Near the greenhouse, an antique ferris wheel basket served as the frame for this boxwood, artemisia, and hydrangea display.
Tucked into the shade of a catalpa tree, a vintage iron bench is framed by daylilies.
Above: Limestone pavers bordered by hostas and ferns lead a path through a shady part of the garden.
Cindy Barnhill found the early 19th-century apple-picking ladder in France and bought it as a gift for her husband.
SEPTEMBER 2019
way to go,” she says, laughing. No even numbers when arranging pots, and you have to be generous, she insists. Below the shelf is a planter she had made from three pieces of antique iron, now blooming with scabiosa, or pincushion flowers. Borders and Berms. The doyenne of English gardening, Gertrude Jekyll, was a big fan of sculpting with large borders, which the Barnhills have created with conifers (blue spruce, bird’s nest spruce, white pine) and huge cement pots of Green Mountain boxwood in globe or spearhead shapes. They also mix in hydrangea, ivies, roses, and salvia. French Potager. A withy gate and fence overhung with wisteria provides the grand entrance to the potager, where the couple grows herbs and vegetables on a quarter acre plot. “We both grew up in the country and the most terrible two words for us are ‘crop failure,’” Cindy says with a laugh, “so we always grow too much.” There is nothing better, she says, than produce from their garden served in an antique bowl on the patio. French Parterre. Based on the Elizabethan knot garden, the formal design is bordered with hardy boxwood. Cindy tried planting David Austin roses within the borders, but they got leggy from not enough | 103 | INKANSASCITY.COM