New-Look Parterre: Formal Hedges Frame Casual Plantings in Washington

Rich Burkholder Americanized the French parterre in his Sammamish, Washington garden. Formal evergreen hedges—low boxwood inner borders, arborvitae perimeter—frame casual clumps of Japanese silver grass, cosmos, dahlias, irises, pink Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’, and zinnias. Three-foot gravel paths divide the garden; a white fountain centers it. Dahlias are floated in the fountain when entertaining. Rhododendrons, roses, and conical ‘Emerald Green’ arborvitae surround the outer hedge.