants, from drought-resistant succulents to plum trees, bougainvillea, hydrangeas, ficus trees, roses, ferns, climbing wisteria, lavender, rosemary and citrus trees. "I've gotten into a groove nature and I," Surmelis says…

…a mix of diverse plants. Most trees, shrubs, ferns, and many other plants grow best in soils that…
…Cinnamon fern (Osmunda cinnamonmea) Shield ferns (Dropteris spp.) Lady ferns (Athyrium spp.) True bog plants requiring…

…a stone-slab bench is quite traditional. To keep the garden peaceful, it should be mostly green, using ground covers, ferns, azaleas and small-leafed rhododendrons. Interweave the foliage textures. Japanese gardens are very restrained and minimal…

…Although a deer s diet varies with the region and the year, there are several plants that are completely safe in your yard. Ferns are considered deer resistant along with jasmine, rosemary, junipers, iris, daffodils and calla lilies. Deer also avoid…