outdoors
IN THE GARDEN
n 26 years as a landscape architect,
Cynthia Cash has never had clients
as enthusiastic as Todd and Gwen
Graves. Two eager customers can
mean two competing visions,
however. “Sometimes you have the
husband or the wife with a strong
interest in the project, but in this case it was
both,” says Cash. And each had very different
ideas of what a garden should be.
“I’m from south Louisiana,” says Todd.
“I’m used to flowing azaleas and draping crape
myrtles. I wanted paths to wander and informal
garden beds.” Gwen, a native of Richmond,
Virginia, had a taste for more formal gardens
with boxwood hedges. “I like clean lines and
order,” she says.
HE SAID,
SHE SAID
The formal style
that Gwen Graves
favors is expressed
in neat, boxwood-
lined beds,
le ft
(foreground), while
other parts of the
garden are more
casual, which suits
Gwen’s husband,
Todd. The couple
wanted the garden
to be a learning
place for their
children, Charlie
and Sophie,
inset.
84
JULY 2008 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS
