There’s something about walking through Jim and Marty Tinkler’s Laurel Park garden that brings to mind a melody. Not the kind that bounces about in your head, distracting you from your daily round. It’s more the little tune that you hum contentedly, barely realizing, until you catch yourself — and it makes you smile.
The music here is a love song, rich in simple harmonies — a seemingly effortless air that, beneath it all, is as complex as any in the songwriter’s craft: the product of skill, dedication and inspiration.
For the Tinklers, the process began five years ago with the blank page; a featureless lawn, a few non-descript bushes, a low stonewall over-run with English ivy and a solitary native azalea. The house sat starkly exposed at the top of a rise. Still, Marty saw the possibilities.
A theme began to emerge. What she had in mind was something lyrical; a cottage garden that would provide year-round pleasure and color, a place to stroll with Jim, her husband of 43 years, and reflect on the sweetness of life.
Rather than take on the overall venture straight away, the couple chose to start with a practical, self-contained
project. They wanted to claim some private outdoor space — a sanctuary for dining and reading — in the bare-bones yard behind the house.
Jim, an infinitely handy fellow, was enlisted to create fencing to enclose the courtyard and conceal the air conditioning system with a notched surround to give Marty a clear view of the courtyard from the kitchen. Together, the Tinklers excavated and built a tranquil koi pond and waterfall. “We laid all the stone in the pond and the dry stacked planting beds ourselves,” says Marty proudly. “Nearly five tons!”
Iris, water lilies and ferns were added to the water feature to create a naturalistic vignette and provide shelter for the koi, and the beds planted with hosta and jack-in-the-pulpit to complement the forest beyond the fence. After surrounding the pond with flagstone pavers, positioning bountiful container plantings and fitting the area with outdoor speakers the scene was set for entertaining and relaxation.
Despite the success of their initial project, Marty felt that she needed the guidance of a landscape professional to help her create the continuity she was seeking for the grand scheme. After interviewing several candidates, she found the ideal partner in Robin Clinton of Woodland Designs. “We just connected,” says Marty. “She really listened.”
The first prerequisite — a minimum of lawn to mow, since Marty preferred to spend her garden time among the blooms. Robin’s solution was to use grass to create pathways between the flowerbeds. “When you break the garden up into floor, ceilings, and walls, the lawn is a carpet” says Robin, “But it needn’t be wall to wall.”
“The grass acts as a hallway — it gives form, structure and flow to the rest of the space. It’s very easy to move through this landscape because not only does the brick pathway guide you, the grass guides you too.”
A steep slope runs from stone wall at the roadway to the front of the house, so in order to break the grade, a series of berms were constructed, punctuated with rocks for further visual interest. The berms, along with planting beds on level areas and a small, shady patio complete with a welcoming bench, establish the ‘rooms’ of the garden.
To furnish them, Robin wove a tapestry of color, texture and form: an ever-changing kaleidoscope. “The focus migrates over the course of the year,” explains Robin. “Marty and Jim wanted four seasons of interest — something going on in the garden at any given moment.” As the seasons shift, the color palette changes from pinks and lavenders to reds, and evolves into yellows. “There isn’t a time when there aren’t many things in bloom,” says Marty. “I can come out here in December and find a dozen.”
But even without blossoms, the space feels lush. “The shrubbery creates structure — it’s the bones of the garden. Then you can have your perennials coming and going and, as long as they’re well placed, you don’t feel as though you have bare spaces.”
The foundations are hardy and evergreen; blue atlas juniper, blue star juniper, mugo pines. “There are also Japanese garden junipers to create movement throughout the winter months and act as a background to showcase everything else that is here. And of course, dianthus, which retains a soft blue shade throughout the winter.”
Prior to planting, Jim installed a drip irrigation system throughout the property and the couple painstakingly prepared the soil. Robin’s plan was intricate, but executed with precision and lovingly tended by the Tinklers. “When I come here, I get goose bumps,” says Robin, “All I did was the design. They installed everything and are outstanding caretakers of the gardens. If they ever wanted to work in horticulture, I’d hire them in a minute.”
She might also consider contracting the couple for their woodworking talents. The Tinkler’s bedroom is located at the home’s front corner, directly facing the neighbors, and Marty wanted to establish privacy without creating an absolute wall. “Jim is a wonderful carpenter,” Robin observes, “With his expertise and some ingenuity we were able to strategically place screening so that the house next door was blocked.”
A series of staggered upright trellises, swathed in honeysuckle, were used to create a charming pocket garden. Entering from the front pathway through a curved ‘full moon’ arbor, which Marty designed, the visitor is invited into a haven that features a fountain, roses and rosemary, pyramid trellises draped with clematis and a central, weeping cherry tree.
It’s an unabashedly romantic spot — so much so that it served as the setting for their son’s wedding. “It was autumn, and we had only six weeks to prepare,” recalls Marty, “but the ginger lilies were in bloom and the air was fragrant. It was perfect.”
Young love, abiding love. This cottage garden, it seems, sings to both the seasons of the year and the seasons of the heart. It echoes with a soft refrain. And the song is oh, so sweet.
