A move from NYC to the Cape sows the seeds for a whole new world of growth and exploration for one intrepid homeowner.

We’ve all done it. Whether as a couple, or among family, or even close friends. Someone will say, “When such and such happens (fill in the blank with your own personal milestone), we will do such and such (again, an empty slate for your own bucket list). For this couple who had spent their adult lives living in Manhattan, this conversation centered around where to retire. “We spent a few years doing extended vacations, you know in an immersive way so we could really get a feel for the place, and it was all about understanding whether or not we would want to move and put down roots for retirement,” the homeowner shares as she explains how she came to live on Cape Cod. 

Yet, for this homeowner the decision to purchase an antique home in Eastham, the modern day clues were less confirming than the timeless connections with the past she and her husband were unable to ignore. “The house was fine, it needed some work, nothing too surprising, but the barn in the back, that just felt like this was our home,” she says of the antique structure that stood on the modest corner lot. The property has been lovingly named “Marsh Mellow” as carved into a quarterboard that crowns the barn door. And it was the tangle of overgrown, bittersweet, scrub oak and brambles that somehow provided a blank canvas for this city-dweller to imagine the property’s full potential. 

“One day, we had some workers in the yard and they were always unearthing fragments from the past. But on this day, as they always stopped and told me to come and look since they knew I treasured every item they encountered. It was a sewing machine! I stared at it in awe,” she recalls with a sense of wonder since she has spent her career designing her own clothing line. “I started researching the property and all of the homeowners pretty early on in the process, and I was able to discover that two women (a mother and daughter) once lived here and ran a seamstress business. It definitely felt as though I had found my home, that this was all meant to be.”

As she makes this assertion, her arm sweeps across the landscape she has painstakingly, with a good dose of back-breaking effort, crafted and cajoled from the plot of land that has embraced her home for centuries. A designer at heart, her intuitive sense for line and form has created a meandering adventure through what was once a backyard and now has become a world of wonder in its whimsy and botanical indulgence. Paths have been carved and edged with cobblestones, pea stone provides a satisfactory crunch underfoot as one finds their way in to the various rooms, spaces and moments for pause and reflection found throughout the garden. 

“I had never gardened before we moved here, at least not really gardened—we had some herbs and tomatoes on our balcony in the city,” she shares. “But here it was irrefutable, it just drew me in. The more I poked about, the more I wanted to do.” A curious nature, a never-ending desire to learn, and an avid researcher, she set about looking for every answer she needed on You Tube, Google, and countless Instagram accounts. “I am dogged when it comes to learning how to do things, and I want to learn things the correct way. I’m not content with the common names of plants, I need to learn and memorize the genus species. I need to find the original and authentic way of doing things, I am constantly learning from European gardeners who I feel have a lot to offer my style of gardening; at least the way I want to garden. 

That journey of discovery has given the homeowner a depth of knowledge and passion for plant species that she unabashedly embraces. “I have absolutely found certain plants—lots of them—that I adore and I find myself adding them every year, even if I don’t need to. Some of those plants include bulbs—and while that does include the traditionally acknowledged spring bulbs like daffodils and tulips, allium hold a special place in her heart as well as in her garden. “I call them magical little orbs,” she confesses. She says she also always gravitates toward what she refers to as “cottage flowers—anything with spires and plumes.” Confirming her statement, lupine, foxglove, delphinium, and hollyhocks have all found a home in her landscape and she diligently looks to identify and welcome their new seedlings each spring. Favorite trees include any and all Japanese Maples and weigela. Holly and boxwood are found in topiary shapes throughout the garden and often provide a softening to the hardscape edging found along the various paths. 

In addition to this homeowner’s impressive collection of plant material—which includes several flowering trees, shrubs, groundcover, perennials and annuals—hardscape elements take center stage. A recessed fire pit area is the recipient of a day spent cleaning, clearing and pruning and gives back with a heady sensory infusion once the sun sets. Adjacent to the fire pit, her garden shed—named “S’more” as a more succinct treat than the beloved barn—was built in her direct line of sight from inside the home and has become an important focal point for the garden in every season. And punctuating it all during the warm summer months, the bountiful hydrangeas with their bodacious bobbing mop-heads has created a blue paradise.

“In the beginning, I became known as ‘The Hydrangea House,’” she recalls. “After my first year gardening, some people from the Eastham Garden Club walked up my driveway and asked if I was interested in being on the Hydrangea Tour. I simply couldn’t believe it. In many ways, I was completely honored, and maybe a tiny bit proud, but mostly I was scared to death as I started to think about everything I wanted to do to prepare for it.” According to many who attended the tour that year, the garden was the highlight of the summer.

The homeowner’s intrepid and inquisitive approach to gardening has taught her that there are lessons to be found in her failures as well as in her successes. “I’ll try things, and if they don’t work, I will try a plant in another location, I’m not deterred. But when it does work, I learn from it and take those lessons elsewhere in the garden, it is really all about trial and error, and research, lots of research,” she confirms.

For this accidental gardener, a move to Eastham may not have set the stage for a quiet, restful retirement where she puts her feet up and enjoys the peace and quiet. Instead, she feels that she has come home, to a place that has been waiting for her, and each night, at the end of a long day in the garden, she and her husband with a cold beer in hand, take a walk through their garden to discover what is new and on display for their enjoyment. To gaze upon the garden and follow its progression through all of the spectacular seasons, follow @ThisOldCapeHouse on Instagram. 

Julie Craven Wagner is the editor of Cape Cod LIFE.