Where Do You Start? - The Story of How I Built My Garden 

I had a garden that my husband and I lovingly designed and cultivated from scratch. We loved that garden, and when we sold our house, we decided to sell to a young couple who wrote us a letter about how much they loved our garden. We knew it would be in good hands. Now we live in a home with an overgrown garden and are planning how we will design a new garden. Seeing your video helps me think of the essentials: privacy, garden rooms, paths, etc. It also helps me realize that I don’t have to do everything at once. A garden can develop over time.

I watch garden videos non stopped. This is one of the best videos I’ve ever seen. It’s a slide show of the mind

Sue, I am so happy that you made this video not for just your own record but someone may think you hired it all done and came home one day and voila it was done. Your blood, sweat and tears makes your garden the most special place!

Your videos are so inspiring. After seeing your video and seeing your Mary Garden I couldn’t stop thinking about adding a Mary garden as well. I kept thinking about it and went to Home Goods in search for a Mary statue. When I walked in she was standing right in front of me. It was such a wonderful feeling! She is now in my garden and I go out and visit her every day. I just love it so much. Thank you for sharing your garden journey. Please continue to share.

This video is not only helpful, it is absolutely beautiful!

I am sorry for your family’s loss. Your garden will help you heal. Prayers to your family.

Love this video, it just shows that all these beautiful gardens that we see on the internet don't just sprout like mushrooms. It takes years and years of planning, experimenting and lots of TLC. And it is so worth it, your garden is beautiful.

I love to see this evolution of your garden. We are downsizing and have done an inside remodel that has been in progress since the fall. With the arrival of spring, I have been feeling that pull to work outside in the yard. So, even though the house is not finished, I too have begun a garden. I am finally getting to pot plants that I have gotten on sale, or the form was so perfect that I couldn’t pass them up, or whatever. But they have lived in pots for a good while with many going in and out of our garage with the whims of the weather. So, yes that feeling of finally getting a beloved plant in the ground is such a joy. Thank you for sharing your beautiful space.

The journey is never over. The possiblities are infinite!

I have never commented on a video before, but this was wonderful. I love how you showed pictures while you were talking and made garden design seem so doable over the long haul. Thank you for the inspiration!

Thank you for sharing how your beautiful garden was created and has evolved. Very inspiring.🌸🌺

Sue this video was amazing! What was even more impressive was how great you are in record keeping. It was so great to see the transformation, step by step that resulted in such a serene garden. And yes, it gave all of us hope that it could be achieved… Thank you so much for sharing!

The garden continues to evolve. This is the best thing about gardening, your journey is never finished, there is always something new to do and something great to look forward to ❤

Thanks so much for sharing your vision and your garden journey. Sometimes when we see lovely gardens like yours we forget it doesn’t just happen and is always a journey. Thanks.

Just found your channel. What a great introduction to your garden!!

Fantastic garden and an incredible insight into building it . Gives me hope with my garden that I am just now developing. Thanks for posting

Figuring out where to start is the hardest part. We'd lived in this place for 10 years before I finally decided to do something of value with the yard. It's a 1 acre plot - I'm not real sure at all how to divide it up. For right now I'm focused on the 4 borders planting out foundational trees and shrubs.

This was absolutely beautiful to watch. I love all of it. I just love the fact that my garden is always evolving and never finished. It’s like a good book that has no end. ❤

Secret garden is the feeling I'm wanting in my garden. So helpful for me to see that yours was a process of changes & additions.

This was just FANTASTIC!!! Thank you for the story, for your creativity and for your encouragement to young (or older) gardeners. Your garden is a beautiful and special reflection of who you are!

Thank you for sharing your garden journey. It’s always fun and inspiring to see how gardens evolved. When I was new to gardening, I invested in a lot of arborvitae to make a hedge. I had a rude awakening that it was one of the favorites for deer. They were so pleased that I had provided a grand buffet for them. It taught me a huge lesson to research plants and shrubs before I buy. My big project this year is our front garden too. I’m redoing our foundation plantings and adding a stacked stone wall. I love your Mary garden, it’s beautiful. I have been wanting to make an angel garden and I’m on the hunt to find the perfect angel statuary. I recently found an angel fountain that has a very aged look that I absolutely love. Spring is slowly coming to my house, the birds have their spring song and the air has its spring scent. Looking forward to a new gardening season. Many blessings to you.

