Sue & Bill Binning – Kalamazoo
Shady Splendor!
Growing up on a farm, Sue’s father, Bob Sweet, taught her how to take care of the land and develop a love of gardening. The raised garden berm along the path on the east side of the house was added in his memory. Sue calls it “Bob Hill.”
Sue & Bill’s home and landscape projects began in 1971 when they purchased a five-acre parcel of land across the street from Sue’s parents. Their initial landscape consisted of established trees and shrubs that they planted around the house. They also began vegetable gardening at that time and have continued growing vegetables through the years. Bill has always helped with heavy lifting in the garden and also maintains the large lawn that is such an integral part of the landscape.
In the late 90s, a new chapter of gardening entered their life. Hostas began to find their way into newly developed gardens along with other perennials. Most of the hostas at that time were given to them by friends. There were only a few varieties in the garden and many of the hostas were divided to fill empty spaces.
In 2007, they began to make significant and continuous changes to their landscape and home. After 23 years of enjoying an in-ground pool it was filled in and new landscaped areas were added. The pond-less waterfall and flagstone patio became new focal points of the yard.
In 2015, Sue started removing duplicates and all hostas new and old received name tags. The hosta varieties in Sue’s garden have grown from 85 to 350.
Along with designing the garden and planting hostas, finding creative ways to add art in the garden is one of Sue’s passions. It is so rewarding for Bill and Sue to recycle old items into their landscape. For instance aged, antiqued metal bed frames, wooden window frames, steel signs and shovels to name a few subtle pieces in the gardens. Most of the fieldstone used in the landscape has been gathered from the surrounding farm fields. Sue and Bill hope you enjoy the beauty of these gardens as much as they do.
21June2017 Binnings 
