By Maura Keller | Photography by Shanna Wolf
What was once a backyard filled with sandboxes and play spaces for at Marilyn Blettner’s Madison home.
The transformation didn’t happen overnight. Instead, it’s been an evolving labor of love spanning nearly four decades.
“It’s been a work in progress over the last 35 to 40 years — and we’re not done yet,” Blettner says. “We always find something.”
As Blettner’s children grew, the backyard gradually shifted from a practical play area into a richly layered garden filled with intimate seating spaces, mature plantings and charming architectural features.
Among the garden’s standout elements are the stunning pergolas, recently rebuilt by Sweeney Design Remodel. Framed by abundant greenery and colorful plantings, the structures that were designed by Linda Sweeney and Jeff Darga create the warm, welcoming atmosphere Blettner loves.
Her inspiration comes from traditional English gardens.
“The old style — the mossier, the better,” she says. “That’s just what I love.” Recently, Blettner collaborated closely with horticulturalist Tim Andrews, whose ideas have helped shape the garden’s latest evolution.
“Tim’s my inspiration,” she says. “He and I work together very well.”
Today, the landscape offers a series of inviting outdoor rooms that change with the sunlight throughout the day. “My favorite spot depends on the time of day,” Blettner says. “Each area is very welcoming and intimate. It kind of just invites you in, like you don’t want to leave.”
Among those spots is a charming garden shed tucked beneath a canopy of mature trees that offers a storybook retreat, with French doors and cottage- style windows. Lush hostas frame the structure, softening its edges and blending the building seamlessly into the surrounding woodland garden. A small bistro seating area nestled just outside the entrance invites quiet moments of rest, making this well-appointed outbuilding as livable as it is lovely.
In the round central seating area, rounded boxwood hedges line the sweeping lawn, guiding the eye toward the vine-covered arbor that serves as a dramatic focal point at the heart of the meticulously designed backyard garden. A stone patio anchors a cozy seating arrangement of dark wrought- iron furniture beneath the arbor, creating an intimate outdoor living room framed by lattice fencing and layers of lush greenery. Overhanging tree branches, a classical cherub statue and colorful perennial beds complete the scene.
