Howard County, Maryland, selected the team of EDSA, 3. Fromme Design, MGA, CSR, and others to develop a compelling vision for a new public garden to serve local and regional communities. Sited on rolling hayfields and wooded hillsides, the property includes a historic home, small cemetery, and outbuildings from various time periods. The intent is to create a year-round nexus where people celebrate plants, the passage of time, and life’s milestones.

The Master Plan proposes two conceptual axes organizing a series of themed gardens. The Natural Axis follows water features spilling down the sloping terrain. Plantings showcase display collections of native species. The Cultural Axis runs along the long ridge on which the home and cemetery sit. These gardens express myriad relationships among people and plants while celebrating the site and region’s diverse heritage. A family-oriented Wonder Garden sits at the Axes’ intersection. The Plan also includes an event center to generate revenue, visitor center to provide amenities, and daycare to serve local families.

3FD and EDSA also completed design for the first phase, an approximately 11-acre planting of perennials, grasses, and shrubs focusing on some of the showiest species native to the East Coast. Trails lead to the summit, a prospect from which to enjoy panoramic vistas of the property and to watch birds