The Turnbaughs made excellent use of a spot once used for parking to add the pool and patio. The vanishing edge pool looks as though it flows into the lake far below. Mt. Monadnock rises in the distance.

Though they love all four seasons in New Hampshire, Robin and Larry Turnbaugh of Chesterfield eagerly await the arrival of spring. “It really is my favorite time of year,” says Robin. Their home sits high on a bluff looking east over Spofford Lake toward Mount Monadnock. They purchased this as a second home when they were living in Boston and have been year-round residents for the past 12 years. Here they get to witness spring and fall migrations of birds that stop by the lake during their flights. “We’ve had thousands of goldfinches swooping around the trees,” says Larry. “They stay for a day and then move on.”

The Turnbaugh’s three-acre lot is long and narrow and mostly wooded near the road. Approaching the house, the driveway winds through the open shade of tall pines and oaks. Not until you reach the house do the vistas of the lake and mountains open up ahead. Since dry shade made up such a large portion of the property, they turned to garden designer Gordon Hayward for ideas. “He helped us envision the woods,” says Robin. “He suggested we trim up lower branches to raise the canopy and let in more light.”

They also cleaned out all of the scrub and brambles, making a windrow of branches and brush along one property line. “The foxes and possums love it,” she says. This opened up the woods for planting, and now it is filled with over 150 rhododendrons, 15 to 20 viburnums, and all kinds of interesting woodland perennials.

Early Blooming Shrubs

Creeping phlox cascades over the wall as spring bulbs and early-bloomers come to life.

Many types of rhododendrons and mountain laurel line the drive. Cornell pinks (Rhododendron mucronulatum) blossom in April before anything else has leafed out. Several yellow ‘Capistrano’ rhodies are the earliest to bloom near the house, followed by the pink-white blossoms of ‘Hally Jolivette’ cherries. Nearby are ‘Purple Gem’ and ‘Mary Fleming’, both early-blooming, small-leaf rhododendrons. “It gives you hope for spring,” says Robin. “The small-leaf rhodies come on very early, then the large-leaf ones. We have color along the driveway for a good two months.” The toughest spot is at the north-facing driveway opening next to the road where they have planted resilient, pink blooming ‘Haaga’ and ‘Helsinki’ rhododendrons from Finland that are hardy to zone 3. Some of the earliest shrubs to bloom are the Daphne mezereum. “They fight the good fight,” says Robin, “blooming in February, in the snow, long before the forsythias.”

Woodland Garden

The high shade of the woodland garden is perfect for partridge berries and winter-berry, Canadian ginger, hepatica, woodland phlox, tiarella and both high- and low-bush wild blueberries. “We use natives as much as we can,” says Robin, who is mindful of providing for pollinators.

In the wetter shade they grow elderberry, Christmas and wood ferns, amsonia, beautyberry and Carolina allspice along with non-natives, whose flowers the bees love, such as bergenia, yellow ligularia, brunnera, deutzia and primroses. Under a tall white oak, Robin has a collection of specialty snowdrops that bloom very early, and along the path is a spot dedicated to bleeding hearts in white, pink and red. An assortment of woodland peonies surround a bench, and nearby are Jack-in-the-pulpits and hellebores that blossom in late April. American ginseng plants grow under the oak and maple trees. “They bear red berries later in the summer that last only a day until the birds find them,” Robin says.

Step into the Sunlight

A walkway paved with local Goshen stone leads from house to patio. Many of Robin’s potted plants spend the summer months out here.

A row of columnar arborvitae interplanted with tall rhodies marks the transition from shady woodland to sunshine. Next to the house, a peek through the circular, full-moon window in their gate reveals a vanishing-edge pool, which gives the optical illusion of flowing into the lake. Paved with Goshen stone, the area around the pool is hot and dry, so the beds surrounding it are full of early spring bulbs including alliums and ‘Angelique’ tulips, and later blooming heat lovers such as ‘Zagreb’ coreopsis and black-eyed Susans all backed with hybrid Burkwood viburnums.

On the opposite side of the house is another sunny terrace — also paved with Goshen stone — that offers comfy seating around a central firepit and a view over the lake. The paved path toward the house is lined with pots of dahlias in front of beds full of ‘Quick Fire’ hydrangeas, rhododendrons and peonies that wrap around the house. Over the years, they have planted thousands of daffodils and irises throughout the property.

Robin is an avid photographer and a photography judge for the Garden Club of America. “I took up photography to document our own garden,” she says. “Then it became an obsession!” Many of her flowers are the subject of her work. “I grow lots of dahlias to photograph, but they are also nice to cut and bring in the house,” she says. Robin is the president of the Monadnock Garden Club, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year.

Resources

Garden Conservancy
www.gardenconservancy.org

Inspired Gardener
603-399-4354
www.inspiredgardener.com

Morning Star Perennials
802-289-3135
www.morningstarflowers.com

Rose Hawk Farm
206-724-3633
rosehawkfarm@gmail.com

Larry and Robin Turnbaugh will be opening their spring garden to the public on Sunday, May 18, during the Garden Conservancy Open Days Tour. Tickets are on sale now. Their daughter, Emma Rivet of Rose Hawk Farm, will be on-site selling plants.

Delicate-looking bleeding hearts along with unique snowdrops, rare American ginseng and early-blooming woodland peonies are just a few of the plants Robin collects.

Tall alliums and ‘Angelique’ tulips are favorites, so the Turnbaughs added 500 more tulips and alliums throughout the property last year.