Today we’re looking back on our garden in 2025. This season was full. Big installs, big learning moments, a lot of travel, and a few curveballs that reminded us (again) that gardening keeps you humble.

The Biggest Project of 2025: Pondless Waterfall and West Border Makeover

When we think back on the season, one project stands out immediately: the pondless waterfall install on the west side of the garden.

We worked with Decker’s Pondscapes, who are seriously talented designers (and have been recognized nationally for their work). They came out, we walked the space together, and we talked through a big goal we’ve had for a while: transforming that west side so it felt like a destination, not just “the area we walk past.”

Why we replaced the Limelight hydrangea hedge

Originally, that space was a straight line hedge of Limelight hydrangeas. Beautiful, yes. But also, for us, kind of a one-hit wonder. They bloom late July into early August, and then the show is over. We realized something important: we weren’t spending time over there because it wasn’t calling us in.

The waterfall changed that immediately.

Watching the install was wild. They dug the basin, then used that excavated soil to build up the berm behind it, creating these layered “tiers” that give the whole area movement and height. It took about a full day, plus part of the next morning, and the whole time we kept saying: “Okay… but what is this going to look like when it’s done?”

That’s the fun part. With boulders, you don’t really know the final look until each stone is in place. They build from the bottom up, and their ability to visualize where every cascade will land is honestly impressive.

From a straight hedge to a mixed border with curves

The waterfall was the headline, but the full transformation was the mixed west border that wraps around it. This was us flexing our garden muscles a bit. We took what we’ve learned over the last several years, especially our love of curved lines and layered planting, and put it into practice in a big way.

We approached it by starting with anchor plants first.

West border anchor plants: cold-hardy Japanese maples

Two of the biggest anchor plants in the west border right now are Japanese maples from Iseli Nursery’s Jack Frost collection. These are bred for improved cold tolerance (with Korean maple genetics blended in), which matters a lot for us here in zone 6A in upstate New York.

We planted:

• Acer ‘Arctic Jade’ (upright form)
• Acer ‘Ice Dragon’ (weeping form)

Ice Dragon is going to be especially interesting to watch over time. We’re also planning to learn (slowly and imperfectly) Japanese maple pruning techniques, and we’ll bring you along for that process in the spring. We’ve been researching, watching videos, and gathering courage.

Designing the west border with the east border as inspiration

One thing that helped the west border come together is that we treated the east border like a reference point. Not a copy, but inspiration.

We repeated some of the structure:

• Repetitive evergreens (like arborvitae along the edge)
• A clear centerpiece feature (waterfall in the west, blue spruce in the east)
• Annuals filling space while we decide which perennials and shrubs will eventually live there long-term

It gave us a strong start and allowed the border to feel “real” right away, even while it’s still evolving.

Big change on the terrace: fewer containers, but much larger ones

Now let’s move from the garden beds up to the terrace, because we made a big shift in how we plant our living space.

We started transitioning to larger containers little by little, and this year we went all in. We replaced groupings of smaller plastic planters with big, substantial cast stone planters from Campania International.

We chose the Korema planters in Alpine Stone:

• One extra large in the corner
• Three large planters to build out the grouping

These pots arrived on pallets and they were… heavy. Like, hundreds of pounds heavy. The biggest one was around 350 lbs.

We engineered a very questionable plywood ramp situation, used a Gorilla cart, and somehow got everything onto the terrace without breaking a pot or a person. It started raining right when we were dealing with the heaviest one, which made the whole thing extra exciting in the least fun way.

What we learned about container planting (the stuff that actually matters)

Here’s the biggest thing we learned: plant vigor matters just as much as color.

We love a color scheme. It helps narrow choices and keeps the whole terrace cohesive. But we made the mistake of pairing plants with totally different growth habits.

Example: Superbena Pink Cashmere basically ate a more delicate begonia alive. Those poor begonias never stood a chance.

Other container lessons that made a huge difference:

• Consistent fertilizing (we used Proven Winners water-soluble fertilizer)
• High-quality potting mix (we used an annual mix soil)
• Drip irrigation for steady watering

Steady water + steady feeding + good soil made our containers happier than they’ve ever been.

Our Top Plant Performers of 2025

We can’t do a season recap without sharing the plants that absolutely showed up for us this year.

Eric’s top performers

1) Let’s Dance Sky View hydrangea (bigleaf hydrangea that actually blooms in zone 6A)
If you garden in a colder zone, you know the heartbreak of bigleaf hydrangeas that leaf out beautifully and then refuse to bloom. For us, many classic macrophylla varieties never flower well because stems die back too far in winter.

Let’s Dance Sky View has been different. Even when it dies back, it regrows fast and blooms early. We had flowers by late June, plus repeat bloom through the season because it blooms on both old and new wood. It’s been a star.

2) ‘Flower Carpet’ rose (vigorous, glossy, fragrant, pollinator-friendly)
This rose impressed us with sheer health and vigor. Dark glossy foliage, beautiful cupped pink blooms with yellow stamens, and it was buzzing with pollinators. Fragrant, shapely, and just a strong performer in the west border.

Christopher’s top performers

1) Pink Ptilotus (our surprise love in the ground)
We thought we liked it as a container thriller. Turns out we love it in the ground. It looked like little butterflies floating in the breeze, and it kept blooming later than almost everything else. Also, the root system on this thing was intense. It really took hold.

2) Prairie Princess vernonia (ironweed)
This perennial is going to be a rock star. The foliage is skinny and strappy with an olive green tone that plays beautifully with other colors, and the purple flowers come later in the season when you need that boost.

