Stroll Through a Nantucket Garden

To create profusion without confusion, landscape architect Nick Fobes massed groupings of three to five stachys, phlox, lavender, and calamintha, repeating the color blocks on either side of the path leading to a white-painted moon gate. Nikko Blue hydrangeas are prolific throughout the property.

Vertical color is encouraged by a square-pattern lattice on the side of the guest cottage/garage and an arbor for roses above the doors.

At sunset, the family slips through a natural-finish moon gate to follow a beach path and join their neighbors in watching the sun sink into the ocean.

The blossoming Mazus reptans groundcover between the stepping stones tolerates foot traffic on the path leading to the pool house. On either side of the walkway, lady’s mantle spills onto the stones.

Originally a spec house, the home was renovated throughout and fitted with window boxes. Hydrangeas at the base of the house include an Endless Summer variety salvaged from the original landscape.

The new pool and pool house are the focal points of a more formal and geometric “room.” The adjacent hydrangea hedge is reflected in the water and accented by a line of maples.

Landscape architect Douglas Hoerr added a double-sided cedar shake fence to provide privacy for the outdoor shower as well as the pool and spa.

When homeowners Mark and Marilyn Wendling hired Nick Fobes and Douglas Hoerr of Hoerr Schaudt Landscape Architects to design this Nantucket property in 2019, they requested a landscape that “felt as comfortable and casual as a sundress.” Having already designed a Midwest home for the couple, the designers knew exactly how to make that happen. “We just got the band back together,” says Fobes.

After years of summering on Nantucket, the family finally found their ideal property on the outskirts of town but with easy access to the beach. Only one obstacle stood in the way of Nantucket nirvana: the original triangular property had no room for a pool and pool house. After a land swap with their neighbors—“which happens more often than you would think,” according to landscape contractor Gregory Raith—everyone achieved the configuration of their dreams, including the team at Hoerr Schaudt.

While the house and guest cottage were undergoing an extensive renovation by Lindsay Custom Builders, Hoerr Schaudt was orchestrating an elegant approach. By relocating the parking court, the team achieved a flower-filled arrival experience of fairytale proportions populated by masses of long-blooming perennials like nepeta, stachys, alliums, and irises weaving between clouds of hydrangeas in hues that echo the ocean.

That experience further unfolds into a series of adventures encircling the house and threading through outdoor rooms connected by pathways that duck beneath arbors and disappear into secret spaces. Mounds of prolific perennials in harmonious colors elbow each other beside stepping stones, while the hydrangea leitmotif echoes throughout.

The tango between house construction and earthmoving in limited space kept Raith on his toes. But the site’s sandy loam—ideal for drainage—made up for any headaches. “It was like going to heaven,” he says of working with the soil.

Meanwhile, Fobes delivered his clients’ dream and more. “They trusted us but gave us feedback,” he says. “Rather than designing for them, we designed with them.” Amenities like a spa, outdoor shower, outdoor dining area, and secluded porch are tucked within the plantings. For privacy, mature privet hedges were preserved. “We live outdoors in summer,” says Mark Wendling. “This design is simple, casual, and natural.” Sundress achieved.

Project Team
Architecture: Botticelli & Pohl
Landscape design: Hoerr Schaudt Landscape Architects
Builder: Lindsay Custom Builders
Landscape contractor: Gregory Raith Landscape Contracting