By Jim McCausland, Sunset Magazine
When Tish Treherne and her husband bought their dream property on Bainbridge Island, Washington, they found that it was bordered out front with a very active, muddy drainage ditch. During heavy rain, it would overflow onto the road—we’re talking about feet of water, not inches.
A garden designer, Treherne decided to make it something beautiful, since it’s the one of the first thing that visitors see. Her solution is simple and elegant: gravel along the bottom of the ditch so that it’s not muddy, and a few plants that tolerate total immersion from time to time. In the picture above, that’s Primula japonica 'Miller's Crimson' flowering at the front of the photograph, Japanese sweet flag (Acorus gramineus) lining the sides of the ditch, and katsura tree (Cercidiphyllum japonicum) behind. There are also a few hostas and Japanese iris mixed in.
Treherne owns Bliss Garden Design, Bainbridge Island, WA, 206/799-0897 (www.blissgardendesign.com).