I am in awe. The garden looks beautiful. So peaceful. A great place just to stroll and think . My kind of garden. I would feel like I’m in heaven. Just simply beautiful.

I visit with you as part of my joyful day. Hot fresh coffee and Sue's garden or garden tours and teaching all things fabulous. I smile more because of your videos. My life is a joy and a journey filled with all things wonderful each in their own way. You are one of my favorite joys. Thank you. PS you should form a garden tour trip to England with you as the tour guide!!!

My jaw is on the floor - so amazed and impressed am I with what you have shown us in this video. The word 'wonderful' is an under statement, but I can't think of anything better at the moment. 👏

This is such a good video. Thank you for sharing. A wonderful vision over 3 decades. You and Tom look very happy together. RIP to mother in law.

Your garden is a beautiful labor of love. Thank you for sharing.

Your garden is a pure delight

This is probably the best gradening video Ive ever watched on RU-vid. Its a feast for the eyes and food for the soul! Thank you so much for sharing it!

Oh Sue this was so sweet to see. By the end I was tearing up because I could so identify with you and your garden. There are a lot of garden channels that don't have any soul. Yours is one that stands out as authentically you and filled with your soul. Much love to you💞

Hi I’m sure Mary is watching over your garden! Absolutely spectacular!

Garden Moxie, You have such a soothing voice.. I love your reassurance! I often find myself disappointed and replay this video; again and again... Thank you for offering inspiration.

Lovely. It never stops and always has room to make it better as we get to enjoy what has been created.

I’m thankful to have found you. I am starting now. At 59. It can be overwhelming. Thank you for the guidance. I’m looking forward to following along.

A little piece of heaven!......thankyou for sharing😊

A peaceful journey ❤️🪴🌷🌾🌻…wonderful !

It will be excited to see the plans you have for your front garden Sue, love to see you remain inspired.

Thank you for the history of your journey thru the making of your beautiful beautiful garden.. your soft voice describing your and your husband’s work is very relaxing and goes along with the different epochs of the garden development… your desire in your heart has paid off… keep on gardening!

BEATIFUL. Totally my cup of tea. And the Mary Garden is the cherry on top, stunning 🌺🌻🌹

Im very glad I found your channel, I just love to watch them now .

Lovely! I'm watching this from the UK and was just thinking how surprisingly reminiscent it is of English gardens, when you mentioned you'd visited some gardens here! It was interesting for me to try to put my finger on what exactly it is that makes it look English to me - I think it's partly that it's enclosed with hedging rather than being open to the street, but also all the greenery, the box parterres, the garden rooms, and the fact that you plant things close together the way we do (I notice watching other gardeners in North America that its quite common there to space plants far apart and cover the spaces in between with wood chip). Anyway, I've no idea if you were deliberately going for an English garden look but I thought it might be interesting that someone this side of the pond felt a sense of recognition!♥

Thank you soooo much for sharing and you tell a story very well. I loved seeing the stages of your garden..well done..yet again…tears of joy streamed down my face…I will soon be starting on my garden adventure in my new home in Maine..and yay to Tom for being supportive in your dream making. Cheers to you and Tom…well done!❤

😭 So beautiful!! The story of the garden adds immensely to its obvious beauty. How very special ~ thank you for sharing. 💛

Thank you. Your videos are lovely and inspiring. I enjoy them because they show the work, love, commitment and time that goes into creating a beautiful garden. The video regarding the living plant wall in Pittsburgh inspired me. My wife does not like cutesy Easter decorations….plastic eggs hanging from trees, blow up bunnies in the front yard, etc. I would agree with her. So I went to the local Joann Fabrics and purchased black felt and some heavy duty balsa wood. I made a cross out the balsa wood and am working on covering it with plastic lined felt. I bought yellow violas to plant the front of the cross with them. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that my first attempt at vertical gardening will be ready by Palm Sunday and second, in bloom by Easter.

