A Washington, D.C. Garden

A gardener’s garden

Thomas Rainer developed the design for this garden in collaboration with Tom Otto and the late John Ryan of Washington, D.C. Designed as a garden for a plant-lover, the concept created a series of carefully framed spaces through which lush and exuberant planting could shine. Abundant garden frames—including yew hedges, boxwood cloud hedge, an arborvitae columnade, and a pleached hornbeam wall all help to maximize the enclosure of this special space. This included two front borders using a gravelly soil mix, a terrace for pots, an urn garden, and an upper terrace with a concrete water feature (designed by Hilary Oat-Judge). The garden was constructed while Thomas Rainer was on book tour, so Thomas asked Hilary Oat-Judge to lead the design through construction documentation and implementation. The garden has been lovingly guided by the late John Ryan, one of the best and most passionate gardeners and clients we ever worked with, his husband Thomas Otto, and the fabulous team of Hedge Garden Care.