Photos by Karen Ferb

The Anderson Garden

Stephanie grew up in Blue Point and I am from Sayville, when we returned from Arizona we knew we wanted to live in Patchogue. We fell in love with house. I am both a master carpenter and a pond designer. The construction of the house appealed to my carpenter side and the garden which was once another garage structure gave me space to do my own pond. Stephanie does the planting around the house and we work on the back together garden.

We try to keep the pond plantings as natural as possible, including creating a bog with appropriate plants. We are planning on more trees along the north side of the yard in order to attract more birds. The south side of the yard is shaded by the arbor which also gives a room like feeling. Along the house on the north side I am working to establish a moss garden.

The best words about the garden come from our daughter who had invited some friends to enjoy the fire pit, claimed that we have the "best yard".

Gale & Chris Hohwald

Chris and I moved into our house in September 1987. Our house as well as our "yard" needed a lot of work. The backyard was a bundle of weeds and overgrown bushes and shrubs. We did have some nice Maple trees and a section of privet hedge that we kept for some height and structure.

Each year we added or worked on a section of our yard. Our first task was to clear all the overgrown bushes and shrubs. We uncovered a brick patio that we did not know we had and were also surprised at how large a yard we had!

Next, we installed fences for privacy and dug a vegetable garden. Slowly, over the years, we added planting beds around the perimeter of our property. The beds were filled with annuals for the most part.

Chris' family has been in the horticulture industry since the 1930's. Over the years, they have been in the retail garden business as well as the wholesale garden business. I met Chris while working in his family business. Chris owns a small landscape business located in Brightwaters. I also work during the season in the business. I have a Landscape Design degree from Farmingdale College and design gardens for our customers. Having family in the business gave us easy and cheap access to plant material.

Our garden constantly changes. We had an above ground pool and landscaped around the pool. We planted a raised bed around the pool using a variety of shrubs, perennials and annuals to fill the beds.

We built the tree house for our daughters and now my nephews love to play in it. We also built the shed and then another one. We enlarged our driveway/parking area when our daughters got their licenses and cars of their own.

Two years ago, we ripped out the above ground pool and built a pond. I used a variety of shrubs, perennials and bulbs to provide color for all seasons. I also use annuals to ensure non stop flowering all summer long. I love to sit by the pond and listen to the waterfall or sit on the patio and look out and enjoy the colors of my garden.

My favorite plants are the Crape Mrytle, Helenium, Brunnera and Dicentra. You'll also notice interesting bird houses. Those are very special to me, my father made them for me.

I hope you enjoy my garden as much as I do. It's a constant work in progress and who knows in another couple of years what it will look like. One thing's for sure, I will always have a garden.

Ida and Rocco Garden

Rocco and I were very flattered to have our garden included in this year's garden tour. I hope that the following narrative is what you had in mind for the brochure.

When we first moved into the "Roe House" (what the real estate people called it) in June of 1993 the back yard was mostly lawn with beautiful Canadian Hemlocks bordering the Marvin Street side. Unfortunately the hemlocks succumbed to disease in a few years and had to be replaced. We both love to garden, so despite all the other house chores that needed our attention that first summer we removed a small patch of grass and planted basil. We never got to enjoy our first crop, as the plants were pitiful despite our best efforts. Our diagnosis was that the lawn had left the ground depleted and we were determined to correct the problem.

It was fun to see our dream for a garden slowly come to fruition during the two years it took us to clear the vegetable and flowerbeds you see in the rear of the house today. The bed in the front around the White Pine tree is our most recent project, which we started two years ago.

Rocco and I are committed to organic gardening and don't use any pesticides or chemical fertilizers. We began to compost using the back plastic container that's in the corner of the vegetable garden and quickly found that it was too small and too far from the house to use for disposing of kitchen scraps. Hence the other three containers were born! Compost truly is "black gold" for the garden. The more we've added it to our soil the healthier our plants have become.

Our perennial flower garden almost takes care of itself now as we decided not to select plants that need a lot of attention. Happily the need to weed has decreased each year as the plants spread. One of our favorites is the variegated hydrangea that is near the garage. We've been able to propagate two new plants from it. These "babies" are now two years old and reside in the bed that borders the west side of our property. Two blueberry bushes have been added to this bed as we enjoy mixing fruit in with the flowers. If you look closely you may see some strawberry plants used as ground cover here and there. The snowball hydrangeas dispersed throughout remind me of previous springs, as they were originally potted plants that were bought to grace our Easter table.

The vegetable garden is mostly Rocco's domain. He especially loves his fig trees, which are found in the rear. The one closest to the driveway has a long history as it was grown from a branch taken from his father's tree in Brooklyn, which was grown from a branch brought to the US from Italy by his grandparents in 1909! More and more asparagus and rhubarb come up each year with very little effort on our part. Tomatoes, basil, cucumbers, lettuce and Swiss chard are grown as well. It's quite a treat to eat vegetables and fruit freshly picked from our garden.


The Petruccelli Garden

In 2005 we decided to move back to Patchogue after 18 years in Florida.
We started our quest for the perfect house. One of the items on the top of our wish list was a welcoming garden with lots of curb appeal.

The first visit to our house was in the summer of 2005 and the yard was alive with blooming plants and shrubs.

We moved in December while our gardens were taking their winter naps.

Finally spring arrived and our gardens were coming alive. Each day I checked all around the house to see just what plants were emerging. I felt like an expectant parent! I went to the library, returning home with an armful of gardening books so that I could identify the plants that I was not familiar with. I invited friends and relatives over and asked a million questions about my various plants.

On the north side of the house we have Pacasandra, Lily of the Valley and Myrtle, along with other shrubs and plants. Also we have a Climbing Hydrangea, which I had never seen before. We enjoy watching the birds and squirrels in the fall and early winter eating the red centers of the Dogwood blooms.

Since we have several large trees, our gardens are mostly shade gardens. I have always been very fond of hostas and there were a great number of them around the yard. I love the way the blooms perfume the air and also attract hummingbirds.

The back yard is very private because of all the plantings along the back property line. In the summer you can't even see through to the neighbor's house! In the fall there are plenty of berries for the birds and squirrels to feast on. Upon entering the back yard you will notice several flamingos tucked in among the plants. I like to add a little whimsy to my gardens. Looking south from our back yard you have an unobstructed view of several of the neighbor's gardens, giving our shy quarter of an acre a more spacious feel.

In the spring we have lots of violets that bloom in the back garden and a few even make it into the back lawn. I know that some people think they are a nuisance, but I think that they are rather pretty.

We have an old stump of a tree that was cut down long ago before we moved in that I use as a plant stand. In the spring I start with pansies and then in the summer I place a hanging planter and let the flowers cascade down the sides of the stump. I just love the effect. In the fall I will put some mums in a planter and enjoy the view from my Long Island Room.

We have 2 bird feeders and a bird bath. I like to attract various bird varieties, bees and butterflies. I also feed the squirrels, hoping that if they have a supply a food they will leave the gardens alone.

I was asked recently to name a favorite plant or shrub. This would be next to impossible for me as I love them all. It seems that whatever is blooming at the time is my favorite!

I enjoy working in my garden and love the see the fruits of my labor. I hope that you will enjoy your tour.

The Quatrale Garden

In 1957 an empty lot in Patchogue was transformed slowly in what you see today, a Kaleidoscope of trees and shrubs surrounding an inviting home. "Not much for flowers, but evergreens and a few well chosen deciduous trees were chosen to landscape the property. These have been chosen for their variety of color and form. Some have been carefully sculpted, while others have been left to their natural growth patterns.