The owners of this property love flowers and wanted to be able to see them from every window of the house. They also wanted their landscape with its furnishings to suggest the ambience of an older, European world, like the one in Holland where they had once lived. Within days of their moving in, work began on a total landscape renovation. Only the
swimming pool stayed, and even that needed repairs.

Accommodating the owners' wish for a floral extravaganza begins at the street. Here, Van Zelst, Inc. planted a pair of welcoming oak leaf hydrangeas and continued by lining the paved driveway with daylilies, pink roses, coneflowers and daisies. To highlight the front of the house, Van Zelst selected quantities of
white annual begonias.

In back, the refurbished pool, a new bluestone patio and extensive perennial plantings are the principle features. The patio, echoing the curving lines of the pool, weaves along the rear of the house and offers ample room for entertaining large numbers of guests.

The summer garden is especially dramatic when the large 'Annabelle' hydrangeas are in bloom. Although the owners yearned for the blue hydrangeas regularly grown in Europe, the white Annabelles are a more suitable choice for the Midwest's alkaline clay soil.

Numerous carefully maintained container plantings provide additional color and dramatic accents throughout the growing season