BY DIANA LIEBERMAN I PHOTOGRAPHY BY BRETT MOUNTAIN
astilbe, as well as bulb plants like tulips, daffodils, oriental lil-
arbara DeGrande and Didi Zamler, partners
ies and canna lilies — provide a continually changing palette,
in Farmington Hills-based Ever Green Plant
while annuals such as salvia, begonia, geranium, marigold,
Design, spend each spring and summer digging,
cosmos and snapdragon add constant color. Punctuating
dividing and fertilizing in some of Oakland County's most
the plants themselves, the landscape includes several pieces
beautiful gardens.
of garden sculpture the homeowners found at the Detroit
But when the sun is high in the sky and it's time for a
Artists Market, local art fairs, and shops the couple has stum-
brown-bag lunch, they can frequently be found driving down
bled upon in their travels. "My father is an avid gardener but
Wing Lake Road in Bloomfield Township. Together with
I didn't inherit his green thumb," says Steve. "I basically tend
homeowners Carol and Steve Lash — and a lot of help from
to the garden myself," says Carol, "but Barb and Didi help."
Mother Nature — they've created a serene landscape in the
The beginnings of the garden were in place in 1972, when
heart of the suburbs.
the
couple moved in. Every year since then, it has just about
"It's our favorite place," DeGrande says. "We try to make
doubled
in size, she says.
sure we end up there for lunch."
"You
can't go wrong with a lot of sun and water."
Located only moments from the corner of Telegraph and
Maple roads, the Bloomfield Township home, tucked in the
(Isn't It Enchanting?: More photos, pages 20-21)
corner of a shady street with hosta and pachysandra framing
the entryway, already seems miles away from civilization.
But then you walk around to the back — and you've
entered another world. An expanse of rolling, manicured
lawn glistens lush green under the sun. The back door of the
circa-1912 home's screened-in sunroom opens to a brick-
paved path. As it stretches toward placid Wing Lake, the
path becomes a red ribbon of stairs, bordered on each side by
symmetrical flowerbeds. A white gazebo at the foot of the
steps frames the site's main attraction — the lake itself.
"It was the setting that attracted us to the house," says
Carol Lash. "We weren't originally looking for a house on the
lake, but once you go out on the back porch, it looks almost
magical."
Bordering the walkway, a wide swath of perennial plants
— Shasta daisies, Autumn Joy sedum, sage, candytuft and
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