Mark McDonald & Dwayne Resnick Open Garden
Visit the garden of Mark McDonald and Dwayne Resnick
Proceeds from this open day benefit the Columbia County Recovery Kitchen.
This is one of more than 30 events that are part of The Workshop Experience Weekend, May 7-8, 2022.
Important: Tickets are timed in 2-hour increments to help with traffic flow; you are welcome at any time in that 2-hour window. Open rain or shine.
Our garden on top of Texas Hill in Hillsdale, NY, began to develop 15 years ago after we completed the restoration of our 1967 “modern ranch” purchased from the original owners. There was no garden to speak of—just a few peonies, lots of vinca and epimedium, two tacky rhododendron, pachysandra, and a few sad tulips all captured inside rusty chain-link fencing.
But the rocky ridgeline property had much to offer: 40 acres with excellent views, an interesting variety of terrains, 19th century and more recent stone walls, slate patios, established trails through the woods, and a beautifully sighted-spring fed pond. Accentuating and highlighting these assets has been our goal from the outset.
The elevation (equivalent to Zone 4), brutal exposure, herds of deer, and the rocky clay soil presented challenges. Initially we created two protected courtyards using the existing structures (house, garage, and guest house) and new wooden fencing, planting beds with perennials, small scrubs, and dwarf trees. Beyond these early beds and courtyards, we planted large groups of evergreen trees (hemlock, pines, spruce) for visual variety and wind protection creating island beds around them using so-called deer-resistant plants. Within three years, we were forced to enclose four acres around the house and pond with an eight-foot deer fence and entry grate after a particularly devastating deer attack one harsh winter. This move, along with tons of imported top soil and our new Kubota, dramatically changed our gardening into "landscaping”.
“Whatever works” is our mantra for plant material. We brought a few key favorites from our old Germantown garden: a smokebush hedge, a large Harry Lauder walking stick, and a favorite red Japanese maple. We transplanted loads of local ferns and wild geraniums from the roadside, barberry, sumac, winterberry, and elderberry bushes from the woods, monarda from the meadows, and hostas, aralia, and petasides from fellow gardeners. We added shrubs and grasses for foliage and form: willows, spireas, nine bark, hydrangeas, viburnums, low spreading evergreens, and two huge split-leaf Japanese maples for the entry. We also added blooming tress in more open areas; pears, dogwoods, a horse chestnut, a lilac tree, and dawn redwoods.
In the big picture, we’ve tried to achieve a blended balance between a formal density near the house and a more open naturalistic feeling radiating out toward the meadows, the forest edge, and the views. We try to concentrate on structure and foliage with special focus on what we see from inside the house as things change throughout the seasons.
This is one of more than 30 events that are part of The Workshop Experience Weekend, May 7-8, 2022, in and around Hillsdale, NY. Join us to learn from experts in crafting, writing, cooking, nature, gardening, floristry and more. Browse the entire program, or visit TheWorkshopExperience.org.
Visit the garden of Mark McDonald and Dwayne Resnick
Proceeds from this open day benefit the Columbia County Recovery Kitchen.
This is one of more than 30 events that are part of The Workshop Experience Weekend, May 7-8, 2022.
Important: Tickets are timed in 2-hour increments to help with traffic flow; you are welcome at any time in that 2-hour window. Open rain or shine.
Our garden on top of Texas Hill in Hillsdale, NY, began to develop 15 years ago after we completed the restoration of our 1967 “modern ranch” purchased from the original owners. There was no garden to speak of—just a few peonies, lots of vinca and epimedium, two tacky rhododendron, pachysandra, and a few sad tulips all captured inside rusty chain-link fencing.
But the rocky ridgeline property had much to offer: 40 acres with excellent views, an interesting variety of terrains, 19th century and more recent stone walls, slate patios, established trails through the woods, and a beautifully sighted-spring fed pond. Accentuating and highlighting these assets has been our goal from the outset.
The elevation (equivalent to Zone 4), brutal exposure, herds of deer, and the rocky clay soil presented challenges. Initially we created two protected courtyards using the existing structures (house, garage, and guest house) and new wooden fencing, planting beds with perennials, small scrubs, and dwarf trees. Beyond these early beds and courtyards, we planted large groups of evergreen trees (hemlock, pines, spruce) for visual variety and wind protection creating island beds around them using so-called deer-resistant plants. Within three years, we were forced to enclose four acres around the house and pond with an eight-foot deer fence and entry grate after a particularly devastating deer attack one harsh winter. This move, along with tons of imported top soil and our new Kubota, dramatically changed our gardening into "landscaping”.
“Whatever works” is our mantra for plant material. We brought a few key favorites from our old Germantown garden: a smokebush hedge, a large Harry Lauder walking stick, and a favorite red Japanese maple. We transplanted loads of local ferns and wild geraniums from the roadside, barberry, sumac, winterberry, and elderberry bushes from the woods, monarda from the meadows, and hostas, aralia, and petasides from fellow gardeners. We added shrubs and grasses for foliage and form: willows, spireas, nine bark, hydrangeas, viburnums, low spreading evergreens, and two huge split-leaf Japanese maples for the entry. We also added blooming tress in more open areas; pears, dogwoods, a horse chestnut, a lilac tree, and dawn redwoods.
In the big picture, we’ve tried to achieve a blended balance between a formal density near the house and a more open naturalistic feeling radiating out toward the meadows, the forest edge, and the views. We try to concentrate on structure and foliage with special focus on what we see from inside the house as things change throughout the seasons.
This is one of more than 30 events that are part of The Workshop Experience Weekend, May 7-8, 2022, in and around Hillsdale, NY. Join us to learn from experts in crafting, writing, cooking, nature, gardening, floristry and more. Browse the entire program, or visit TheWorkshopExperience.org.