Tour a New Canaan Garden Where Flowers, Bees, and Solar Panels Live Harmoniously
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1/10Photographs by Mick HalesRaised solar panels provide protective cover for an array of plantings at this New Canaan residence, where landscape designer Brian Grubb planted grasses and colorful perennials to soften and enliven the unusual orchard.Photographs by Mick HalesRaised solar panels provide protective cover for an array of plantings at this New Canaan residence, where landscape designer Brian Grubb planted grasses and colorful perennials to soften and enliven the unusual orchard.
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2/10Photographs by Mick HalesThe path that leads from the main house to the solar garden is flanked by boxwoods and Dwarf Gingko standards. The panels are arranged in “stands” of 15 each.Photographs by Mick HalesThe path that leads from the main house to the solar garden is flanked by boxwoods and Dwarf Gingko standards. The panels are arranged in “stands” of 15 each.
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3/10Photographs by Mick HalesThe poles are anchored to the ground by concrete foundations.
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4/10Photographs by Mick HalesOn summer nights, the owners can enjoy cocktails on a bench set next to the grasses.Photographs by Mick HalesOn summer nights, the owners can enjoy cocktails on a bench set next to the grasses.
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5/10Photographs by Mick HalesThe underside of the panels are painted white to make them less imposing. The profusion of plants blooming under the panels includes pink butterfly bush, autumn moor grass, northern sea oats (chasmanthium latifolium), Miscanthus sinensis ‘Morning Light,’ and many cultivars of panicum grasses.Photographs by Mick HalesThe underside of the panels are painted white to make them less imposing. The profusion of plants blooming under the panels includes pink butterfly bush, autumn moor grass, northern sea oats (chasmanthium latifolium), Miscanthus sinensis ‘Morning Light,’ and many cultivars of panicum grasses.
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6/10Photographs by Mick Hales“The owners have a bold sense of color,” says Grubb, who used hardy hibiscus, lobelia and red coneflower to honor that aesthetic.Photographs by Mick Hales“The owners have a bold sense of color,” says Grubb, who used hardy hibiscus, lobelia and red coneflower to honor that aesthetic.
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7/10Photographs by Mick Hales“The solar garden is meant to be its own thing, so that when you are in it, you are experiencing the garden as a separate feature,” says Grubb. Solar garden plantings include Seven-Son Flower (Heptacodium miconioides), Green Goblin (Pinus sylvestris), Monarda ‘Jacob Cline’ pink, Japanese iris (iris ensata) plus different cultivars of Joe-Pye weed and sedges.Photographs by Mick Hales“The solar garden is meant to be its own thing, so that when you are in it, you are experiencing the garden as a separate feature,” says Grubb. Solar garden plantings include Seven-Son Flower (Heptacodium miconioides), Green Goblin (Pinus sylvestris), Monarda ‘Jacob Cline’ pink, Japanese iris (iris ensata) plus different cultivars of Joe-Pye weed and sedges.
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8/10Photographs by Mick HalesConeflowers are a mainstay throughout the garden.
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9/10Photographs by Mick HalesThe garden has a profusion of Agastache (‘blue fortune’ and ‘blackadder’) that lines one of the walkways.Photographs by Mick HalesThe garden has a profusion of Agastache (‘blue fortune’ and ‘blackadder’) that lines one of the walkways.
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10/10Photographs by Mick HalesThe more formal part of the landscape is buffeted by trimmed fountain grass, while dwarf evergreens serve to screen the solar panels. “I like the precise geometry of the formal landscape contrasting with a real looseness,” notes Grubb.Photographs by Mick HalesThe more formal part of the landscape is buffeted by trimmed fountain grass, while dwarf evergreens serve to screen the solar panels. “I like the precise geometry of the formal landscape contrasting with a real looseness,” notes Grubb.
This article appears in the May 2019 issue of CTC&G (Connecticut Cottages & Gardens).
