When we built our carriage house in 2018 and began thinking about the surrounding landscape, our garden designer at the time, Gordon Hayward, suggested planting river birch trees (Betula nigra) to create spaces for reflection and transition.
Today, those trees nearly conceal the carriage house, creating a sense of enclosure and a little curiosity about what lies beyond. From the porch, the trees provide a peaceful screen, allowing the garden to take center stage rather than the building behind it.
Approaching the carriage house, we now pass beneath an archway of intermingling river birch branches. With each changing season, the trees redefine the space, creating new views, passages, and places to pause.
As you scroll through the photographs, you’ll see the garden today and in earlier years. The river birches were planted in 2020, and it’s remarkable how quickly they’ve grown. They are every bit as beautiful in winter, when their graceful branches and peeling bark become part of the garden’s quiet architecture.
