The Master Gardener’s Bookshelf
Private Gardens of the Potomac & Chesapeake by Claudia Kousoulas
Review by Susan Wilhelm, Extension Master Gardener
Imagine walking or driving by a residential property, catching a glimpse of interesting plantings, and wishing you could see the entire garden. Private Gardens of the Potomac & Chesapeake by Claudia Kousoulas grants that wish.
In Private Gardens of the Potomac & Chesapeake, Kousoulas invites readers to explore 15 private gardens in the greater Washington D.C., metro area. Designed by some of the region’s most well-known landscape architects, the gardens are in a variety of settings from an inner-city courtyard and rooftop to the suburbs to waterfront gardens along the Chesapeake Bay and related waters.
Kousoulas provides context for viewing the gardens. In the introduction, she describes many factors that influence garden design in our region, such as our climate and the area’s long horticultural history including Mount Vernon, and Monticello. Other influences include client’s goals, for example creating play areas for children or hiding an HVAC unit, and water management. Additionally, Kousoulas points out that each garden is intended to “evolve through the year with a particular beauty in each season.”
The gardens also combine “environmental considerations and sustainability with aesthetics.” Kousoulas explains that sustainability is a “flexible term” that, in residential landscapes, “applies to construction decisions that protect the larger environment—whether incorporating erosion protection on waterfront sites or capturing and filtering rainwater on urban sites.” For example, at Broadwater, in Arnold, Maryland, water is captured off the house’s roof and driveway and directed to bioretention areas planted with moisture-loving plants. Kousoulas says sustainability also applies to plant selections, especially native plants that support wildlife and can grow in our unpredictable weather.
Each garden profile combines gorgeous photos with descriptive information about client objectives, site conditions, or other unique design considerations. One or more site drawings orient the reader to the overall garden layout, some of which are annotated to identify specific planting areas such as vegetable or cutting gardens. In one profile, East Street Garden in Annapolis, Maryland, four site drawings show how the design changed to accommodate multiple client objectives. Each profile also highlights unique features such as the deck at Canal House on Delaware’s Intracoastal Canal, which is separate from the house and wraps around existing native persimmon trees.
Of particular interest are the plant lists for each garden. Depending on the garden, a list may include trees, shrubs, perennials and grasses, or groundcovers. The plant list for 330 Water Street in Washington, D.C., contains shrubs, perennials, and grasses appropriate for rooftops. Most, but not all, of these plants are native plants, although not labeled as such. Readers curious about whether a particular plant is native can find many of them, along with growing information, in the Master Gardeners of Northern Virginia’s Tried and True Native Plant Selections for the Mid-Atlantic Fact Sheets.
Private Gardens of the Potomac & Chesapeake by Claudia Kousoulas (Schiffer Publishing, 2023) is available at the Alexandria Library, the Arlington Public Library, the Fairfax County Public Library and from national booksellers.
Interested in learning more about landscape design? Check out these MGNV resources: