b'Transforming Unusual Spaces into Treasured PlacesHow four homeowners created beloved gardensWORDS AND PHOTOGRAPHS BY JOY YAGIDEmily Kehe worked with local gardening professionals to help create her secret garden.A s winter fades into spring, itsmy dream, at all, she says. The secluded backyardcal gardening professionals to learn about what she naturaltostartdreamingofwastinyandtotallylackedanycolororinterest.could do with the space with its soil conditions and yourgarden.Thisyear,youIt had very large garden beds and very little grass,the amount of sunlight. With this, she created her may be itching to do some- which was not ideal for her family. secret garden. thing more than the usual to- Duringthepandemic,transform-do list. Maybe you just need aing the yard into a lush secret garden little inspiration. Lets explorebecame her project. She had her work some options from working with a small backyard tocut out for her. It was full of boxwoods, creating a yard that requires very little water. other shrubs, hostas and grasses, which A SECRET GARDEN gave it a very formal feel. I wanted it to feel a bit more natural and random, Emily Kehe had little gardening experience be- she says. fore moving to Maplewood in 2015. Her first houseKehe found her inspiration on Pin-was a blank slate with a lot of yard. I really didntterest and other sites. She ripped out know what I was doing, Kehe says. Most of what Ithe hostas and boxwoods and created planted died. After a couple years, I was able to cre- enoughlawnforaswingsetforthe ate some decent garden beds. kids. For the remaining space, her big-For her next house, she wanted more land butgest challenge was not knowing what found a great house on a very small lot. So it wasntshewasdoing.Sheworkedwithlo- Climbing hydrangeas border Emily Kehes home.22/ matters magazine / hearth + home 2024'