Landscaping for life

Gene de la Foret's surname is French for "of the forest," and he speculates he descended from woodsmen. It seems natural, then, that he and his wife, Diana Siekman, have made their home on 13 acres outside St. Joseph, Michigan. It's also fitting that Gene has spent more than 30 years in the landscaping business. He began to conceive of the land as an incomplete canvas during his years at college, when he studied art and business while working for a large garden center. His hands-on training honed his skills as a landscaper, while his college education helped him bring artistry to his own business. (His son, Shawn, inherited Gene's love of the outdoors and joined the company in the landscape design and sales areas.)

Returning at the end of the day to a rural retreat makes it possible for Gene to relax and to enjoy his life's work. "We've brought a resort feel to our property," explains Diana, "by constructing a swimming pool and patios, beautiful gardens, a pond, and a nature trail with lots of privacy."

Rustic oasis
Little by little, year by year, Gene and Diana have transformed a once lackluster acreage into a rustic oasis. Afforded privacy by mature arbor vitae and an assortment of grasses and hibiscus, the couple, their family, and friends enjoy an in-ground swimming pool and surrounding patios. Gene created a dry creek bed, purely for aesthetics, which winds around the patios, tumbles over a wall, and flows past a perennial bed.

Diana defers to Gene's expertise when it comes to selecting the plants that grace the pool, pond, and lawn areas. They began by sowing a few acres of meadow with wildflowers, creating a buffer between woodland and lawn. Then they created informal, raised beds of perennials and feathery, green borders of small trees and tall grasses. Gene says he is "big into grasses," such as miscanthus gigantus. He cuts them back in the spring, not fall, because they lend winter interest to the landscape. He also likes Russian sage (a hearty, long blooming plant that is gray-stemmed in winter) and shasta vibernum. Among Diana's favorites are perovskia, carpet roses, gaura, and sedum.