Good morning, Sue,from Windermere, Florida zone 9b 🇺🇸 I thoroughly enjoyed following your journey through the Garden. I love the photo of you young kids in the Garden. And I enjoyed the evolution and disappearing grass 😂 I'm sure your friends just love visiting and seeing what's new. Although, you are probably still wearing jackets now. Take care ❤Peggy❤

I wanted to leave a comment, but after reading the comments, there is very little on point praise that hasn’t been offered. I am, therefore, putting down this IPad and heading outside to water and think!!! Thanks for your story. BTW, you have the perfect voice for gardening.

What a wonderful evolution video of your beautiful secret garden. Everything looks so lush and healthy. I just put in baby boxwood this past summer and unfortunately we had severe drop in temperature below 0 with wind chills of 30 below and killed most of the boxes and laurels both in our garden and all over town, Lexington, KY. I'm thinking maybe I'll replace with yews and keep them clipped. Again, so enjoyed your journey and will have to watch it again! Have a great spring.

I just watched this on RU-vid on the TV. I ended in tears at the beauty and realization of your dream. I have 5 acres edged by oaks and maples. Added a River Birch last year. So excited!

Oh, Sue how lovely! The journey is so worth it and just like you we love your garden! My condolences on your mother-in-law and thanks for sharing this lovely journey with us. You certainly inspire me lots! I am looking forward to someday enjoying a beautiful garden like yours! Take care dear friend!

Wonderful story, I am sure we can all relate too… 🤗

My garden is an inherited one and its creator, my father, still lives with us. All of the trees and some of the bushes and dahlias are his and I can hardly do much about them, even if I really wanted to. We co-garden which means that I do 99.9% of all the gardening and cover 100% of the garden-related expense. The situation is pretty tricky, to be honest. You are really lucky, your garden is truly yours :-) Good luck with your plans for this year!

Oh my stars! What a wonderful transition. Thank you for sharing your glorious garden. New subscriber. Blessings…

Wow!! My hat off to you both!! Y’ve done a fabulous job all along!! Thank you for showing and sharing your journey how your gorgeous garden evolves all these years!! I’m in the process of starting our garden as we speak! I always think of “…. getting everything planted!” But I know at the back of my mind, it’s not possible! As you said, it’s really a journey!! I don’t think any perfectly beautiful garden is all done in one take !! You just put me at ease that it’s ok to change down the line to meet your needs and desires! The journey along the way is what makes it extra special!! Thanks for making the effort to put all these gradual changes with explanations in a video!! There are so many elements in your garden that I appreciate and would like to have in mine. I couldn’t thank you enough for sharing!! Thank you very much!! Continue to enjoy your garden and please continue to share!! 😃👏👏

So inspiring and stunning!! Thank you for this video!!!! 🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻❤️❤️❤️❤️🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

Outstanding!!! I just love this and am so grateful you shared it with us. It brought me so much job so thank you 🌷🌷🌷🌷

You got me with the Mary garden 💕

What a beautiful story!! Thanks for sharing !🌸🌸

So touching! I was looking for Peace and I found it in my garden, same as you I kept myself busy learning to plant and propagate to divert my attention from outside pressure and stress and it turned out beautifu! I have promised Mother Mary that if I passed my Board exam I will create a Garden for her when I have my own Home (16yrs ago).... and so I did! Found a Home (yr2008), and on the side of my house is Our Lady of Guadalupe's Garden ❤❤❤ and I can't wait each night to be morning so I can stay out in the Garden and keep myself busy and consume the beauty and the music from our fountains and birds❤

This was soooooooooo amazing to watch. You have a garden of my dreams. LOVE It.

What a beautiful garden you have created,thanks for taking us on the journey.💐

Thanks for sharing your story and your garden- I really enjoyed it!

A dream garden. I also often tinker with my garden when I'm stressed. Sitting there or planting this or that tree makes me relax and forget all the bad things I'm facing. Surely everyone wants to have a garden like yours, so relaxing.

What an amazing transformation!

You have the most LUSH grass pathway 😍 It was so cool to see old photos and how far you've come!

Such a beautiful vision that has progressed throughout the years, great video thanks for sharing.

Hi, Your thoughtful statement of "Your (gardening) journey is never finished. There is awlays someting to do and something to look forward to" (7:30) resonates with me. Thank you. Best, Albert

Beautiful. Just beautiful.

Thanks so much for sharing your beautiful garden!! GREAT IDEAS AND GARDEN NEVER HAPPEN OVERNITE ITS ALWAYS A PROCESS!!!

