Turning into the maze of short streets and two-story homes lining an historic Northampton neighborhood, it would be easy to miss Linda Kopf’s garden, a slice of quietude tucked away in the corner of a cul-de-sac. The hint of its existence first appears in the form of a generous square-cornered wooden arbor where large blossomed, soft blue-violet Clematis ‘H.F. Young’ clambers up one side while Scentsation honeysuckle climbs the other, welcoming visitors to the front entry.
Looking back over forty years, Kopf recalls how it was this peaceful setting and generous yard that drew her and her husband, Silas, to purchase the property for their then-young family in 1980. She has since transformed this space from its humble beginnings — a chain-link fence surrounding nondescript shrubs — into sumptuous swaths of color and texture drawn from her creative botanical imagination. “Before then I was very interested in plants, but I never had my own garden plot,” she explained. The public will have the rare opportunity to visit this special garden on Saturday, June 8 when it is open for viewing for the first time in 20 years on the Forbes Library’s Northampton Garden Tour.
Before the Kopf’s 2014 remodeling effort that transformed both their home and garden, the backyard was a shady respite dominated by two towering pine trees of the era when the Calvin Coolidge family lived next door at The Beeches. Concurrent with the remodel, the pines were lost, suddenly flooding the former shade garden with light and necessitating its transformation into a more sun-friendly space.
Working diligently with peat moss, compost and new plants, Linda and her longtime dedicated garden helper, Elias Derby, have infused new specimens into the landscape and tweaked older beds, bringing the garden to a new level of interest. Overall, roughly 25 percent of the plants have been added in the last five years.
Throughout the garden, numerous stone animals — a goat, fox, puppy dog and more — keep Linda company while she works. Walking along the path to the backyard, visitors pass “Bunny Bling,” a stone rabbit decked out with silver and gold Mardi Gras necklaces atop a pillar. Below, two horned white metal goats munch invisible grass below.
Linda’s fondness of stone infuses the garden. “I love stone and collect it. Out front is a large watermelon-sized piece of Ellsworth Schist my brother got from a quarry in Maine and brought here,” she said. In the back over a former pond, vertical stones from Michael Mazur’s Earthworks are strategically juxtaposed around a slatted wooden bench and low, broad evergreens — a study in quiet harmony. Across the garden, a contrasting weighty, low stone bench rests atop a slab covering the site of the former pine trees, softened by a low, weeping white pine and creamy yellow magnolia.
Linda’s backyard now contains three lush garden islands, floating like pools of plants in a sea of summer green grass. Around 2002, Linda added her first island. “What I love about the garden and gardening is the peaceful aspect. The garden is a magical place. It provides me with a sort of sanctuary in this crazy world,” she explained.
This island stars a beautiful Styrax obassia (Fragrant Snowbell). Underplantings of yellow-toned Japanese forest grass brighten a multi-textured hosta garden, ferns and other complementary perennials while lightening up the burgundy red leaves of a nearby Japanese maple. Over the last five years, Linda has added two more islands each with an appealing balance of ornamental tree, shrub and perennial layers.
Surrounding the islands, Linda’s borders are filled with the lushness and romance of English cottage garden sensibility. Each year she expands them a bit more, deepening the beds and adding plants with the open-mindedness of trial and error. Some plants making the cut include Bergenia ‘Dumbo,’ Himalayan mayapple, European ginger, veronicastrum, globe thistle, Nicotiana sylvestris and some stunning soft butter yellow foxgloves. Many more weave through understory nooks and crannies.
Complementing these perennials are intentionally placed unusual ornamental trees and shrubs including a stunning Euonymous sachalinensis (Spindle Tree), a native Carpinus ‘Firespire’ (American Hornbeam) and a striking Oxydendron (Sourwood) with its lily-of-the-valley style white flower clusters. All offer tremendous fall color.
A chestnut brown wooden shed stores tools, and down the back fence, a garden gate is cloaked in Magnolia vine (Schisandra chinensis).
Linda credits her many gardening friends for their thoughtful inspiration and sound advice. The admiration is clearly mutual: Linda is a bit like a mother tree, instinctively sharing her garden’s bounty with those around her.
Young, botanically-minded neighbor Madeleine Lombard, a high school senior, is one such beneficiary.
After Madeleine plucked a rose from neighbor Linda’s front bush at the tender age of 4, Linda encouraged her plantswoman instincts by sharing cuttings, teachings and rose bushes.
“They are the most beautiful, fragrant roses we have,” Madeleine’s mother, Lilly, said of those bushes. “All our borders are lined with thyme from her garden.”
“And sweet woodruff, wild ginger and forget-me-nots,” added Madeleine. “She asked if I really wanted the forget-me-nots because they spread by seed, but I did,” she said. “Linda has offered so much shared kindness and generosity — and imagination,” said Lilly.
The Lombard’s garden will also be on the Forbes Tour. “We have an urban homestead feel,” said Lilly. Together with rain barrels, compost bins and a solar-arrayed roof are freshly-made wattle fences, an updated chicken coop, and English-inspired stonework skillfully built by Lilly herself. All are nestled in with colorful flowers and rows of vegetables to create a sustainable gardenscape. “We will also be getting chicks soon so they are at optimal cuteness for the tour!” said Lilly.
This year’s 26th Annual Forbes Library Garden tour happens on Saturday, June 8 from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., rain or shine.
Visit forbeslibrary.org/friends/events/garden-tour or facebook.com/nohogardentour for information about ordering tickets to visit the tour’s six exceptional home gardens and unique Northampton Community Garden pollinator habitat demonstration plots. Raffle tickets available on tour.
Advance tickets are available for $15 at Cooper’s Corner, State Street Fruit Store, Hadley Garden Center, Baystate Perennial Farm(Whately) and Forbes Library.
Day of tickets are available (June 8) for $20 at Forbes Library only.