A philosophy of “gardening large” instills a sense of personality and place

excerpts from an article
by Carleen Madigan Perkins

“Duncan and Julia Brine’s six-acre garden in Pawling, New York, is one of those hidden treasures. …

It is the embodiment of Duncan’s philosophy of ‘gardening large.’ This concept doesn’t necessarily relate to size; it’s the idea that an entire property, be it two acres or twenty, should be seen and treated as one garden, as a series of interconnected spaces that reflect both the personal style of the creator and the history of the place…

The landscape is encouraged to be itself and, while assuming an identity, it still connects with its surroundings….

© Julia Brine

Part of the wonder of the Brine garden is the journey it takes you on. Duncan wants to surprise you, to make you feel lost, so that you can look up, find yourself surrounded by sophisticated plantings, and wonder if they were planted by human hands or if they made their own way to that spot…

© gardenlarge

Careful planning achieves, ironically, the natural look…

‘Only by moving through space does one truly discover the garden.’ he says…

…his first choice is to plant natives and more specifically, indigenous plants – those that are not just native to the United States but to his county. Providing habitat for wildlife is key to creating a large naturalistic garden that truly reflects the locality of where it’s planted…

‘The challenge of a large property is to detail it expressly for its location and to make it whole, no matter how disparate its parts.’

Design for the whole property at once. Include a network of paths to access every corner of the property, even if you’re not prepared to start planting all at once. For a more natural look, eliminate lines and hard edges. Obscure edges by allowing a variety of mixed plantings to grow up around them Avoid lining up evergreens on the edge of your property; plant evergreen screening strategically, only where it is needed. Only take over as much new ground as you can reasonably manage. This includes strategically eliminating invasive plants by starting with less-effected areas first and working slowly to more effected areas. Mass large-leaved perennials and shrubs as groundcover to establish an identity for the landscape and to set up easier care. Even on a small property set aside a nursery area to accommodate impulse purchases and other plants whose place in the larger garden is not yet ready.” –CMP

The Brine garden strikes a delicate balance between large scale and intimate detail. Mature trees and shrubs sometimes act as a backdrop for perennials and grasses to be seen up close, or as a unifying element throughout the landscape…

To artfully pair woodies and perennials in a large landscape, Duncan often chooses large-leaved or large-scale perennials…

Part of Duncan’s goal in leading you through the garden is to surprise you with what lies around the next corner, to enhance the drama evoked in each garden space by juxtaposing them in sequence, while also responding to changes in the topography of the land. The logo for the Brines’ business, Horticultural Design, Inc., is a labyrinth, a meditative maze of shrubbery that forces seekers to slow their pace, appreciate their surroundings, and anticipate the next turn in the path. So it is in the Brine garden.”

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