Thank you for sharing your journey. It is very inspiring to see your beautiful garden through the years.

Absolutely loved this. To watch your dream evolve year after year. Thank you gor sharing 💚

In 2019 I bought an overgrown property that had been a cheap college-kid rental for the last 70 years, and I've been watching a cross between your "Secret Garden" videos and the "Young men mowing overgrown yards for free" videos to psyche myself up for spring, lol. At some point in it's past someone really loved it. I've been cleaning out 9' tall Privet hedges in the front, and 9' tall Forsythia hedge in the back. A row of magenta peonies volunteered along the side after clearing tangles of weeds, and some large old redbuds line the driveway. Oh, and five 40' tall spruce trees form a towering perimeter around the two sides of the house. All I've done so far is weed, mow, compost debris, and add purple irises and red daylilies, This year was too cold for the forsythia to bloom, but last year it was bright yellow for the first time since I pulled all the honeysuckle vines from it. Other than the gas powered trimming, it's a nice peaceful experience to restore it, and I see neighbors stop and take photos of the spring flowering. It feels amazing to own a home after a lifetime of running.

I'm really enjoying your videos. Thank you for your practical advice and commentary on your beautiful gardens.

My goodness….this beautiful garden story gave me goosebumps…..just lovely. 🥰

I LOVE that you mention you utilized the car you HAVE and it's just the mighty hatchback!

Absolutely beautiful story 🥰

Great video. I love seeing before and afters. This video inspires me. I've always wanted to turn my entire backyard into garden spaces. Working full time puts a cramp into many plans but this video shows that great gardens start with big plans and takes a lot of time.

I love this video so much, thanks for sharing with us your journey in your garden. Such a beautiful secret garden, such an accomplishment for you and Tom.

Thank you for sharing your garden journey. I really loved it!

Sue, you are a true artist my friend. The evolution of your garden is absolutely amazing. I enjoyed this so much. I'm still working on adding privacy, rooms, paths, and arbors, and can't wait until I have my own secret garden someday 💚 the picture of you and Tom made me smile.

Sue, what a great video. Other than knowing the basics, right plant, right place; as gardeners, I think we just need to take an instinctive approach and go with our " gut" when it comes to design. Sometimes, when I find myself overthinking the process, it can stop me in my tracks and zap my creativity.

Too beautiful . I dreamt of something like that but not sure I can achieve what you did . Amazing transformation!

Can't wait to see the front garden. The back garden is beautiful.

Wow...beautiful gardens!!

Love, Love the Mary Garden!!!

It's wonderful you had the foresight to take before pictures.

Absolutely beautiful. Thanks for taking us through the years of your garden's development. It does take a lifetime but oh the joy you receive along the way. From one gardener to another, may God bless.

Such great inspiration! Question: your Rose of Sharon's -- how are they? I'm think of using them in my front yard garden this spring. Love the Mary Garden and the hornbeams -- wow!! Thanks for sharing this.

Your storytelling brings so much joy to your viewers. We get to envision, remember and dream with you. I'm so glad your video came up on my suggested vidz.

Your garden is what I dream of for my much smaller backyard. Thank you for sharing the evolution...it’s inspiring!!

So beautiful! Thanks for sharing the journey of your garden. I am looking forward to seeing more of it this season! 😊

The meaning of ‘beautiful’, thank you for sharing!

You have two things I don’t have, youth and a cooperative husband! I love this video so much! A garden takes TIME

Wow that was an absolutely awesome video!!!! So cool to see the changes you had to make and hurdles you overcame…..absolutely awesome!!!

Your garden looks just lovely. It truly does look like a secret garden. BEAUTIFUL! 🌺🥰

Such an inspiring video. Loved watching your journey.

Thank you for sharing your secret garden.

You have done a FANTASTIC Job!! The views are SPECTACULAR!!! 💚💚💚

Your garden is gorgeous..thank you for sharing

Oh, I enjoyed this so much. The evolution is inspiring! 🍃💐🍃💐🍃

What a great story and a beautiful garden. Lots of work, and full of rewards.Just like life. We learn so much from our gardens. Thanks for sharing. 🌸

A journey I too found myself in. Thanking for sharing your beautiful garden.