Gardens, Pools & Spas
Draped in Glamour
A luxurious suburban garden sweeps the landscape with breathtaking beauty.
BY
Lucyann Boston
PHOTOGRAPHY
Michael Jacob

“I love my garden in all seasons with its quiet corners for reading, sketching and quiet contemplation.” – Judi Main

There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature; the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after winter.

Although she can no longer remember the source of the quotation, the “repeated refrains of nature” tie Judi Main to her Webster Groves garden. “I find real tranquility in gardening,” she says. “I’ve worked hard over the past 15 years to create a garden that is private, calm, interesting and inviting.”

Visitors to Judi’s garden would testify that she has more than achieved all four of her goals. In the heat of the summer, a lush green and white color scheme, composed of variegated hosta, boxwood, azaleas, dogwoods and trailing lysimachia (creeping Jenny) surrounds the entrance to the country-French-style residence surrounded by a relaxed, tropical ambience that weaves its way through the picturesque garden. Accents of cool ‘Victoria’ blue salvia add to the immediate feeling of serenity.


To the right of the front door, a charming bluestone-floored terrace overflows with pots of lavender, rosemary, ferns and oleander, and includes areas to sip a glass of wine or enjoy a meal. French doors from the dining room make this area perfect for entertaining. Tropical palms and hibiscus line the more formal, balustrade-enclosed terrace at the back of the home, where a long teakwood table that can easily seat 12 dominates the space. The nod to the tropics in this area reflects the Mains’ love of Costa Rica, where Judi and her husband Bruce have a second home and garden.

To create the privacy she desired here, Judi’s first task 15 years ago was to layer the perimeter of the yard with a screen of hemlocks, evergreen magnolias, witch hazels, rhododendrons, azaleas, dogwoods and ‘Forest Pansy’ redbuds. In front of the partition she added a mixed border of hydrangeas, Virginia sweetspire (Itea), hosta, astilbe and ferns. Flagstone paths weave in and out of the shady border and occasional benches and chairs provide spots to rest and enjoy the view.

A tiny “fairy village,” tucked away in the back of the yard, is the destination of choice for the Main grandchildren. There, miniature stone cottages, tiny birdhouses, river rock pathways, mosses and diminutive, trailing plants create a child-size universe in a cleared spot beneath some shrubs.

Just off the rear terrace, Judi has taken advantage of the one area of the garden with reliable sun and created a boxwood-surrounded herb garden centered with a three-tiered fountain. Interspersed among the parsley, thyme, rosemary and chives are Shasta daisies, rudbeckia (black-eyed Susan) and bachelor buttons that provide cut flowers for the house all summer long.

“I love my garden in all seasons,” says Judi, “the resting dark and light shades and shadows of winter; the evolution into spring, beginning with the witch hazel and snowdrops, daffodils and tulips, grape hyacinths and Virginia bluebells.Then, the hosta and ferns begin to appear. I have a riot of color when the azaleas and rhododendrons, redbuds and dogwoods are in full bloom. Things quiet down after that, with a green and white palette and splashes of color – primarily blue.

Because the garden is composed primarily of perennials, Judi is able to maintain it on her own. “All three of our children now have gardens of their own,” she explains, “so they are frequently working with me to divide and move plants, which gives them plants for their own gardens.”

As she has passed on a love of gardening to her children, her own love of gardening is an outgrowth of gardening parents, who appreciated the bounty of nature, according to Judi.

“Since childhood, I’ve been drawn to the land,” she says. “Woods, creek beds, moss and fern-covered hideaways beneath undergrowth trees; these were the places where I spent my free time, reading, dreaming – simply being still.” As an adult, “I feel most connected with the energy of the universe when working in my garden. It has become very meditative for me.”