Devotion is comprised of two distinct garden areas. Around the house it is formal and very highly designed. The second garden is what I call the Walk in the Woods garden full of native perennials, shrubs and trees.
When I purchased this 2.77 acre property in 2013, it had been long neglected and overrun with Oriental bittersweet, multiflora roses and poison ivy. I don’t recall hearing or seeing any wildlife, just the gurgle of Robinson Creek that runs the length of the property. I set out to change that in just a few short years!
Nancy Duffy, founder of Muddy Boots Garden Design was the genius behind it all. Her storyboards of the two distinct designs are pieces of art themselves that I will always cherish. William Deaver, owner of Trademark Homescapes, installed the hardscape and most of the plant material. I simply supervised and added perennials and groundcover.
BEFORE and AFTER pictures of the formal garden around the house:
Walk in the Woods garden is my special joy. I listen to Robinson Creek cascading down the boulders, the wildlife has refuge, and the shade is most welcome come summer.
Removing the invasive species brought a host of wildflowers back to life, including the showy orchis, trout lilies, Solomon’s seal, nodding trillium, sedum, and lady slipper orchids.
Devotion has received the following certifications:
NC Native Plant Habitat https://ncwildflower.org/native-plant-garden-certification/
Pollinator Habitat, Asheville GreenWorks https://www.ashevillegreenworks.org/pollinator-garden-certification.html
Certified Wildlife Habitat, National Wildlife Federation https://www.nwf.org/certifiedwildlifehabitat
Participant in Doug Tallamy’s Homegrown National Park initiative https://homegrownnationalpark.org