The point of everything we do is to make it look like it has always been there,” says the homeowner when describing her property in Mountain Brook. That mindset took root in 1996 when the house was purchased and restored to its original 1931 elegance. “It had been tinkered with by previous owners and included a mid-century modern addition, which made no sense,” the owner says. “Architect James Carter designed a limestone replacement that reflects the original architecture.”
That same thinking extended to the landscape beyond—an unsightly swimming pool was sent packing while a green lawn and cast-iron fountain were put in its place. And after a visit to the historic Fioli estate in California, the owner was inspired to bring some Italian flair back to Birmingham, working with garden designer Mary Zahl in the planning.
“What I think makes a garden Italianate is an emphasis on stone, water, and greenery with mostly white blooming plants and seasonal color limited to containers,” the owner says. Landscape architect Norman Kent Johnson, who also collaborated on the grounds, adds, “This was an opportunity to introduce a variety of plant materials, including looser, more naturalistic ones.”
In the expansive landscape, each garden space unfolds to the next, offering both private and conversational moments. “We’ve hosted an engagement party, a wedding, and sunset cocktails in the garden, but it’s also a very serene and reflective space,” says the owner.
Not only does she supervise every aspect the landscape, the homeowner also changes up the plantings every season—potted citrus trees come out in the summer replaced by winter annuals in the fall. She also chooses plants to surround the pavilion for seasonal scents. “We have gardenias in late spring and summer, and my very favorite plant in the whole world, Edgeworthia chrysantha (paper bush), blooms in the winter and smells better than honeysuckle.”
While the garden has classical roots, its journey is never static. Construction of the greeenhouse began during Covid. More recently, a sphere has been added in one area. And Norman has encouraged a wider selection of native plants for the woodland.
The greenhouse from British firm Hartley Botanic sits on a stone base designed by James Carter to reference the main house and the pavilion. It’s sited against a mixed native hardwood forest.
Meanwhile, the owner has propagated a virtual forest of aesculus glabra (buckeyes) and asimina triloba (pawpaws). She also has introduced more camelia varieties. “What’s most important is not what mix of plants are in the garden, but rather the spirit it emits,” says Norman. “This one reads genuine and comfortable. It’s a gardener’s garden that is pleased in merely being itself.”
The Garden Conservancy
This garden was one of four featured in Open Days, a tour sponsored by the Garden Conservancy in May 2024. Founded in 1989, the Conservancy is dedicated to preserving and sharing historic gardens throughout the United States. For more information on the Garden Conservancy and for dates of upcoming Open Days across the country, visit gardenconservancy.org.
