Growing Green in Pennsylvania

When Cecilia Ross, the wife of Pennsylvania state representative Chris Ross, laid out her requirements for a new house and garden in the horse country of southeastern Pennsylvania, the guidelines were simple: to get off the electrical grid, put the garden close at hand, and keep maintenance idiot-proof.

The dining terrace at the Ross home affords an ideal view of the meadow garden.

See more gardens in Pennsylvania.

Though the new house incorporates all manner of modern green technology (a green roof, a storm-water collection system, solar panels—the Rosses even sell excess energy back to the grid), Matthew Moger—then with Lyman Perry Architects but now a principal of Moger Mehrhof Architects—and landscape architect Jonathan Alderson also heeded old principles of good siting to achieve energy-conservation goals. The Ross home employs such smart construction concepts as channeling natural breezes (the Rosses rarely use air conditioning), taking advantage of shifting sunlight patterns through the seasons, and creating an earthen ramp for insulation and wind protection during cold weather.

As forward-thinking as the house’s design is, its architectural style is a snug fit for the locale. It incorporates local Avondale stone, and it bears a strong resemblance to traditional “bank barns,” which are partly embedded in the side of a hill.

At the entrance, grasses and sedges create a soft, green backdrop for the orange-tinged, rough-textured trunks of river birch trees.

In a scene that exemplifies the horse-country nature of the area, one of the Rosses’ horses grazes near the meadow garden, which smoothly segues to fields and pastureland beyond. Echinacea purpurea is in full bloom, while Amsonia hubrichtii (at right) adds a feathery texture.

Though the couple wanted to limit the amount of lawn on the property, one was included in the project to accommodate larger gatherings.

To make the half-acre meadow, Alderson chose native species and their cultivars, and stuck to suppliers within a 50-mile radius of the location.

The meadow garden is resplendent in its late-summer glory, with black-eyed Susan, Joe-Pye weed and Eupatorium hyssopifolium in full bloom.

Planted in early May 2006, the garden is now a flourishing meadow alive with birds and insects.

Before the project began, the property was a barren landscape that included a 1970s ranch house, lawn areas, and a swimming pool.

For more-intimate family get-togethers, the Rosses favor their cozy dining terrace. A stone wall, a raised landform, and screening plants create the line of demarcation between the two areas but not in a way that obviously interrupts the landscape.

In building the landscape, Alderson didn’t truck away any materials accumulated during construction; he sculpted excess soil into an earthen ramp and recycled the concrete from the old swimming pool into a base for the driveway.

At the entrance to the terrace, a planting of Sedum 'Autumn Fire' softens the edges and coral honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens 'Cedar Lane') climbs the stucco columns. Much of the stone used for the project is local Avondale stone. Beneath the gravel drive lies a base partly made up of concrete from the old swimming pool.