DISCOVER JOYCE HANNAFORD'S GARDEN

This is the story of how Joyce Hannaford created “something from nothing”. Over a period of nearly twenty years Joyce has transformed what was a backyard full of scrub and overgrown trees into a delightful garden packed with more than five hundred different plant types. It’s no surprise to learn that over 1000 people come to visit every year. The garden is described by Cheryl Alkon in her article which I found on the Garden Collage website.

I first noticed my neighbor?s garden one Halloween as my kids trick-or-treated down the street. Even though the back yard was shrouded in darkness, it was impossible to miss the area filled with trees, metal sculptures, plantings, and nooks built for exploring.
As the weather eventually warmed, I?d take strolls specifically to check the garden out. I couldn?t stop looking at the rainbow of color and the interesting knickknacks spaced throughout the yard as I passed by? the yellows, pinks, whites, oranges, and reds. When I snapped an impromptu phone image of a quirky blue sphere that dotted the garden and went home to look it up, I learned what an allium was. (I learned later that the alliums in the garden in July had been spray painted in May to prolong their vivid look.)

Joyce Hannaford
Andreana Bitsis

The garden, created by Joyce Hannaford of Natick, Massachusetts, is a labor of love and well-known beyond our neighborhood. ?We get about 1,000 visitors a year,? says Joyce, who lives on the corner of a Main Street in Natick, a suburb about 15 miles west of Boston, and a private road that dead-ends with two other houses on it. A hand-painted sign on the side street instructs visitors to park on the opposite street across the main road, so cars don?t clog the quiet cul-de-sac.
What brings people to her garden? ?Everything?s been planted for a particular view,? says Joyce. ?There?s a view from my kitchen window, from every spot, and there?s year-round interest, even in the winter. There are lots of paths, so there?s a surprise everywhere, and another look around every corner.?

See more at Garden Collage