We planted it near Atlas roses (vibrant orange) with cream roses nearby, plus a chartreuse holly behind it called Glow Pop. That chartreuse + olive foliage combination is going to be so good. Glow Pop is borderline hardy for us (6B and we’re 6A), but it’s protected from wind, so we’re optimistic.

Out-of-the-garden highlights: speaking, events, TV, and a magazine shoot

This year we also had the opportunity to do more “in-person” garden life, and we loved it.

Speaking events and workshops

• Vermont Flower Show (March) in Burlington, VT, with Gardener’s Supply Company
  We taught two seminars on contemporary cottage gardening, which is very much our design style.
• Hydrangea workshops at:
  • Faddegon’s Nursery (including one during a wild rainstorm, thankfully under a greenhouse tent)
  • Gardener’s Supply in Williston, VT (steaming hot, but such a fun crowd)

The best part of all of it was meeting you. It’s a strange thing to talk to a camera all the time and know you’re there, but not see your faces. Getting to meet gardeners in person and chat after events has been one of the sweetest parts of the year.

Garden Center Show panel in Chicago

We also did a panel with our friend Natalie Carmolli (Spring Meadow / Proven Winners ColorChoice Shrubs) about being garden content creators and partnering with brands while staying authentic. It was a different side of what we do, but really interesting, especially speaking to people in the garden industry.

Garden Smart TV on PBS (two episodes!)

One of the biggest highlights was being featured on Garden Smart TV on PBS. We filmed two episodes in one day:

• One focused on our design philosophy
• One focused on favorite plant pairings and garden vignettes

Behind the scenes, it was filmed completely out of order, based on lighting and timing. The final edited episodes make perfect sense, which is honestly magic. Check out the full episodes and some behind the scenes shots here.

Also yes, the production team had drones, and yes, we are now dreaming bigger about our own aerial footage next year.

Better Homes and Gardens: Porches & Gardens edition

We also had a major photo shoot for a Better Homes and Gardens issue (Porches & Gardens edition) that will come out in Spring 2026. The shoot was two days long, starting at 6:00 a.m. and going until 9:00 p.m. with costume changes, plant labeling, and so much attention to detail it blew our minds.

A single photo could take 40 minutes. Waiting for clouds to move, clipping one leaf to reveal a perfect bloom, even re-slicing a coffee cake because the swirl wasn’t “photo perfect.”

It was intense, and also so exciting. We’ll share details as soon as we have an official publication date.

Proven Winners creator event in Michigan

We traveled to Michigan for a Proven Winners perennials event with Walters Gardens and visited trial gardens where we got to see plants at maturity, plus new plants still under trial (some of which we legally cannot talk about, because yes, we signed NDAs and felt extremely fancy doing it).

We also toured Spring Meadow’s trial gardens and got to interview the breeder behind Let’s Dance Sky View. Learning the breeding process, like how one plant can come from hundreds of crosses and years of selection, gave us a whole new appreciation for what we’re planting in our own garden.

Challenges in 2025: rabbits, sawfly larvae, weevils, and… snakes

Because of course it wasn’t all dreamy installs and perfect blooms.

Winter rabbit damage

We avoided the garden a bit over winter (because cold), and spring showed us the consequences. Rabbits did major damage, especially to our roses. Thankfully, roses are resilient, and they bounced back beautifully.

We added prevention this year: black chicken wire around each rose.

European sawfly larvae and weevil damage

We had rabbits chewing evergreens too, which stressed the plants and made them more vulnerable.

• One tree was hit by European sawfly larvae, which move in clumps and strip needles. They typically don’t kill the tree, but they can make it look awful.
• Our spruce also dealt with a weevil issue that caused distorted leaders, and we had to cut off a significant portion so it can form a new leader.

Hard lesson, but still a lesson: gardens are resilient. If this happened to us years ago, we would have spiraled. Now we know most things can recover with time and care.

The snakes (Christopher is working on personal growth here)

We had a lot of snakes this year. Like, an obscene amount. They’re garden snakes, not dangerous, but Christopher is not a fan. We suspect a slug and snail situation contributed, so we’re planning to start slug/snail control earlier next season (late February into early March) to reduce the food source.

We fully understand snakes are part of a healthy ecosystem. We just prefer to encounter them less often, and with more warning.

What’s coming in 2026: fencing, berm planting, events, and a big trip

We’re ending 2025 grateful and excited, because 2026 already has some big things on the calendar.

Here’s what we know is coming:

• Better Homes and Gardens (Porches & Gardens edition) in spring (exact month TBD)
• A speaking engagement at Cultivate in Columbus, Ohio in July
• More hydrangea talks at garden centers (we’ll announce dates on our website and newsletter)

In the garden, the biggest spring project will be additional fencing at the front of the house. It’s an HOA requirement, so our fence options are limited. It won’t be the most glamorous thing, but it will help with deer, add privacy, and create our first real shady planting areas behind sections of fencing.

We’ll also be:

• Thickening up berm plantings to create a natural evergreen “wall”
• Doing new planting around the pondless waterfall
• Trying some new container ideas

And yes, we have a major trip coming in May that will last nearly two weeks. It’s far away, it’s a big one, and we’ll share details when everything is finalized.

Thank you for growing with us

The best way to end this year is simply to say thank you.

Thank you for joining us in our garden, watching our videos, signing up for our newsletter, following along on Instagram, and sending the kindest DMs and emails. We read them, we appreciate them, and they honestly mean more than you know.